PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Samuel Cooke (ranked 1300 p4p, 156 weight class) and Joey Tempest (ranked 2760 p4p, 298 weight class). Cooke comes to the cage accompanied by Harm's Way - Warriors Will Reign. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Cooke
vs
Tempest

184 cm
22
170 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

178 cm
25
159 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Determined

Knockdown Clothes
Power Matrix Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the lightweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Samuel Cooke!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joey Tempest!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Aleksandr Martynov and Valeri Chadov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A swing and a miss from Cooke.
Cooke tries for a takedown but Tempest sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Cooke lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Tempest throws a jab but it's blocked by Cooke.
Cooke throws a jab when Tempest was well out of range.
Tempest is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Cooke.
Cooke misses with an uppercut.
Tempest swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Cooke throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Cooke lands with an uppercut that bounces Tempest off the cage and back into range.

It looks like Joey Tempest has been cut.
Cooke looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Cooke misses with a kick to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Cooke. Tempest does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cooke fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Tempest.
Cooke uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Tempest.
Cooke closes the distance and clinches up with Tempest, looking for a takedown. Cooke pushes Tempest against the cage but Tempest circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Cooke scores with a decent looking hook.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Tempest scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Tempest blocks a jab.
Cooke keeps the fight on the outside.
Tempest scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cooke shoots in and bounces Tempest off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Tempest wants to get back to his feet but he's too absorbed in his own little project and Cooke manages to pass to side control.

Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Cooke in particular looking to stall.
Cooke not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tempest is looking to escape.
Cooke working Tempest over with strikes.
Cooke lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Cooke thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cooke with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Tempest wants to get back to his feet.
Cooke throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cooke has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Cooke controlling his opponent.

Cooke has control of Tempest's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Tempest regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Cooke misses with a head shot.
Cooke punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cooke looking to finish Tempest with some ground and pound. This is bad for Tempest!

Cooke is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Tempest is surviving well by controlling Cooke's body position as best he can.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cooke cracks Tempest with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Cooke lands a big shot there that rocks Tempest but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
BOOM! Cooke connects with a massive shot to the dome!

Cooke with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Cooke postures up and lands a whopping elbow - oh that's hurt Tempest bigstyle! Two more strikes land for Cooke and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Samuel Cooke!
Samuel Cooke retains his lightweight title!
A victorious Samuel Cooke thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.