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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Gabriel Kiptanui (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Cross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kiptanui's entrance music is Steen1 - Huvipuiston takana . A fine choice. Cross has chosen The American Dream Song as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. This should be fireworks!
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| 173 cm
25
166 lbs
11 - 7 - 0 |
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179 cm
28
168 lbs
18 - 8 - 1 |
Abu Dhabi Champ
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine |
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Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank |
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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
11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Gabriel Kiptanui!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
18 - 8 - 1, fighting out of New York, David Cross!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Russell Pearce and Steve Montenegro.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The fighters circling - Cross throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Cross throws a leg kick
enabling Kiptanui to counter with a crisp jab.
Kiptanui shoots for a double leg takedown but Cross sprawls well. He's pushed Kiptanui's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Cross keeps the fight on the outside.
Gabriel Kiptanui seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kiptanui takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Cross stalks Kiptanui and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Kiptanui's face. Kiptanui staggers backwards, shaken.
Kiptanui misses with an attempted mid kick.
Kiptanui tries to land a front kick but Cross steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Kiptanui misses with a few strikes there.
Cross sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Cross moves out of range of the body kick.
Cross dips to his left and cracks Kiptanui with an uppercut!
Cross throws the kick towards the body but Kiptanui avoids it.
Cross misses the shot to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cross jabs Kiptanui right on the nose. Kiptanui blinks but takes it well.
Cross throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kiptanui uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Cross.
Kiptanui looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Cross misses with a straight right.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cross looks to land a body kick but Kiptanui moved away.
Kiptanui uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cross.
Kiptanui plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Kiptanui lands a head shot.
Cross digs a good body shot into Kiptanui's ribs.
Kiptanui misses with the combination.
Kiptanui tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Cross paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Cross lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
David Cross is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kiptanui checks a leg kick.
Cross keeps the fight on the outside.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Kiptanui.
Cross throws a front kick aimed at Kiptanui's knee but Kiptanui avoids it well.
A left lands for Cross.
Kiptanui misses with a body kick.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kiptanui checks the leg kick.
Kiptanui moves away from the strike by Cross.
Kiptanui looks to throw the jab but Cross is out of range.
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!
Kiptanui throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Cross dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Cross misses with a wild body shot.
Cross avoids the head kick by Kiptanui.
Kiptanui shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Cross as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gabriel Kiptanui. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kiptanui pushes Cross away with a front kick.
Cross paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Cross keeps the fight on the outside.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Kiptanui crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Cross - the referee stops the clock and Kiptanui gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Cross. Kiptanui manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Kiptanui takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Kiptanui throws a wild body kick that Cross sees coming a mile off.
Kiptanui fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Cross fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Kiptanui manages to avoid it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kiptanui tries to close the distance and clinch but Cross swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cross misses with a body shot.
The fighters circle momentarily. Cross darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Kiptanui tries to clinch but Cross moves away
and Cross connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Kiptanui misses with a series of wild punches.
Kiptanui looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Cross throws a low kick, looking for Kiptanui's leg but Kiptanui calmly moves out of range.
Cross lands a jab to the nose.
Cross throws a shot to the body.
Cross ducks under a wild hook from Kiptanui.
A low kick from Cross misses
and Cross takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Cross swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Kiptanui counters with a nice leg kick.
Cross throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Cross is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Kiptanui had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Kiptanui avoids the body shot from Cross.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kiptanui shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Cross defends it nicely.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kiptanui tries to close the distance and clinch but Cross swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cross connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Kiptanui walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Cross checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Kiptanui misses with the combination.
Nice body kick there by Cross.
Kiptanui on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Kiptanui swings for the body but Cross moves out of range.
Kiptanui tries to clinch but Cross moves out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cross misses with a head kick.
Kiptanui shoots in and gets a takedown into Cross's guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Cross bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Kiptanui's guard.
Cross trying to control but Kiptanui is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
David Cross dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!
Kiptanui throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Cross counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Kiptanui shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Cross pinned against the cage. Cross gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Cross lands a really nice looking cross but Kiptanui seems unphased.
Kiptanui looks for the body kick but Cross saw that one coming.
Cross gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Kiptanui to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Kiptanui drops back for a leg but he's not going to get it - he lets go and Cross dives on top into guard.
