PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Timo Cruz (ranked 24255 p4p, 4369 weight class) and Senne Low (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Timo Cruz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cruz
vs
Low

165 cm
19
185
0 - 3 - 1

190 cm
25
200
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Timo Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Senne Low!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Aleksandr Martynov and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Low closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Cruz could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

Low bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Cruz taking punishment in the form of punches.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Low in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Cruz wants to control but Low postures up.
Low content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Low throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Cruz works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Cruz regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Low.
Low postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Low landing with the ground and pound.
Low scoring with punches to the head and body.
Low sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz pushes Low off and scrambles back to his feet.
Low throws a series of strikes that have Cruz backpedaling.
Cruz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Low is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Cruz doesn't manage to clinch there - Low circles away.

Low gets a takedown into half guard.
Ground and pound from Low.
Low is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Low looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Cruz with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cruz is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Low scores with a couple of nice shots.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Low working Cruz over with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Low lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Low working the head and body with strikes.
Low seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Low lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Cruz is looking to control Low's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cruz avoid being mounted?
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Cruz is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Ground and pound from Low.
Low is just content to waste time from the top position. Cruz takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Low content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Low really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cruz. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Low slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Low trying to control the position from guard on top but Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Low must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Low looking to sit in guard and control but Cruz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Low is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Cruz is pressing down on Low's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Low content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Low is looking to work some ground and pound but Cruz has wrist control.
Low throws a strike but Cruz rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Low looking for a sweep. Not yet Low, not yet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Cruz drops back, looking for a kneebar! Low looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Low looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Low!

Cruz regains half guard there - taking advantage of Low's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Cruz works his way to full guard. Good work.
Cruz trying to control the position.
Low lands a couple of digs.
Low working some strikes from top position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Low lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Low closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Cruz's guard.
Low throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Cruz works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Low postures up and lands a big shot to Cruz's brow.
Cruz has momentary wrist control but Low slips an elbow through the middle.
Low trying to control the position from guard on top but Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cruz lands a couple of shots from the bottom.
Low is in close to Cruz's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Senne Low has got the better of the ground game so far.
Low is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Low lands a couple of elbows.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Low accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Low scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Low looking to sit in guard and control but Cruz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Low.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Low avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Cruz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Cruz has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Low is proving hard to escape from.
Low is pulling down on Cruz's head. It's preventing any offense from Cruz, at least for the moment.
Low wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Cruz content to stall in guard here.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Senne Low seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Low throws a combination. Cruz tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Horrible takedown attempt by Cruz or perhaps it was just good defense by Low, which made it look bad.
Low lands a jab to the head.

Low gets the takedown into side control.

Cruz explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Low gets a takedown into half guard.
Low looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Cruz with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Cruz on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Cruz has hold of Low's hands but Low slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Low drops an elbow to the side of Cruz's head.
Cruz is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Low's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Low's back!

Cruz working for the choke.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Cruz keeps control of the position as Low tries to break free.

Cruz working for the choke.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz missing with strikes.
Low looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Low has his hands over his head blocking the strikes from Cruz.
Cruz somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Cruz is trying to stick to Low's back but Low is turning into Cruz. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Cruz's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Low.
Low loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Low lands a couple of digs.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Senne Low will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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 hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Low tries to bum rush Cruz with a series of wild strikes but Cruz uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Low has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Low manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Cruz on his heels. He'll look to pass Cruz's guard now, I'm sure.

Cruz working for a triangle but Low defends it easily.
Low landing with the ground and pound.
Low throws a big elbow that misses.
Low is in close to Cruz's body, working some short punches and elbows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Low content to sit in guard, stalling... Great. Oh but he could get punished here because Cruz has locked up a guillotine! Cruz's face is contorted as he sqeezes tight on the submission attempt - will he finish? Low is holding on here and Cruz must be using up a lot of energy. Low has gone limp! He's out! He's out cold! Cruz gets to his feet, tossing aside his stricken foe. Arms raised, he milks the applause from the crowd. Great submission!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Timo Cruz!
A very excited looking Timo Cruz made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.