PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Paul Hardy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Xavi D Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hardy comes to the cage accompanied by Rock the Casbah. The crowd seem to be enjoying D Cruz's choice of entrance music: mama said knock you out. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Hardy
vs
D Cruz

180 cm
21
170 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

178 cm
21
179 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big heart

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Determined

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Paul Hardy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Xavi D Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Colin Fotheringham and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
D Cruz misses with a looping right.
Hardy takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Hardy throws a front kick aimed at D Cruz's knee but D Cruz avoids it well.
D Cruz uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Hardy has time to react.
A decent looking cross lands there for D Cruz.
Xavi D Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hardy throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
D Cruz with a nice cross.
Hardy looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hardy has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from D Cruz finds it's way round the side to connect with Hardy's head.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Hardy throws a combination but it was largely blocked by D Cruz.
A jab from D Cruz does it's job there.
Hardy misses with a wild combination.
Hardy fails with an attempt to clinch.
Jab from D Cruz.
D Cruz lands with an uppercut that bounces Hardy off the cage and back into rage.
D Cruz moves forwards but Hardy connects with a nice, crisp jab.
D Cruz uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Hardy has time to react.
D Cruz connects with a crisp jab.
D Cruz lands with a cross.
Hardy throws a head kick that misses.
Hardy shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. D Cruz defends it nicely.
D Cruz looks to land a combination but Hardy avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
D Cruz works Hardy's body with a nice hook.
D Cruz avoids the body shot from Hardy.
D Cruz throws a right hand that Hardy ducks under and follows up with a left that Hardy also avoids with ease.
D Cruz checks the leg kick nicely there.
Hardy staying out of range there.
D Cruz circles away from the clinch attempt.
Hardy scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
D Cruz lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Hardy will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
D Cruz scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
D Cruz is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Hardy had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.

D Cruz gets a takedown into half guard.
Hardy wants to control but D Cruz is keeping busy.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
D Cruz wants to take a breather but Hardy is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
D Cruz takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
D Cruz throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
D Cruz has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
D Cruz lands a heavy elbow.
Hardy really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
D Cruz avoids the attempt from Hardy to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz cracks Hardy with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
D Cruz lands a nice shot to the head.
D Cruz punishing his opponent with strikes.
D Cruz has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
D Cruz dominating with strikes here.

Hardy is rocked!
D Cruz lands a nice shot to the head.
Oh Hardy is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hardy wants to control but D Cruz is having none of it.
Hardy seems to have got his legs back now.
D Cruz pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
D Cruz pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Hardy avoids a series of strikes thrown by D Cruz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hardy in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
D Cruz throwing strikes here but Hardy is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
D Cruz connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Hardy holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as D Cruz tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
D Cruz dominating with strikes here.
D Cruz throwing strikes here but Hardy is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
D Cruz lands with some strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, D Cruz cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Hardy is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
D Cruz punching from mount but Hardy doing a good job of avoiding damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavi D Cruz dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

D Cruz takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Hardy throws a jab but it's blocked by D Cruz.
Hardy closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
D Cruz lands a jab.
Jab by D Cruz.
D Cruz sizes up Hardy with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
D Cruz lands with a shot to the body.
A leg kick checked by D Cruz.
D Cruz avoids a punch combination nicely.
D Cruz throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
A jab from Hardy misses.
D Cruz thuds his right hand into Hardy's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
D Cruz pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Hardy throws a right and a left that both miss.
D Cruz throws a hook to the side of Hardy's head but Hardy sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
D Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
A slow jab from D Cruz misses its intended target.
Paul Hardy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice uppercut there from D Cruz.
Hardy scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Hardy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
D Cruz connects with a crisp jab.
Hardy takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
D Cruz throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
D Cruz feints and then cracks Hardy's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hardy down.
D Cruz scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
A right-left combo lands from D Cruz.
D Cruz swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Hardy cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Hardy throws a combination that misses

and D Cruz counters with a shoot takedown. Hardy fights it but they end up in guard.
D Cruz postures up in Hardy's guard and throws a big left but Hardy blocks it.
D Cruz throws a big right hand that misses.
D Cruz in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
D Cruz throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hardy preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
D Cruz is looking to work some ground and pound but Hardy has wrist control.
Hardy is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz landing some decent shots from guard.
D Cruz looking to sit in guard and control but Hardy gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
D Cruz has a closed guard, preventing Hardy from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hardy!
D Cruz scores with a couple of good head shots there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
D Cruz working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Hardy wants to get back to his feet.
D Cruz has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Hardy's face.
Hardy keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
D Cruz working away from the top, dropping strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hardy tries to hold on but D Cruz pushes him away.
D Cruz lands a big elbow.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xavi D Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

D Cruz rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hardy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hardy wants to slow D Cruz down by chopping away at his legs.
D Cruz throws an overhand right that lands on Hardy's shoulder, as Hardy tries to avoid the shot.
Hardy misses with a straight right.
D Cruz slips a jab from Hardy.
D Cruz moves into range and connects with a jab.
Hardy slips a straight right by D Cruz.
Hardy misses with the combination.
Hardy takes one to the side of the head.

D Cruz has Hardy up against the cage in a clinch.
D Cruz is trying to break the clinch but Hardy is controlling him.

D Cruz breaks from the clinch.
Hardy displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as D Cruz throws out the jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
D Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
D Cruz slips a straight right by Hardy.
Jab from Hardy.
D Cruz scores with a three punch combo!
Hardy tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Xavi D Cruz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
D Cruz drops his hands momentarily and Hardy takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
D Cruz tries to bum rush Hardy with a series of wild strikes but Hardy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

That's one minute gone in the round.
D Cruz lands a body shot.
D Cruz works the jab nicely.
D Cruz scores with a decent looking hook.
D Cruz goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
D Cruz throws a series of strikes that have Hardy backpedaling.
D Cruz connects with a jab.
D Cruz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
D Cruz throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Hardy counters with a nice double leg into guard.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if D Cruz can do anything to dispel that myth.

D Cruz manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Hardy throws a hook but D Cruz blocks it.
Hardy misses with a hook. D Cruz ducked under it nicely.
D Cruz listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Hardy's corner calls for a 1,2 combination and Hardy duly obliges.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
D Cruz keeps the fight on the outside.
D Cruz feints and then cracks Hardy's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hardy down.
Left hook, right uppercut from Hardy.
D Cruz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hardy's waist but Hardy gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing D Cruz off to one side.
Hardy looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz slaps away a takedown attempt from Hardy, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A lazy left from D Cruz finds it's target.
Hardy bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps D Cruz's head backwards.
D Cruz smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Danga de danga de dang - D Cruz scores with a four punch combination!
Hardy takes a swing at D Cruz's ribcage but misses.
Hardy swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
D Cruz throws a combination. Hardy tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
D Cruz scores with a jab. Hardy acknowledges it with a nod of the head.

D Cruz shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than D Cruz was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
D Cruz landing punches.
Hardy takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
You get the feeling that Hardy really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Hardy takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
D Cruz looking to finish Hardy with some ground and pound. This is bad for Hardy!
D Cruz with the ground and pound from mount.
D Cruz thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Hardy can't escape the position.
D Cruz landing strikes, looking to finish!
D Cruz lands a heavy elbow.
Xavi D Cruz has got the better of the ground game so far.
D Cruz looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
D Cruz postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Hardy badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of D Cruz around the waist but D Cruz pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! D Cruz is the winner by TKO! D Cruz jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:04 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Xavi D Cruz!