PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Chris Chandler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kyle Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chris Chandler had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Chandler
vs
Cruz

171 cm
21
153 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

168 cm
19
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Granite 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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Chris Chandler!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Kyle Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Matti Vanhoillinen, Johanna Lukiainen and Roosa Järviläinen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Chandler wants to clinch up but Cruz keeps it at a distance.

Cruz rushes Chandler and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Chandler's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Chandler tries to clinch up.
Chandler shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cruz as he jumps to the side.
Chandler throws a head kick that Cruz semi-blocks.
A nice combination there by Chandler.
Cruz tries to clinch but Chandler moves out of range.
A right-left combo lands from Chandler.
Cruz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Chandler lands a slapping body shot.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Chandler throws a one two combo.
Cruz throws a wild body kick that Chandler sees coming a mile off.

Chandler moves into the clinch.
Chandler has had enough of the clinch but Cruz keeps him there for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Chandler pulls guard successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Chandler looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Chandler escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Cruz gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Cruz connects with a couple of short punches.
Chandler trying to control the position.
Cruz's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Chandler has his foot on Cruz's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Cruz works his way back into a safe position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz stands up over Chandler, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Cruz's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Cruz is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Chandler is trying to keep Cruz in close.

Chandler escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Cruz gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Cruz decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Cruz throws a big shot that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cruz scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Chandler wants to stand back up but Cruz manages to pass into side control.
Cruz just content to control the position.
Cruz scoring with punches and elbows.
Chandler sneaks back into half guard.
Chandler wants to improve his position but Cruz is controlling well.
Chandler slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Cruz sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Chandler is looking for a triangle but Cruz pushes his legs off easily.

Cruz drops back looking for a leg! Chandler is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Chandler manages to kick Cruz off! Cruz jumps back into Chandler's guard.
Cruz postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Chandler dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Cruz misses with a series of wild punches.
Chandler throws a nice inside leg kick.
Chandler stalks Cruz and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Cruz's face. Cruz staggers backwards, shaken.
Nice sprawl there from Cruz as Chandler shoots in.
Cruz steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Chandler.

Cruz has closed the distance and engaged Chandler in a clinch.

Cruz breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Cruz closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Chandler's guard.
Cruz sitting in guard here, content to control.
Cruz must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Chandler escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Cruz gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Cruz controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Chandler throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Chandler is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Cruz is positioning himself well to prevent Chandler advancing to mount.
Cruz is looking for a sweep. Chandler is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Cruz manages to get to full guard.
Cruz pulls Chandler in to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cruz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Cruz wants to sweep here but Chandler controlling him for the moment.

Cruz is looking for a triangle but Chandler pushes his legs off easily.
Chandler sitting in guard here, content to control.
Cruz wants to sweep here but Chandler controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Chandler is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Chandler is fighting to break Cruz's control of his arms but Cruz is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Cruz wants to sweep here but Chandler controlling him for the moment.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Cruz looks to score with a jab to the body but Chandler is just out of range.
Sloppy strikes from Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
Chandler wants to clinch.
Chandler comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz throws a series of punches but Chandler avoids them all with ease.
Chandler cracks Cruz with an open hand slap.
Chandler closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Cruz fails in his attempt to clinch.
Chandler throws a big counter combination but Cruz scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Chandler scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Chandler wants to clinch up but Cruz keeps it at a distance.

Cruz shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Cruz was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Chandler can't do much from the bottom here.
Chandler is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Cruz off and has taken his back!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Chandler dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Chandler lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Cruz at a distance.
Chris Chandler is winning the standup battle so far.
Chandler throws a nice head kick!
Chandler throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Chandler lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Cruz fails with an attempt to clinch.
Cruz throws a leg kick that is checked
letting Chandler counter with a right hand.
Cruz pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Chris Chandler seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Cruz moves into the clinch.

Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Horrible takedown attempt by Chandler or perhaps it was just good defense by Cruz, which made it look bad.
Cruz is looking for the big counter here.
Chandler shoots in for a takedown but Cruz shows good takedown defense.
Chris Chandler is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Cruz closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Chandler to the mat! Chandler manages to get full guard.
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.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chandler is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Chandler escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Cruz gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Cruz stands and steps away. Chandler gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Cruz misses with a head kick.
Cruz leaves Chandler with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Chris Chandler. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
A shot to the body from Cruz misses
and Chandler counters with a two punch combo.
Cruz tries to clinch but Chandler is having none of it.
Chandler looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Cruz is fending him off so far but Chandler persists. Nope, Cruz circles away and we're back to standing.

Cruz drives through with a takedown into Chandler's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Cruz looking to pass the guard.
Cruz is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Cruz cracks Chandler with a solid left hand.

Cruz decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cruz closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Chandler's guard.
Cruz stays in close to Chandler's body and controls the position.

Cruz stands up and waves to Chandler to follow him.
Chandler shoots in but Cruz avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Chandler swats him away and circles back towards the center.
A left and a right from Chandler both land. Nice combination.
Chandler lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.

Cruz shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Chandler is trying to defend but Cruz finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cruz is working for a submission of some sort.
Cruz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Kyle Cruz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chris Chandler is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Chandler is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Cruz's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Cruz's back!

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Chris Chandler.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Chandler, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 30:27
Judge Roosa Järviläinen scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chris Chandler!
Chris Chandler was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.