PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Brendan Conlon (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus De La Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying De La Cruz's choice of entrance music: http://youtu.be/lTiAdy--FOQ. Marcus De La Cruz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Conlon
vs
De La Cruz

178 cm
21
192 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

188 cm
18
188 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

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 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of New York, Brendan Conlon!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marcus De La Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Columbo Gatti and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De La Cruz doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

De La Cruz moves into the clinch.
De La Cruz is trying to push Conlon away but Conlon has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
De La Cruz is trying to break the clinch but Conlon is controlling him.

De La Cruz breaks from the clinch.
De La Cruz misses with a body shot.
Conlon throws an uppercut from half a mile away. De La Cruz sees it coming and avoids it easily.
De La Cruz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
De La Cruz misses with a combination
and Conlon counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Conlon is defended easily by De La Cruz.
Conlon lands a jab-cross combination.
Marcus De La Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conlon fails with a takedown attempt.

De La Cruz rushes Conlon and presses him up against the cage.

De La Cruz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Conlon fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brendan Conlon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De La Cruz uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Conlon.

De La Cruz takes the fight into the clinch.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch.
Conlon fails with a takedown attempt.
De La Cruz tries to clinch but Conlon moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a wild body kick that Conlon sees coming a mile off.
De La Cruz throws a head kick but Conlon moves out of range.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Conlon tries to circle away but De La Cruz has him pinned against the cage.
De La Cruz is trying to break the clinch but Conlon is controlling him.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A combination from De La Cruz does no damage.
De La Cruz scores with a hook.

De La Cruz drives through and clinches with Conlon against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De La Cruz is trying to force a seperation but Conlon has the dominant position.
Conlon keeps control of De La Cruz as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conlon tries to pull guard but De La Cruz holds him up against the cage and eventually Conlon drops back down to his feet.
De La Cruz gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Conlon.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
De La Cruz fails with an attempt to clinch.

De La Cruz moves into the clinch successfully.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Conlon looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? De La Cruz is fending him off so far but Conlon persists. Nope, De La Cruz circles away and we're back to standing.
Sloppy strikes from De La Cruz. Those never looked like landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Conlon throws out a loose jab but De La Cruz uses good head movement to avoid it.
De La Cruz doesn't manage to clinch there - Conlon circles away.

De La Cruz pushes Conlon up against the cage in a clinch.
De La Cruz tries to break the clinch but Conlon is controlling the position.
Conlon tries to pull guard but De La Cruz won't allow it.
De La Cruz tries to circle away but Conlon has him pinned against the cage.

De La Cruz breaks from the clinch.
Conlon takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
De La Cruz displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Conlon.
De La Cruz wants to clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De La Cruz slaps away a takedown attempt from Conlon, before circling back to the center of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus De La Cruz dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

De La Cruz throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Conlon on the side of the head.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Conlon.
Conlon will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
De La Cruz misses with a wild combination.

De La Cruz clinches up with Conlon and pushes him back against the cage.
De La Cruz wants to break free but Conlon has control.
Conlon wants a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brendan Conlon. That's going to take a lot out of him.

De La Cruz breaks from the clinch.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Conlon.

That's one minute gone in the round.

De La Cruz takes the fight into the clinch.
Conlon is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables De La Cruz to keep the fight standing.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch.
De La Cruz throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Conlon.

Conlon gets tackled into the cage by De La Cruz. De La Cruz maintains the clinch.

De La Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Conlon closes the distance and clinches up with De La Cruz, looking for a takedown. Conlon pushes De La Cruz against the cage but De La Cruz circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Nice sprawl there from De La Cruz as Conlon shoots in.

De La Cruz moves into the clinch.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

De La Cruz instigates a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

De La Cruz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Conlon looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? De La Cruz is fending him off so far but Conlon persists. Nope, De La Cruz circles away and we're back to standing.

Conlon tries to keep at a distance but De La Cruz has taken the fight into the clinch.

De La Cruz manages to break the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De La Cruz misses with a double jab.
De La Cruz misses with a head kick.
De La Cruz tries to bum rush Conlon with a series of wild strikes but Conlon uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Marcus De La Cruz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
De La Cruz throws a right and a left that both miss.
Conlon shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with De La Cruz but De La Cruz pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Conlon cracks De La Cruz with an open hand slap.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a series of strikes that have Conlon backpedaling.

De La Cruz closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Conlon is trying to pull guard but De La Cruz has him pressed against the cage.

Conlon successfully pulls guard.

Conlon throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
De La Cruz throwing strikes but missing.
De La Cruz throwing strikes but missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Conlon is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and De La Cruz defends well.
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!
Conlon wants to sweep here but De La Cruz controlling him for the moment.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De La Cruz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus De La Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Conlon tries for a takedown but De La Cruz sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
De La Cruz throws a body punch but Conlon moves out of range.
A head kick misses from De La Cruz.
De La Cruz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Conlon keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Conlon works over De La Cruz's head and body with a nice combination.
De La Cruz swinging wildly here.

De La Cruz moves into the clinch.
De La Cruz stops a takedown attempt from Conlon.
Conlon is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but De La Cruz is defending well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brendan Conlon. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De La Cruz can't break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conlon fails to pull the fight into his guard.
De La Cruz keeps control of Conlon as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Conlon is trying to pull guard but De La Cruz turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

De La Cruz manages to break the clinch.
De La Cruz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

De La Cruz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
A head kick misses from De La Cruz.
Marcus De La Cruz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
De La Cruz looking to land some kicks to the body here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a solid leg kick but Conlon takes the impact on his shin and smiles at De La Cruz.
A looping hook to the body misses from De La Cruz. Conlon does a little dance to reset his feet.
Conlon shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. De La Cruz defends it nicely.

De La Cruz closes the distance and clinches.
Marcus De La Cruz seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

De La Cruz manages to break the clinch.
Conlon lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A lazy left from Conlon finds it's target.
De La Cruz throws a series of punches but Conlon avoids them all with ease.
De La Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Conlon swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A right-left combo lands from De La Cruz.
De La Cruz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
De La Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Conlon paws at him with a jab and circles away.
De La Cruz takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Sloppy strikes from De La Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
Conlon connects with a body shot that sends De La Cruz's belly button to the back.
De La Cruz throws a combination that misses
and Conlon counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Conlon shoots in looking for a takedown. De La Cruz tries to sprawl out of it but Conlon keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. De La Cruz manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Conlon fails with the takedown.
Conlon looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Conlon shoots for a takedown but De La Cruz saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

De La Cruz moves into the clinch.
De La Cruz wants to break the clinch but can't.
Conlon tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. De La Cruz just stands there and leans against the cage.
This has been an exciting period of action!

De La Cruz breaks from the clinch.

De La Cruz takes the fight into the clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
De La Cruz is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Brendan Conlon has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Conlon using the Thai plumb to throw knees but De La Cruz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Marcus De La Cruz.
I've got De La 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 Dean Styles scores the fight 27:30
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 27:30
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcus De La Cruz!
Marcus De La Cruz decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.