PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Moniz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Dela Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Moniz
vs
Dela Cruz

173 cm
25
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
18
162 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ryan Moniz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Juan Dela Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Paul Aken and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Moniz fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Moniz defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Dela Cruz.

Moniz darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Moniz not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Dela Cruz wants to get back to full guard.
Moniz knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Dela Cruz on the ground.
Dela Cruz won't allow Moniz to pass to mount.
Moniz tries to stand and escape but Dela Cruz is controlling the position.
Dela Cruz trying to control here.
Moniz wants to stand up but Dela Cruz is controlling the position.
Dela Cruz is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Moniz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Dela Cruz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Moniz's waist but Moniz gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dela Cruz off to one side.

Dela Cruz gets the takedown into side control.
Moniz struggling a bit here.

Dela Cruz decides to stand back up. Dela Cruz steps back and let's Moniz get back to his feet.
Nice sprawl there from Moniz as Dela Cruz shoots in.
Ryan Moniz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz looks gassed!

Moniz drives through and clinches with Dela Cruz against the cage.
Moniz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Dela Cruz just stands there and leans against the cage.
Moniz tries to break free but Dela Cruz pushes him back against the cage.

Moniz has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Dela Cruz uses from the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Moniz is looking for a triangle but Dela Cruz pushes his legs off easily.
Dela Cruz slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Moniz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Moniz lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Dela Cruz!
Dela Cruz is looking to improve his position but Moniz isn't that keen on the idea.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz tries to hold on but Moniz pushes him away.
Dela Cruz regains half guard.
Dela Cruz wants to improve his position but Moniz is controlling well.
Moniz seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Dela Cruz does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Moniz throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Moniz is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Dela Cruz manages to get to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Dela Cruz looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Dela Cruz manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Dela Cruz sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Moniz is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Moniz is trying desperately to improve position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Juan Dela Cruz will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Moniz shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Dela Cruz as he jumps to the side.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Moniz sprawls well. Moniz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Dela Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt.

Moniz moves into range and clinches up with Dela Cruz.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dela Cruz has Moniz pressed against the cage, preventing Moniz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Dela Cruz drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Ryan Moniz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan Dela Cruz.
Moniz jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Dela Cruz walks away with a smile on his face. Moniz gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Dela Cruz is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Moniz clinches up against the cage.

Moniz pulls guard.
Moniz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Dela Cruz prevents Moniz from getting back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Moniz is trying to control the position but Dela Cruz postures up.
Moniz looking for a sweep. Not yet Moniz, not yet.
Moniz trying to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Dela Cruz fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Moniz, pushing him back against the cage.
Moniz avoiding damage as Dela Cruz throws knees to the body.
Dela Cruz is pressed up against the cage. Moniz has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Dela Cruz down to the mat. Dela Cruz avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Dela Cruz tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Moniz counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Moniz.
Dela Cruz keeping full guard, as Moniz tries to pass.

Dela Cruz is looking for a triangle but Moniz pushes his legs off easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moniz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Dela Cruz is keeping the position for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Moniz tries to stand but Dela Cruz is controlling from the bottom.
Dela Cruz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Moniz looking to sit in guard and control but Dela Cruz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Dela Cruz with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Dela Cruz is looking to work some ground and pound but Moniz has wrist control.
Dela Cruz wants to control from the top but Moniz keeps moving.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Dela Cruz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Dela Cruz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Moniz's waist but Moniz gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Dela Cruz off to one side.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Moniz.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ryan Moniz dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Moniz stuffs the takedown attempt from Dela Cruz. Dela Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Moniz.
Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt.

Moniz drives through and clinches with Dela Cruz against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Moniz drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Dela Cruz gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Moniz fails to pull guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Moniz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Moniz goes for a takedown in the clinch but Dela Cruz prevents it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dela Cruz prevents a takedown attempt there.
Dela Cruz tries to break the clinch but Moniz is controlling the position.
Dela Cruz fails to pull guard.
Dela Cruz tries to circle away but Moniz has him pinned against the cage.

Moniz has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Dela Cruz uses from the top position.
Moniz looking for a sweep. Not yet Moniz, not yet.
Moniz wants to stand and escape but Dela Cruz is having none of it.
Dela Cruz advances position into side control!
Dela Cruz content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Moniz is trying to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz controls the position.

Dela Cruz decides to stand back up. Dela Cruz steps back and let's Moniz get back to his feet.
Dela Cruz just misses with a punch to the body.
Moniz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Dela Cruz's waist but Dela Cruz gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Moniz off to one side.

Dela Cruz feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Moniz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Dela Cruz is fighting to break Moniz's control of his arms but Moniz is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Dela Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Moniz.
Moniz wants to get back to his feet but Dela Cruz is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Dela Cruz looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Dela Cruz passes Moniz's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Moniz is looking to control Dela Cruz's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Moniz avoid being mounted?
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Dela Cruz passes to full mount!

And that's the end of the fight!
Juan Dela Cruz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dela Cruz has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Juan Dela Cruz!