PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Calixto Cardona (ranked 592 p4p, 74 weight class) and Patty Larkin (ranked 977 p4p, 114 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Cardona
vs
Larkin

170 cm
22
150 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

176 cm
22
154 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calixto Cardona!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Patty Larkin!
The judges for this bout are Yuuki Gou, Sosuke Kotani and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Larkin takes a head kick and keeps coming.
Larkin loads up on a big right hand but Cardona slips the punch.
Cardona fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Larkin on the side of the head.
Larkin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cardona.
Larkin throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Cardona counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Cardona gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Cardona preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Larkin advances to half guard.
Larkin is thwarting Cardona's attempts to control the position.
Larkin throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
We've been hearing good reports from Cardona's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Larkin throwing shots but Cardona is blocking nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cardona is looking to improve his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Larkin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Larkin trying to pass the guard but Cardona defending well.
Larkin looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Cardona with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ground and pound from Larkin.
Cardona avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Larkin.
Cardona keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Larkin is trying to control the action in half guard but Cardona is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Larkin has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Larkin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Larkin thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cardona's head.
Larkin has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Can Factory. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.

Larkin is looking for a kimura but Cardona is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Larkin to get the leverage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cardona won't allow Larkin to pass to mount.
Larkin missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cardona trying to control here.
Larkin throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Larkin looks to land a strike but Cardona avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Cardona trying to control the position here.
Cardona can't keep his opponent in guard - Larkin advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Larkin tries to pass to full mount but Cardona defends it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cardona has hold of Larkin's hands but Larkin slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Larkin throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Cardona is defending against the submission attempts here by Larkin.
Larkin throwing shots but Cardona is blocking nicely.
Cardona is refusing to be controlled, as Larkin sits in half guard.
Larkin thows a huge punch but Cardona dodges it nicely.

Larkin seems to be looking for submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Larkin trying to control from half guard but Cardona is working away.
Larkin tries to pass the half guard into mount. Cardona knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Larkin thows a huge punch but Cardona dodges it nicely.
Larkin is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Cardona wants to control but Larkin is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Larkin missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cardona on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Larkin is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

Larkin working for a guillotine from mount but Cardona is in no mood to give up.
Larkin takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Larkin looking to control but Cardona is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Cardona blocking the ground and pound.
Cardona tries to lock up and control but Larkin gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Larkin tries to control but Cardona wriggling away.

That's six minutes gone in the round.

Larkin is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Cardona is surviving well by controlling Larkin's body position as best he can.
Cardona holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Larkin tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Larkin is stalling here but it's allowed Cardona to get half guard.
Cardona avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Larkin.

Larkin is looking for a kimura but Cardona is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Larkin to get the leverage.

Larkin seems to be working for a kimura but Cardona defends the submission attempt.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Larkin looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Larkin is trying to control. Cardona wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Larkin moves into full mount! Cardona won't be happy about that!

Larkin goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Cardona turns into him and now he's in Larkin's guard.

Larkin throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

Larkin looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Cardona passes into half guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Larkin actively working from the bottom here.
Larkin slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Larkin has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Cardona can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Larkin throws his legs up looking for a submission but Cardona uses it to pass to side control.
Cardona wants to control but Larkin is keeping him busy.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Larkin tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cardona tries to move into full mount but can't pass Larkin's legs.
Larkin is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Larkin struggling a bit here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Larkin is looking to reverse the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Patty Larkin dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Larkin misses with a wild combination.
An attempted straight right counter from Cardona misses the target.
The fighters circling - Cardona throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Larkin shoots in looking for a takedown. Cardona tries to sprawl out of it but Larkin keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the ropes. Cardona manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Larkin shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Cardona manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Larkin trying to control the position from guard on top but Cardona is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Larkin thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Larkin stands up over Cardona, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Larkin pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cardona is keeping the position for now.
Larkin landing with the ground and pound.

Cardona had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Larkin defends it easily.

That's two 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.
Larkin wants to control from the top but Cardona keeps moving.
Larkin pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Cardona is keeping the position for now.
Larkin is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Larkin in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Larkin has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Cardona looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Larkin advances to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Larkin is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Cardona defends it well.
Larkin is trying to control the action in half guard but Cardona is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Larkin missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Larkin winds up and cracks Cardona with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Cardona is defending against the submission attempts here by Larkin.
Larkin throws a strike but Cardona avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Larkin slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Larkin passes Cardona's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Larkin not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Larkin wants to lay and pray for a moment but Cardona keeps working.
Larkin throws a strike but Cardona avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Larkin trying to control the position from guard on top but Cardona is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Larkin stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cardona swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Larkin makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Larkin trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cardona keeping moving, preventing Larkin from controlling successfully.
Larkin throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Cardona works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Larkin wants to control from the top but Cardona keeps moving.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Larkin ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Patty Larkin seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Larkin throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Cardona stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Cardona bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Larkin pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Larkin misses with a wild body shot.
Cardona stuffs the takedown.
Cardona cracks the inside of Larkin's front leg.
Larkin connects with a good right hand that stumbles Cardona. Cardona circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Larkin misses with a body shot
and Cardona connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cardona throws a shot from downtown. Larkin moves away and avoids it.
Larkin dives in and grabs Cardona's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cardona pushes down on Larkin's head and hops out.
Calixto Cardona has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Patty Larkin.
Cardona throws a body shot but no joy.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Larkin takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Cardona misses with a wild body shot.
A swing and a miss from Cardona.
Larkin misses with a low kick.
Cardona quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Larkin lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Cardona tried to score with a low kick but Larkin checks it.
Larkin misses with a hook.

Larkin dives in and scores a takedown into Cardona's guard.

Larkin throws a sloppy strike and Cardona has hooked up an armbar on the loose arm! He's turned and extended fully! Larkin is forced to tap! Great BJJ from Cardona!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 8:58 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Calixto Cardona!
Calixto Cardona decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.