PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Phil Arcuri (ranked 641 p4p, 81 weight class) and Bob Cook (ranked 925 p4p, 116 weight class). Cook is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Lil Baby - Southside. Bob Cook has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Arcuri
vs
Cook

176 cm
34
168 lbs
23 - 12 - 0

169 cm
32
169 lbs
17 - 14 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 23 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Phil Arcuri!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 14 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bob Cook!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Arcuri crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Cook - the referee stops the clock and Arcuri gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Cook. Arcuri manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Arcuri looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
A leg kick checked by Arcuri.
Arcuri uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Cook scores with a jab.
Arcuri tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Cook was well out of range. Poor timing from Arcuri.
Cook walks into a stiff left hand from Arcuri.
Arcuri throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Cook on the side of the head.
Arcuri throws a quick inside leg kick.
Cook stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Arcuri.
Cook misses with a combination
and Arcuri counters with a right hand to the body.
Cook takes a jab right on the kisser.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Arcuri, as that shot connected.
Cook misses the shot to the body.
Cook throws a hook to the side of Arcuri's head but Arcuri sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cook darts in and clinches Arcuri up against the cage.
Cook tries to break the clinch but Arcuri is controlling the position.
Cook digs a right hand underneath Arcuri's ribcage. Arcuri let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Cook throws an elbow but it misses.
Arcuri has a couple of punches blocked by Cook.
Arcuri misses with some punches.
Arcuri misses with some punches.
Arcuri misses with a short punch on the inside.
Arcuri dodges an elbow strike from Cook.
Arcuri lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.

Cook pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Arcuri ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cook moves away.
Cook looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Cook motions for Arcuri to come forward. Cook throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Cook loads up on a big right hand but Arcuri slips the punch.
Good work by Cook as he checks the leg kick.
Arcuri lands a body shot.
Arcuri fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arcuri throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Arcuri throws a shot from downtown. Cook moves away and avoids it.

Cook closes the distance and clinches.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Arcuri lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Cook lands a nice uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Arcuri fails to land.
Arcuri working aggressively here.
Arcuri tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cook misses with a short punch on the inside.

Arcuri manages to pull guard.
Arcuri has Cook pulled in close to control his posture.
Arcuri wants to sweep but no luck.

Arcuri has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Cook can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Arcuri holds on and takes a little breather.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cook won't allow Arcuri to sweep him here.
Arcuri has Cook pulled in close to control his posture.
Cook looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cook has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Arcuri is proving hard to escape from.
Arcuri wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Arcuri has his foot on Cook's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Cook works his way back into a safe position though.

Arcuri working for a triangle but Cook defends it easily.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Cook trying to control the position from guard on top but Arcuri is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Arcuri looking for a guillotine here but Cook defends easily.

Arcuri throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Arcuri manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Cook manages to get himself to full guard.

And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Phil Arcuri dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Cook walks into a stiff left hand from Arcuri.
Arcuri misses with a body shot.
Arcuri is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Arcuri connects with a crisp jab.
Arcuri throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Cook uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Arcuri.
Arcuri misses with a low kick.
Cook misses with a few strikes there.
Phil Arcuri is winning the standup battle so far.
Cook on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Arcuri swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Arcuri is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cook can do to turn this around?
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cook throws a low kick, looking for Arcuri's leg but Arcuri calmly moves out of range.
Cook ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
A clash of legs there as Arcuri blocks the low kick.
A jab from Cook finds it's way through Arcuri's defenses.
Arcuri is looking to wear down Cook with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cook works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Cook ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Arcuri misses with a lunging right hand
and Cook counters with a crisp right that sends Arcuri to the canvas! Cook follows up with punches from the mount and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:17 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Bob Cook!
During a confident post fight interview, Bob Cook thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.