PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shane Dela Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Melvin Manhoef (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Manhoef has chosen Killing In The Name as his entrance music. Shane Dela Cruz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Dela Cruz
vs
Manhoef

187 cm
36
199 lbs
26 - 18 - 0

173 cm
36
204 lbs
27 - 29 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Good gas tank

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 26 - 18 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Shane Dela Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 29 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Melvin Manhoef!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Daniel Blasius and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Manhoef defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz shoots for a takedown but Manhoef saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Dela Cruz shoots in and drives through. Manhoef sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shane Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Manhoef throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Dela Cruz closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Dela Cruz is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Manhoef wants to get back to his feet.
Dela Cruz seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Manhoef is trying to stand back up but Dela Cruz is controlling him

Manhoef has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Dela Cruz is on him like a limpet, forcing Manhoef back against the ropes.
Dela Cruz jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Manhoef walks away with a smile on his face. Dela Cruz gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Manhoef lands a leg kick that knocks Dela Cruz off balance momentarily.
Manhoef throws a leg kick that misses.
Dela Cruz has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Midnight MMA in the buildup to the fight.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Manhoef.
Manhoef displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Dela Cruz.
No joy there for Manhoef, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Dela Cruz throws out a leg kick but Manhoef moves out of range and Dela Cruz only half commits.
Manhoef lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Manhoef has been working on his striking defense in training and it's paying off as Dela Cruz is landing a low percentage of strikes.
Dela Cruz is breathing heavily.
Dela Cruz attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Dela Cruz cracks Manhoef with a good jab.
Melvin Manhoef is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Manhoef moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manhoef fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Manhoef slips a jab and a cross from Dela Cruz.
Manhoef is looking to slow Dela Cruz down with leg kicks.
Manhoef feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Dela Cruz's calf.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Manhoef throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Dela Cruz.
Manhoef chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Dela Cruz showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Manhoef.
Manhoef moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Manhoef.
Manhoef lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Manhoef throws a right hand that Dela Cruz ducks under and follows up with a left that Dela Cruz also avoids with ease.
Dela Cruz missing with a left hand there. Manhoef was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Manhoef connects with an inside leg kick.
Manhoef lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

It looks like Shane Dela Cruz has been cut.
Dela Cruz is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Manhoef cracks Dela Cruz with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the ropes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Manhoef connects with a solid leg kick.
Manhoef misses with the combination.
Dela Cruz fails to land the takedown.

Manhoef drops Dela Cruz with a beautiful combination! Dela Cruz stares up at his opponent, who ushers him back to his feet - Manhoef is looking for the KO!

Dela Cruz is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Manhoef moves out of range of the body kick from Dela Cruz.
Oh Dela Cruz is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Some wild striking there from Manhoef.
Manhoef throws a nasty head kick that just misses. He throws another kick to the head of his opponent and almost takes it off! Dela Cruz crumples to the floor and the fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:29 of round 1, we have a winner by way of KO (Head Kick). Melvin Manhoef!
A victorious Melvin Manhoef thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.