PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ernesto Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sheng Chung Lin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cruz
vs
Chung Lin

185 cm
23
195 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

184 cm
23
198 lbs
10 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Elite Canadian Threads
The Big Kabosh

Elite Canadian Threads
Conquer

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 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Ernesto Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sheng Chung Lin!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Franklyn Lucas and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Lin.
Cruz on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Lin. Lin obviously looking to wear him down.
Cruz closes the distance but Lin moves to the side
and Lin counters with a nice kick to the body.
Cruz looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Lin scores with a nice right hand.

It looks like Ernesto Cruz has been cut.
Lin misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lin has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Cruz tries to clinch there but Lin circles away.

Cruz moves into the clinch successfully.

Cruz gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Lin regains guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lin trying to control the position here.

Cruz got a little sloppy there for a moment and Lin has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Cruz has managed to get both his arms back between Lin's legs - danger averted.
Cruz postures up in Lin's guard and throws a big left but Lin blocks it.
Lin is adopting a defensive guard.
Lin working a defensive guard here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lin wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Sheng Chung Lin hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Cruz is looking to clinch.
Cruz shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Lin as he avoids it easily.
Sheng Chung Lin is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cruz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Lin was well out of range. Poor timing from Cruz.
Cruz with a lazy takedown attempt
and Lin counters with an inside leg kick.
Cruz fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ernesto Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lin throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Cruz closes the distance but Lin moves to the side
and Lin counters with a nice body kick.
Cruz shoots in looking for a takedown but Lin manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cruz's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Cruz takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lin defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Cruz.
The fight stays on the outside here - Cruz looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Cruz wants to clinch
enabling Lin to counter with a crisp jab.

Lin gets tackled into the cage by Cruz. Cruz maintains the clinch.
Lin leaning against his opponent.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Lin creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Come on Lin - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Cruz blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Cruz's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Lin lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Lin throws a punch but it's blocked by Cruz.
Lin lands a left hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lin lands a left hand.
Cruz prevents a body shot from Lin.
Lin lands with a light punch inside.
Lin lands with a light punch inside.
Cruz is looking to take this one to the mat.
Lin misses with some punches.
Lin tries to throw a body punch but Cruz avoids it by throwing Lin back against the cage.
Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Lin avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Cruz with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Lin connects with a knee to the head.

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

Cruz shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Lin is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lin keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Cruz sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lin defending well though.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Cruz sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lin defending well though.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Lin has his hands clasped together around Cruz's back. He's all about the action.

Cruz is looking for a kimura here.
Lin moves into full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cruz trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Cruz throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Lin looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sheng Chung Lin dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Ernesto Cruz's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Cruz is defended easily by Lin.
Cruz shoots in for a takedown but Lin shows good takedown defense.
Lin lands a nice looking body shot.
Cruz tries to clinch
and Lin counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Cruz tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Lin clobbers Cruz with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Cruz tries a head kick but it misses.
Cruz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Cruz tries to clinch but fails miserably
enabling Lin to counter with a crisp jab.
Cruz moves in looking to clinch but Lin pushes him off.
Cruz shoots in looking for a takedown but Lin manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cruz's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ernesto Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lin's corner calls for a 1-2. Lin obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz tries to clinch
and Lin counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Lin misses with a wild combination.
Cruz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Lin's waist but Lin gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Cruz off to one side.

Cruz scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Cruz throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Lin is looking to control Cruz's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Lin avoid being mounted?
Cruz lands strikes from half guard.
Cruz is thwarting Lin's attempts to control the position.
Cruz tries to stand but his arm is trapped.
Cruz lands strikes from half guard.
Cruz thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Cruz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Lin is holding on to half guard well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cruz has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Cruz is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Lin manages to get to full guard.
Lin not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Lin wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Cruz sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Lin's guard.

Cruz is looking for a kimura but Lin is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Cruz to get the leverage.
Lin is doing well to control the position and prevent Cruz from advancing to side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lin wants to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cruz seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Lin does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Lin has hold of Cruz's hands but Cruz slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Lin is trying is best to control the position here.
Lin tries to roll over but Cruz keeps him under control.
Cruz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Cruz lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Lin is looking to control Cruz's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Lin avoid being mounted?
Cruz missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cruz not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lin trying to control but Cruz postures up.
Cruz drops an elbow to the side of Lin's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruz sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lin defending well though.
Cruz missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lin trying to hold on to Cruz's head to control him but Cruz postures up.
Lin keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Lin is doing well to control the position and prevent Cruz from advancing to side control.
Cruz throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Lin is trying to control but can't.
Cruz throwing shots but Lin is blocking nicely.
Ernesto Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruz missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Lin moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cruz passes into half guard.
Cruz not landing any meaningful shots this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ernesto Cruz will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Ernesto Cruz's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Lin misses with a two punch combination.
A head kick misses from Cruz.
Cruz misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Lin fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Lin stuffs the takedown.
Cruz closes the distance but Lin moves to the side
and Lin connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cruz moves in looking to clinch but Lin pushes him off.
Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lin paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Lin feints and then cracks Cruz's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Cruz down.
Lin throws a lazy right hand but Cruz sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Cruz closes the distance but Lin moves to the side
letting Lin counter with a right hand.
Lin slaps away a takedown attempt from Cruz, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ernesto Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz rushes Lin and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Cruz tries to land knees in the clinch but Lin avoids the damage to the body.

Lin pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cruz takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Cruz tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Lin manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Lin lands with a right hand.
Cruz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cruz tries to clinch up but Lin circles away and keeps his distance.
Cruz tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Lin counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Cruz wants to clinch.
Ernesto Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz tries to clinch but Lin is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz darts in looking for a takedown but Lin gets double underhooks and turns Cruz into the cage.
Cruz has Lin pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Lin manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Lin is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
A head punch on the inside from Lin fails to land.
Lin fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Lin stops a takedown attempt from Cruz.
Lin's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Lin tries a body shot but Cruz blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz blocks a body shot from Lin.
Cruz doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
The referee calls for Lin to work.
Cruz using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Lin has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Lin is pressed up against the cage. Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Lin down to the mat. Lin avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Cruz moves away from the strike by Lin.
Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
Cruz takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Lin throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Cruz sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Lin throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

Cruz shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Cruz postures up in Lin's guard and throws a big left but Lin blocks it.
Lin is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lin has control of Cruz's left arm, preventing Cruz from doing any damage.
Cruz chips away with some ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lin trying to control the position.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sheng Chung Lin was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Cruz darts in trying to clinch
and Lin counters with a body kick that stops Cruz in his tracks momentarily.
Cruz tries to clinch but Lin is having none of it.
Cruz tries to clinch up
and Lin counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lin throws a leg kick

and Cruz counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Cruz.
Lin crunches a lovely knee into Cruz's ribcage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sheng Chung Lin comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Lin 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 28:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:30
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sheng Chung Lin!
Sheng Chung Lin gave a mention to Conquer in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).