PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between John James (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samir Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

James
vs
Cruz

177 cm
22
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

173 cm
23
145 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, John James!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Samir Cruz!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, James Ackerman and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
James showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Cruz.
James shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cruz as he jumps to the side.
Cruz throws a right and a left that both miss.
James really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
James pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
James throws a lazy right hand but Cruz sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Cruz bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps James's head backwards.
Cruz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Cruz misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Cruz keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from James.
Sloppy strikes from Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
Cruz moves out of range of the strikes.
Cruz slips under a jab from James.
Cruz throws a right hand that James ducks under and follows up with a left that James also avoids with ease.
Cruz displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from James.
Cruz misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Cruz cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
James misses with a lunging right hand
and Cruz counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A telegraphed right hand from James misses the target.
James swings for the body but Cruz moves out of range.
James is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Cruz.
Nice uppercut lands for James. That snapped Cruz's head back.
James ducks under a wild hook from Cruz.
Cruz clobbers James with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

It looks like John James has been cut.
Cruz takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
James shoots in for a double leg but Cruz sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Cruz lands a nice shot that snaps James's head back.
Cruz fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James throws out a loose jab but Cruz uses good head movement to avoid it.
James misses with a looping left.
Cruz tries to bum rush James with a series of wild strikes but James uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
James looks for a takedown but Cruz sprawls well.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
James throws a jab when Cruz was well out of range.
James has a takedown stuffed.
James is breathing heavily.
A shot to the liver by Cruz. Beautiful body shot.
Cruz jabs James to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Cruz fails to land with a series of punches.
Cruz lands a nice shot to the body.
James misses the shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz scores with a shot to the body.
Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
Cruz stalks James and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into James's face. James staggers backwards, shaken.
Cruz tries to bum rush James with a series of wild strikes but James uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Cruz fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
James on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Cruz stuns James with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Left hook, right uppercut from Cruz.
Cruz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Cruz scores with a jab to the body.
Cruz throws a right hand that James ducks under and follows up with a left that James also avoids with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James misses with an uppercut. Cruz saw that one coming.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
James misses with an uppercut
and James takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by James.
Cruz fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Cruz uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
James swings for the body but Cruz moves out of range.
Donk. Cruz catches James right on the button with a cross.
No joy there for Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Nice cross by Cruz.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cruz lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
A looping hook to the body misses from James. Cruz does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cruz lands a body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samir Cruz dominated that round.
The cut man is working on John James's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Cruz jabs James to the body, keeping him at a distance.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for James. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Cruz takes one on the chin but seems OK.
James ducks under a wild hook from Cruz.
James has his takedown stuffed
and Cruz counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps James thinking.
Samir Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Cruz works the jab nicely.
James throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cruz misses with the combination.
James throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Cruz counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Cruz scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Cruz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
James looks to land a left hand but Cruz moved out of range nicely.
James dodges the punch combination from Cruz.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Cruz lands with an uppercut that bounces James off the cage and back into range.
James misses with a shot to the body
and Cruz counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Samir Cruz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cruz throws a right hand that James ducks under and follows up with a left that James also avoids with ease.
Cruz thows a body shot but no joy.
Cruz walks into a straight right hand from James.
James takes a swing at Cruz's ribcage but misses.
A jab from James misses.
Cruz throws a combination but it was largely blocked by James.
James shoots in for a takedown but Cruz shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Good shot there by Cruz.
James throws out a loose jab but Cruz uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz misses with a series of wild punches.
No joy there for Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
James throws an off balance right hand
and Cruz counters with a left to the body.
John James seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Some wild striking there from Cruz.
James swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Cruz counters with a series of strikes. James will be more careful next time no doubt.
A lazy left from Cruz finds it's target.
Cruz waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract James.

James 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.
This has been an exciting period of action!
James postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Cruz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
James postures up in Cruz's guard and throws a big left but Cruz blocks it.

Cruz is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Cruz working some nice short punches in the clinch.

Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
No joy there for Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Cruz defending well as James loads up on a big left hand.
Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
James misses with an uppercut
and Cruz counters with a three punch combo that has James backing up. James nods at Cruz to acknowledge the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
James misses with a left hand
and Cruz counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Cruz missing with a left hand there. James was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
James just misses with a punch to the body.
A punch lands to the side of James 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Cruz throws a shot to the body.
Cruz scores with a jab to the head.
Cruz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Samir Cruz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cruz slips a jab from James.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cruz lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
James throws a lazy uppercut
and Cruz cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Cruz ducks under a wild hook from James.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samir Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on John James's cut.
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. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Cruz swinging wildly here.
Cruz defending well as James loads up on a big left hand.
James misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
James fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Cruz manages to avoid it.
Cruz throws a right and a left that James avoids nicely.
James ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cruz moves away.
James throws a right hand that misses
and James takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
James with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Cruz to score with a decent uppercut.
James misses with a body shot.
James dodges the punch combination from Cruz.
James misses with a straight right.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
James ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cruz moves away.
No luck with that takedown attempt from James.
A big right from James misses.
James bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Cruz's head.
Cruz connects with a body shot.
James fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for John James. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cruz lands with a nice combination. James backs away looking to recover.
James doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Cruz throws a series of punches but James moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
James shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Cruz sprawls well. Cruz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. James gets slowly back to his feet.
Nice body punch from Cruz.
James misses with a body shot.
Cruz scores with a nice head shot.
Cruz fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. James looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
James takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
James misses with a hook
and Cruz counters with a nice body shot.
James shoots and misses
and Cruz counters with a one-two to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
James connects with a crisp jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
James misses with an uppercut
and Cruz counters with a two punch combo.
Cruz throws a shot to the body.
James throws an overhand right that lands on Cruz's shoulder, as Cruz tries to avoid the shot.
Some wild striking there from Cruz.
A slow jab from James misses its intended target.
James has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Cruz throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
James shoots in but no luck this time.
Decent striking displayed by Cruz there.
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by James.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
James takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Cruz thows a body shot but no joy.
James dodges the punch combination from Cruz.
Cruz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Cruz throws a combination. James tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
John James has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cruz as he jumps to the side.
No luck for James with that takedown attempt.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Donk. Cruz catches James right on the button with a cross.
Samir Cruz is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
James misses with a jab to the body
and Cruz counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Samir Cruz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Cruz winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 James Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge James Ackerman scores the fight 27:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 27:30

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