PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Cooke (ranked 910 p4p, 130 weight class) and Guido Gloom (ranked 1052 p4p, 148 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Cooke
vs
Gloom

185 cm
29
203 lbs
18 - 8 - 0

192 cm
33
222 lbs
27 - 19 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 8 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Matt Cooke!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 19 - 0, fighting out of London, Guido Gloom!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Daniel Franklin and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cooke looks to throw the jab but Gloom is out of range.
A little jabbing left from Gloom on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Gloom bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Gloom is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Gloom uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Cooke.
Cooke misses with a hook
and Gloom makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Cooke misses with a double jab.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Gloom has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Gloom swings for the body but Cooke moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gloom cracks a nice hook into Cooke's ribs.
Cooke ducks under a wild hook from Gloom.
Cooke appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Gloom throws a body shot but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cooke misses with a hook. Gloom ducked under it nicely.
And Gloom tries to counter it with a takedown but Cooke pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Cooke throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Gloom throws a head kick that misses
and Cooke counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Gloom thinking.

Gloom closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A short right from Gloom on the inside.
Gloom tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Cooke blocks a body shot from Gloom.
Cooke throws a punch but it's blocked by Gloom.
Gloom tries to work over Cooke's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cooke.

Gloom jumps guard.

Gloom working for a triangle but Cooke defends it easily.
Gloom is trying to keep Cooke in close.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooke advances position into side control!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Gloom tries to improve position but can't.
Gloom can't do much from the bottom here.

Cooke stands up and beckons Gloom to his feet.
Gloom swings for the body but Cooke moves out of range.
Gloom throws a head kick but Cooke moves out of range.
Cooke swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Guido Gloom seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cooke avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Gloom instigates a clinch.
Gloom throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Gloom lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gloom is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Cooke gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Gloom doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
A left hand lands to the body for Cooke.
Cooke lands a right hand.
Gloom blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cooke misses with a punch on the inside.
Gloom tries to score a body lock takedown but Cooke shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Gloom is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Gloom tries to pull guard but Cooke holds him up against the cage and eventually Gloom drops back down to his feet.
Matt Cooke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Guido Gloom.
Gloom lands with a right to the head.
Cooke lands a right hand that snaps the head of Gloom backwards.
Gloom blocking some punches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cooke swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Gloom prevents a body shot from Cooke.
Gloom lands with a left to the head.
Gloom tries a body shot but Cooke blocks it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cooke is trying to stall.
Cooke misses with some punches.
Gloom struggles to land a body shot inside as Cooke controls his hands.
A head punch on the inside from Gloom fails to land.
Gloom tries to stall but Cooke uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Cooke pushes Gloom back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Cooke lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Gloom is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Cooke gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Gloom prevents a body shot from Cooke.
Cooke tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Gloom's elbow.
Gloom changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Cooke fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Gloom misses with a leg kick
and Cooke cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cooke is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Gloom's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Gloom bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Cooke's head backwards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Matt Cooke will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Gloom tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Cooke is able to avoid easily.
Gloom chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Cooke can pounce on him.
Nice defenses there by Gloom.
Gloom fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cooke swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Cooke scores with a push kick.
A jab lands there for Cooke.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cooke throws a lazy right hand but Gloom sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Cooke ducks under a wild hook from Gloom.
Cooke lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gloom gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Cooke stalls.
Cooke softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Matt Cooke has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Gloom tries to pull guard but Cooke forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Cooke misses with a short punch on the inside.
Gloom tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Gloom lands a right hand that snaps the head of Cooke backwards.
Gloom pushes Cooke back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gloom content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Gloom swings wildly with an uppercut but Cooke uses good head movement to avoid it.
Gloom tries a body shot but Cooke blocks it.
A right handed body shot lands from Cooke.
Cooke doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Gloom blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Cooke fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cooke tries to throw a body punch but Gloom avoids it by throwing Cooke back against the cage.
Cooke tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cooke digs a right hand into Gloom's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Gloom's gas tank.
Cooke swings wildly with an uppercut but Gloom uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cooke pushes Gloom back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Gloom's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cooke scores with a shoulder strike.
Gloom is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Cooke to keep the fight standing.
Gloom tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Cooke just stands there and leans against the cage.
Matt Cooke has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Guido Gloom.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Gloom.
Cooke misses with some punches.

Gloom drags the fight down to the ground.
Cooke sitting in guard here, content to control.
Cooke won't allow Gloom to sweep him here.
Cooke stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gloom swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Gloom is working actively from the bottom, looking for submissions. He's escaped his hips to the side and he's going for an armbar! Cooke has his hands clasped together but Gloom extends and breaks Cooke's desperate grasp, forcing a tap out due to armbar! Nice BJJ displayed there by Gloom.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Guido Gloom!
After winning the bout, Guido Gloom thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.