PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Markus Burt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nathan Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Burt
vs
Cruz

153 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 4 - 0

160 cm
25
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Markus Burt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Nathan Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Andrew Berry, Steven Brown and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cruz looking to score a takedown here. Burt is defending well but Cruz drives through and ends up in Burt's guard.
Cruz is looking to stand up but Burt won't let him.
Cruz seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Burt looking for a sweep. Not yet Burt, not yet.
Cruz wants to stand but Burt has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Cruz is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Burt wants to sweep here but Cruz controlling him for the moment.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Burt trying to keep a closed guard but Cruz is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Burt fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Burt moves into the clinch.

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

Cruz gets the takedown into side control.
Burt seems a little lost for a moment, as Cruz dominates the positioning.

Cruz is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Burt knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Cruz tries to cartwheel into mount but he doesn't manage it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Cruz tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.
Cruz has control of an arm but Burt manages to advance to Cruz's back!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cruz trying to control but not successfully.
Burt missing with strikes.
Cruz turns into Burt and is now in his guard.
Burt looking for a sweep. Not yet Burt, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burt controls Cruz momentarily but Cruz frees himself.
Cruz is pushing down on Burt's leg trying to pass to half guard. Burt is fighting to maintain full guard but Cruz has managed to sneak the leg through.
Cruz sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Cruz working the head and body with strikes.
Cruz is controlling the pace.
Burt is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Still in half guard, Cruz seems content to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Let's hope that Cruz has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Cruz is looking to stand up but he'll have to free his leg first. Instead, Burt manages to get to full guard.
Cruz's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Burt could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Cruz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Burt is keeping the position for now.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cruz is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Cruz passes Burt's left leg - he's now in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Cruz dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Cruz drives through and clinches with Burt against the cage.
Burt is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Burt is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Burt can't seem to implement his control oriented gameplan at the moment. That's no bad thing of course, for those of us who want to see a good fight.
Burt has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Cruz has picked Burt up - he's going for a ride! Cruz dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Cruz wants to stand up but Burt has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Cruz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Burt to stand up.
Cruz lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Burt tries to clinch up.
Cruz wants to counter with a clinch but Burt pushes him away.
Cruz lands a nice looking body shot.
Cruz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Burt was well out of range. Poor timing from Cruz.
Markus Burt is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Burt doesn't manage to clinch there - Cruz circles away.
Cruz throws a solid leg kick but Burt takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Cruz.
Burt thinks about countering with a head kick.
Cruz misses with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cruz scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Burt knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Cruz on the ground.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Cruz connects with a nice short shot to Burt's temple.
Cruz takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Burt wants to get back to full guard.
Cruz content to control rather than advance.
Cruz trying to pass the guard but Burt defending well.
Cruz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz is thwarting Burt's attempts to control the position.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Cruz perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Cruz shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Burt is trying to defend but Cruz finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Burt is trying to maintain the position but Cruz is very close to passing his half guard.
Cruz is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz thows a huge punch but Burt dodges it nicely.
Burt tries to roll over but Cruz keeps him under control.
Cruz seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Nathan Cruz has got the better of the ground game so far.
Burt is trying to control but Cruz manages to pass to mount!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cruz looking to control and managing it successfully.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Cruz swings around for an armbar and he's got it! Wow, that came out of nowhere! What a finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Nathan Cruz!