HARRISON CENTRAL grad Cody Gamble follows through with a punch during his MMA bout Saturday night at the Monroeville Mall. He lost a split decision.

PITTSBURGH — Life’s lessons can come in many different ways. Unfortunately, losing is one of them.

Cody Gamble hopes to use what he learned during his second amateur Mixed Martial Arts fight. The former Harrison Central two-sport standout dropped a close split decision to Raiden “Amadeus” Keller in a 3-round heavyweight bout that was part of Brawl in the Burgh V inside the Monroeville Mall.

“I’m proud of myself,” Gamble said Sunday during a telephone interview. “I can’t be disappointed because I gave it everything I had, and so did he. It was an intense fight.

“It happens,” he said of the loss. “He’s 24 years old and has been training for 3-4 years. I’m only 20 and just started training. He was more experienced and in the end that helped him. I learned a lot from the fight that will help me in the future.”

Gamble, who excelled in football and wrestling during his prep days, said Keller won the first round before he rebounded to take the second.

“He got me pretty good in the first round but I hit him pretty hard in the second. At the beginning of the third round and even halfway through the third round all of the judge’s were in my favor because I was taking the fight to him,” Gamble recalled. “He took me down late in the round but I bounced right back up. There was no hits and no damage (to me.)”

However, when the fight ended the judges’ scorers were announced, it was Keller who improved to 3-0 with the narrow victory.

“Two judges agreed that he took me down and gave him points, but the other judge disagreed because he said I never was hit or suffered any damage,” he said of the final ruling.

“It was a close fight all the way … a blood bath. We both had blood everywhere,” he added. “It was probably the fight of the night.”

With the loss, Gamble drops to 1-1. He told Keller he would like a re-match at some point.

“I told him that if the opportunity arises that there is a contract between us I would sign it, then it would be up to you,” he said.

With COVID-19 rules in affect, no spectators were allowed in to watch the action, which was sponsored by 247 Fighting Championships.

“That was the weirdest part of the entire night. That is the first time I have ever competed without any fans.”