PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Darren Lockyer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricard Cuenca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Cuenca has chosen 2pac - Troublesome '96 as his entrance music. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Lockyer
vs
Cuenca

189 cm
29
194 lbs
12 - 3 - 0

189 cm
27
196 lbs
14 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Fury Nutrition Inc.
Backyard Fighting

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 12 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Darren Lockyer!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ricard Cuenca!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A slow jab from Lockyer misses its intended target.
A punch combination from Lockyer misses.
Lockyer throws a poor cross that misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Lockyer throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Cuenca on the side of the head.
Lockyer throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lockyer throws a right and a left that Cuenca avoids nicely.
Cuenca fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Lockyer looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Cuenca moves away from the strike by Lockyer.
Lockyer checks a leg kick.
Lockyer's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Cuenca connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Lockyer scrambles back to his feet.
Nice defenses there by Cuenca.
Cuenca connects with a looping right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lockyer throws a right hand that misses
and Cuenca cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Cuenca clinches with his opponent.
Cuenca lands a nice shot to the body.
Cuenca lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Cuenca can't find room to land a body shot as Lockyer controls the action.
Cuenca lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cuenca lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Lockyer or not.
Cuenca throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Lockyers head.
Lockyer is trying to force a seperation but Cuenca has the dominant position.
Lockyer blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Lockyer has had enough of the clinch but Cuenca keeps him there for the moment.
Cuenca is working Lockyer over against the cage.
Cuenca lands a nice knee to the body.
Lockyer is breathing heavily.
Cuenca lands with a short punch from the clinch.
I was talking to Lockyer's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Cuenca lands a right hand that snaps the head of Lockyer backwards.
A short right from Cuenca on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cuenca softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Cuenca goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Cuenca tries a body shot but Lockyer blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca throws a punch but it's blocked by Lockyer.
Cuenca lands a nice elbow.
A bit of stalling here from Cuenca.
With the fighters up against the cage, Cuenca throws an elbow but misses.
Cuenca lands a shoulder strike.
Lockyer swings wildly with an uppercut but Cuenca uses good head movement to avoid it.
Lockyer is trying to break the clinch but Cuenca has him pressed against the cage.
Cuenca misses with a shot to the kidneys.

Lockyer manages to break the clinch.
Cuenca connects with a solid leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Cuenca, right into the meat.
Lockyer throws the left hand but Cuenca avoids the punch easily.
Cuenca avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Lockyer is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Cuenca.
Cuenca looks for the body kick but Lockyer saw that one coming.
Cuenca connects with a solid leg kick.
Lockyer looks to land a combination but Cuenca avoids it well.
Some wild striking there from Lockyer.
Cuenca turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Lockyer throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Cuenca.
Cuenca connects with a leg kick. Lockyer looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Lockyer rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Cuenca moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A chopping leg kick lands by Cuenca.
Lockyer scores with a sloppy right hand. Cuenca should have avoided that one.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cuenca scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Darren Lockyer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lockyer misses with a looping left.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Left hook, right uppercut from Lockyer.
Cuenca defending well as Lockyer loads up on a big left hand.
Lockyer jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Cuenca keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Cuenca comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

Cuenca moves into range and clinches up with Lockyer.

Lockyer breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Lockyer with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Cuenca to score with a decent uppercut.
Cuenca tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Lockyer throws a combination that misses
and Cuenca counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Nice shot lands for Lockyer.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cuenca bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Lockyer tests Cuenca's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Lockyer throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Cuenca counters with a good, hard body kick but Lockyer shrugs it off.
Nice defenses there by Cuenca.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricard Cuenca dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Cuenca uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Lockyer.
Lockyer thows a body shot but no joy.

Cuenca has taken the fight to the clinch.
Cuenca swings wildly with an uppercut but Lockyer uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cuenca gets through Lockyer's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Cuenca lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Cuenca lands a right hand that snaps the head of Lockyer backwards.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Cuenca in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Lockyer lands with a light punch inside.
Cuenca lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

It looks like Darren Lockyer has been cut.
A body shot lands from Cuenca.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Cuenca.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Knees to the body from Cuenca.
A short uppercut from Cuenca.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cuenca presses Lockyer against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Cuenca lands a damaging elbow.
A nice right hand lands inside from Cuenca.
Lockyer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cuenca lands a body punch.
Cuenca effectively controlling the action here.
Ricard Cuenca seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Cuenca scores a nice knee to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cuenca lands a right hand that snaps the head of Lockyer backwards.
Cuenca throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Cuenca lands a nice uppercut.
Come on Cuenca - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Cuenca drops Lockyer onto one knee with a big uppercut from the clinch! Lockyer is propped up by the cage and works his way back to his feet!

Lockyer is rocked!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Oh Lockyer is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Lockyer is trying to force a seperation but Cuenca has the dominant position.
Lockyer seems to have got his legs back now.

Lockyer escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Cuenca has managed to clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Cuenca fails to land.
Cuenca lands a hook to the side of the head.
Cuenca scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Lockyer blocks an uppercut.

Lockyer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Cuenca blocks a jab.
A solid body kick from Cuenca.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
No joy there for Lockyer, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Cuenca slips under a jab from Lockyer.
Lockyer misses with a straight left.

Cuenca lands a big uppercut and Lockyer crumbles to the floor! The ref thinks about stopping the fight but Lockyer looks OK. Cuenca waves Lockyer back to his feet!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lockyer misses with a left hand
and Cuenca makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Lockyer throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Cuenca.
Ricard Cuenca seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cuenca feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Lockyer's calf.
Cuenca has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Cuenca dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Lockyer. That did some damage!
Cuenca throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Lockyer.
Darren Lockyer is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A chopping leg kick lands by Cuenca.
Cuenca has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Cuenca scores with a kick to the body.

Cuenca takes the fight into the clinch.
Cuenca throws an elbow but it misses.
Cuenca lands a body shot in the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cuenca lands a left hand.
Lockyer is trying to break free.
Cuenca working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Lockyer is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

Cuenca drops Lockyer onto one knee with a big uppercut from the clinch! Lockyer is propped up by the cage and works his way back to his feet!
Cuenca goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A short body shot lands from Cuenca as the two fighters clinch.
Lockyer is looking to break free of the clinch but Cuenca has double underhooks.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Good body shot from Cuenca.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cuenca lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Cuenca receives a warning from the referee for stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricard Cuenca showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Darren Lockyer's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Cuenca is throwing punches like he's double parked. Oh my word! Huge right hand from Cuenca shuts the power down on Lockyer. Lights out, game over! Cuenca is your winner.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:05 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Punches). Ricard Cuenca! Ricard Cuenca retains his middleweight title!
Ricard Cuenca very nearly forgot to thank Fury Nutrition Inc. amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.