Cross connects with a couple of short punches.
Cross throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kiptanui works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Cross throws a strike but Kiptanui rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiptanui trying to control the position from guard on top but Cross is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cross is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Kiptanui avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Kiptanui wants to pass the guard but Cross is keeping the position.
Kiptanui preventing the sweep.
Kiptanui landing some decent shots from guard.
Kiptanui looking to pass the guard.
Cross looking for a guillotine here but Kiptanui defends easily.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kiptanui scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kiptanui looking to sit in guard and control but Cross gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Kiptanui tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Cross wants to pass the guard but Kiptanui is keeping the position.
Cross is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kiptanui wants to improve his position but instead Cross has moved into half guard.
Cross seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Cross trying to control the pace.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cross passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Kiptanui!
Cross looking to finish Kiptanui with some ground and pound. This is bad for Kiptanui!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cross lands a heavy elbow.
Cross has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kiptanui's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
David Cross showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Kiptanui lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Cross has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Cross and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Nice shot lands for Kiptanui.
Kiptanui keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Cross misses with a leg kick.
A head kick misses from Cross.
Cross scores with a shot to the body.
Cross scores with a sloppy right hand. Kiptanui should have avoided that one.
Cross 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.
Kiptanui checks a low kick from Cross.
Kiptanui shoots in and drives through. Cross sprawls well.
Kiptanui throws a lazy head kick
and Cross counters with a nice body kick.
Cross takes a swing at Kiptanui's ribcage but misses.
Kiptanui tries to clinch but Cross moves out of range.
A solid leg kick lands there for Kiptanui.
Kiptanui wants to clinch.
Kiptanui tries a head kick but it misses.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Kiptanui tries to clinch but Cross is having none of it.
Cross misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kiptanui.
Kiptanui tries for a takedown but Cross sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Some bone on bone action there as Cross checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Kiptanui misses with the combination.
A bone on bone clash there as Kiptanui blocks the leg kick.
Cross wants to land a leg kick but Kiptanui is out of range.
Cross scores with a crisp jab that stopped Kiptanui in his tracks.
Nice takedown defense from Cross. No joy for Kiptanui on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Gabriel Kiptanui. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Nice cross by Cross.
Kiptanui tries to score with a low kick but Cross moves his leg out of the way.
Kiptanui tries to score a power double leg takedown but Cross sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Kiptanui somewhat.
Kiptanui looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cross is fending him off so far but Kiptanui persists. Nope, Cross circles away and we're back to standing.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cross throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
A lazy body kick from Kiptanui
and Cross counters with a nice body shot.
Cross steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Kiptanui. That one must have hurt.
Cross lands with a nice body punch.
Kiptanui uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Cross.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cross sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Cross scores with a jab to the head.
Kiptanui looks for the body kick but Cross saw that one coming.
Kiptanui lands a two punch combo.
Cross waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Kiptanui.
Kiptanui instigates a clinch.
Cross tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Kiptanui's elbow.
Kiptanui lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Cross lands a nice knee to the body.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cross lands with a light punch inside.
Kiptanui misses with the head strike.
A short left from Cross.
A right handed body shot lands from Cross.
Cross tries a body shot but Kiptanui blocks it.
Kiptanui with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Cross manages to break the clinch.
Cross scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Cross is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
David Cross is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Cross throws the left hand but Kiptanui avoids the punch easily.
Cross lands a right hook to the body.
Kiptanui shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Cross but Cross pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Cross buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kiptanui misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Cross dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kiptanui on the wrong end of a nice jab.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cross throws out a powerful jab.
Cross throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Kiptanui blocks a head kick by Cross.
Cross lands with a hook. Kiptanui tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Kiptanui steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Cross. That one must have hurt.
Cross digs a good body shot into Kiptanui's ribs.
Kiptanui cracks Cross with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Kiptanui wants to clinch
and Cross counters with a stiff right hand.
Gabriel Kiptanui has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Kiptanui takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Kiptanui misses with a takedown
and Cross counters with a right hand to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cross slaps away a takedown attempt from Kiptanui, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Kiptanui takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
And that's the end of the fight!
David Cross comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Cross has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 27:30
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 27:30
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 27:30
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... David Cross!
An out of breath and clearly excited David Cross thanked West Coast Apparel for their help and support (and free stuff they sent him).
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
89% |
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