PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Harrison Bell (ranked 4673 p4p, 4790 weight class) and Carter Cruz (ranked 261 p4p, 266 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Bell
vs
Cruz

150 cm
25
130
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
18
145
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Harrison Bell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Carter Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Topper Green and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bell looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Bell sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cruz looking to control.
Bell controlling from the top position.
Bell seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Cruz for as long as he can get away with.
Cruz is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz keeping full guard, as Bell tries to pass.

Bell 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.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Bell lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Bell's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

Cruz has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bell can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Bell wants to stand but Cruz is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Bell not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Bell passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Bell wants to stand but Cruz is controlling his arm.
Bell controls the position from side control.
Bell gets to mount! Cruz was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

Bell is working for a guillotine from mount but Cruz frees his head quite easily.
Bell looking to control and managing it successfully.
Cruz reaches up to try and control the position but Bell seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Cruz rolls and tries to escape and now Bell has his back!
Bell scores with punches from the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bell is throwing punches to the body, looking to soften Cruz up.
Cruz is taking damage to the body and head.

Bell patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Bell is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Bell is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Cruz has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Bell keeps control of the position easily here as Cruz tries to buck him off.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Harrison Bell dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Bell closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Cruz throws Bell to one side and escapes!
Harrison Bell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Bell throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Cruz was covering up waiting for the punch and Bell finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Bell slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Harrison Bell overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bell wants to get up but he can't break Cruz's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Bell is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Cruz can do to turn this around?
Bell controls from within his opponent's guard.
Cruz looking to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Bell controls the pace.
Cruz looking for a sweep. Not yet Cruz, not yet.
Bell sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cruz's guard.
Bell passes to side control.
Cruz taking punishment in the form of punches.

Bell tries for a kimura but Cruz is defending well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz taking punishment in the form of punches.
Bell wants to stand but Cruz is controlling his arm.
Bell slows the pace down.
Bell lands an elbow.
Cruz tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz looks to move to half guard but instead Bell has passed into mount! Damn!
Bell scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Cruz?
Bell lands a big shot there that rocks Cruz but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Cruz is trying to escape the mount.

Cruz defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Bell.
Bell controlling from mount.
Bell is looking to stand but Cruz has his arms wrapped tightly around him, looking to prevent the damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bell controlling from mount.
Bell avoids the attempt from Cruz to control.
Bell controlling the position easily from mount.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Harrison Bell dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Bell shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Bell slows the pace down in half guard.
Bell is pressing down on Cruz's thigh, looking to free his foot. Cruz is holding on for now.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bell is taking a breather. Cruz says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Cruz is trying to control but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Bell looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Cruz is trying to maintain the position but Bell is very close to passing his half guard.
Bell is taking a breather. Cruz says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Cruz is looking to get back to is feet but Bell passes into side control.

That's two 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.
Bell advances to full mount.
Bell is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Cruz can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Cruz throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Cruz tries to lock up and control but Bell gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.

Cruz defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Bell.
Cruz takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Bell punishing his opponent with strikes.
Bell is trying to stand up but he's being controlled by his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bell tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Cruz is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Bell with good strikes from the mount here!
Bell controlling from mount.

Cruz tries to buck Bell off so he can stand up but Bell has got his back now - this could be big trouble! He's slapped on a rear naked choke that looks really tight! Cruz falls backwards, slamming Bell to the mat but Bell holds on tight! Cruz is forced to tap and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Harrison Bell!