PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Graeme Symons (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Gennaro Gattuso (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Symons
vs
Gattuso

170 cm
32
171 lbs
14 - 10 - 1

176 cm
36
166 lbs
22 - 13 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Spartan Nutrition

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 14 - 10 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Graeme Symons!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Gennaro Gattuso!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Paul Tew and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Symons throws a lazy right hand but Gattuso sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Gattuso lands a jab to the nose.

Gattuso fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Symons sprawls well initially but Gattuso persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Gattuso not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gattuso not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Gattuso landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Symons trying to control from the bottom.
Gattuso missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Symons is looking to control Gattuso's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Symons avoid being mounted?
Gattuso not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Ground and pound from Gattuso.
Gattuso thows a huge punch but Symons dodges it nicely.
Symons's coaches at gym closing have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
Gattuso sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Symons defending well though.
Symons controlling the position for now.
Symons wants to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gattuso winds up and cracks Symons with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Gattuso tries to pass to full mount but Symons defends it.
Symons is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Symons trying to hold on to Gattuso's head to control him but Gattuso postures up.
Gattuso scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Gattuso is working for a kimura but Symons is defending it quite comfortably.
Gattuso throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Symons taking some punishment here, with Gattuso in his half guard.
Gattuso winds up and cracks Symons with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Symons is staying active underneath Gattuso, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Symons is pressing down on Gattuso's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

Symons has his foot on Gattuso's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Gattuso works his way back into a safe position though.
Symons looking for a sweep. Not yet Symons, not yet.
Symons pulls Gattuso in close to prevent any damage.
Symons utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Symons is trying to hold Gattuso in close to prevent damage but Gattuso has managed to pass into half guard.

Gattuso is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Symons is trying to control but can't.
Gattuso working over Symons with some ground and pound. Symons looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Symons preventing any damage for now, controlling his opponent's head.
Symons makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Symons.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Gattuso's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Gattuso trying to control the position from guard on top but Symons is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Symons working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Gattuso doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Gattuso manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Gattuso is looking to work some ground and pound but Symons has wrist control.
Symons keeping moving, preventing Gattuso from controlling successfully.
Gattuso stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Symons swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Gattuso throws a big elbow that misses.
Gattuso missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Gattuso got a little sloppy there for a moment and Symons has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Gattuso has managed to get both his arms back between Symons's legs - danger averted.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Symons lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Gattuso is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Symons with a nice head shot there.
Symons lands a couple of elbows.
Symons scoring with punches to the head and body.
Symons throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Gattuso works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gattuso looking for a sweep. Not yet Gattuso, not yet.

Symons got a little sloppy there for a moment and Gattuso has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Symons has managed to get both his arms back between Gattuso's legs - danger averted.
Symons scoring with punches to the head and body.
Symons lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Symons is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gennaro Gattuso dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Symons misses the shot to the body.
Symons walks into a left hand.
Gattuso misses with a looping left.
Symons misses with an uppercut.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Gattuso!

Gattuso pushes Symons up against the cage in a clinch.
Gattuso tries to work over Symons's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Symons is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Symons can't find room to land a body shot as Gattuso controls the action.
Gattuso is trying to drag Symons to the mat but Symons just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gattuso drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Symons gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Graeme Symons has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gennaro Gattuso.
Symons is stalling here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Symons lands a takedown into guard.
Symons working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Symons working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Gattuso looking for a sweep. Not yet Gattuso, not yet.
Symons pushes down on Gattuso's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Symons trying to control the pace.

Symons is working for a submission of some sort.
Symons looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Gattuso with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gattuso makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Gattuso.
Symons stands up over Gattuso, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Graeme Symons overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Gattuso working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Symons has passed into half guard!
Gattuso strikes from the bottom but Symons uses the opportunity to move to side control.
Gattuso is looking to reverse the position.
Symons creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Symons working the head and body with strikes.
Gattuso is looking to regain half guard here but Symons keeps moving and retains side control.
Symons working the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Symons lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Symons looks up at the clock and then as Gattuso takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Symons smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Gattuso gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Gattuso is looking to control Symons's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Gattuso avoid being mounted?
Symons working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Symons lands a nice short elbow.

Gattuso is rocked!
Symons seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Gattuso is still in real trouble! Can Symons finish him?

Symons is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Gattuso sees it coming and defends easily.
Symons landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Symons is keen to just control but Gattuso is a slippery customer.
Gattuso wants to get back to full guard.
Gattuso seems to have recovered his senses.
Gattuso has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Symons is working away from the top position though.
Symons working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gattuso missing with punches from the bottom.
Symons working Gattuso over with strikes.
Symons prevents Gattuso from improving his position.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Symons is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Symons scores with a big shot! Gattuso's head bounced off the canvas with a huge thud! More strikes land and the referee has jumped in to save Gattuso! He was hurt real bad - good stoppage!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:49 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Graeme Symons!
Our winner, Graeme Symons, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.