PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kal Too (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mark Gambacorto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Too
vs
Gambacorto

176 cm
23
161 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

173 cm
22
168 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Decent wrestler
Great elbows
Heavy handed

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 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Kal Too!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Mark Gambacorto!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Hirohito Nitta and Yasuomi Hirokawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from Gambacorto does no damage.
Gambacorto throws a series of punches but Too moves out of range.

Too gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Gambacorto.
Too tries to circle away but Gambacorto has him pinned against the cage.
Too lands with a left to the head.
Too tries for a takedown. No joy.
Gambacorto is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Too is defending well for now.
Gambacorto scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Gambacorto goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Gambacorto wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Too has him pressed against the cage.
Gambacorto looking to slow down the pace here.
Gambacorto blocks an uppercut.
Gambacorto lands an elbow that stopped Too in his tracks for a moment.
Too tries to throw a body punch but Gambacorto avoids it by throwing Too back against the cage.
Too creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A short right from Gambacorto on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Too makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A short right from Gambacorto on the inside.
Gambacorto is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Gambacorto wants to get back to striking at distance but Too won't allow it.
Gambacorto blocking some punches.
Gambacorto throws an elbow but it misses.
Too is pushing Gambacorto up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Too doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Gambacorto stalling the fight.
Too has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Gambacorto is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Gambacorto is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Gambacorto.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gambacorto misses with an elbow strike.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Gambacorto.

Too gets a trip takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Gambacorto wants to get back to his feet.
Gambacorto is refusing to be controlled, as Too sits in half guard.
Too controlling the action here.
Gambacorto keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Too passes into side control, despite Gambacorto's attempt to control the position.
Gambacorto prevents Too from improving position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Too advances nicely into full mount.
Gambacorto blocking the ground and pound.
Too tries to control but Gambacorto wriggling away.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Gambacorto wants to control but Too is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Too is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Gambacorto tries to lock up and control but Too gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Too looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Too throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

Too has control of Gambacorto's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Gambacorto regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Too takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kal Too dominated that round.
That's time! Too's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Too shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Too was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Too is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!

Gambacorto closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Gambacorto breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Too tries to clinch up.
Too lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Too throws a solid leg kick but Gambacorto takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Too.
Gambacorto tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Too tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gambacorto swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Too misses with a jab, cross combination.
Too throws a nice looking combination but Gambacorto bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Gambacorto throws a wild combination but nothing lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gambacorto swats away the attempt to clinch by Too.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Too closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Gambacorto is pushing Too's head away, looking to escape. Too manages to hold on to the position though.
Too has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Gambacorto has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Too's lack of action.
Gambacorto is staying active underneath Too, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Gambacorto won't allow Too to pass to mount.
Gambacorto really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Too. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

Too decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Too clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gambacorto blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
A shot in the inside from Too.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gambacorto wants to get back to striking at distance but Too won't allow it.
Too takes an elbow to the forehead.
Too changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gambacorto fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Too walks forward, straight into a front kick from Gambacorto.
Gambacorto lands a nice hook to Too's body. Too takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Kal Too seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab lands there for Gambacorto.
Gambacorto misses with a jab, cross combination.
Too gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Too fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gambacorto has managed to clinch.
Too has Gambacorto pressed against the cage, preventing Gambacorto from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Too misses with a punch on the inside.

Gambacorto's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Gambacorto listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Too is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gambacorto throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Gambacorto has managed to clinch.
Too drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Gambacorto gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Too blocks an elbow strike from Gambacorto.
Too lands a hook to the side of the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gambacorto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Too goes for a takedown attempt but Gambacorto pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kal Too. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gambacorto swats away the attempt to clinch by Too.
Too fails with an attempt to clinch.
Too throws a series of punches but Gambacorto moves out of range.

Gambacorto clinches with his opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nice elbow from Gambacorto.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gambacorto lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Kal Too has been cut.
Gambacorto lands an elbow inside that Too shrugs off.

Gambacorto breaks from the clinch.
Gambacorto throws a right and a left that both miss.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kal Too will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Kal Too's cut.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

A head kick misses from Gambacorto.
Gambacorto misses with a kick to the body.
Too tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gambacorto paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Gambacorto takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Too is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Gambacorto getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Too blocks a head kick by Gambacorto.
Too shoots in but Gambacorto avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Mark Gambacorto seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Gambacorto moves into the clinch.
Too misses with the head strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Gambacorto breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Kal Too is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Too swings widly with a right hand
and Gambacorto counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Too shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Gambacorto defends it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gambacorto goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

Too has Gambacorto up against the cage in a clinch.
Gambacorto is trying to break the clinch but Too has him pressed against the cage.
Gambacorto blocking some punches.
Too wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Kal Too. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Gambacorto breaks from the clinch.
Too tries to clinch up.
Gambacorto takes a shot right to the bread basket.

Gambacorto has taken the fight to the clinch.
Gambacorto throws a punch but it's blocked by Too.
Mark Gambacorto seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Gambacorto effectively controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Too tries for a takedown. No joy.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Gambacorto just misses with a elbow thrown towards Too's brow.
Too lands with a light punch inside.
Too changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Gambacorto fights it off and pushes away nicely.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gambacorto will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Gambacorto fails to land with a series of punches.
Gambacorto throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Too.
Gambacorto throws a head kick that misses.
Too tries to close the distance and clinch but Gambacorto swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Too wants to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Too throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Gambacorto's waist but Gambacorto gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Too off to one side.
Too shoots in looking for a takedown. Gambacorto tries to sprawl out of it but Too keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gambacorto manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Too tries to keep at a distance but Gambacorto has taken the fight into the clinch.

Gambacorto pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Some wild striking there from Too.

Gambacorto closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Gambacorto wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Too has clasped his hands together around Gambacorto's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Too wants to lay and pray for a moment but Gambacorto keeps working.
Kal Too is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Too prevents Gambacorto from escaping the position.
Mark Gambacorto has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Too is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Gambacorto will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Gambacorto tries to buck Too off but Too is having none of it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Too is looking to take a break and control but Gambacorto is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Gambacorto is trying to buck Too off.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Mark Gambacorto.
I think Too has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kal Too!