PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Danjuma Saheed (ranked 2332 p4p, 2241 weight class) and Santa Cruz (ranked 287 p4p, 281 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Saheed
vs
Cruz

181 cm
25
177
2 - 0 - 0

180 cm
25
184
4 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Determined

BANZAI COMBAT NUTRITION

Conquest Nutrition™ (160Q) $48
BANZAI COMBAT NUTRITION

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Danjuma Saheed!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Santa Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Tiny Johnson and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saheed moves away from the strike by Cruz.
Saheed definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Cruz misses with a hook. Saheed ducked under it nicely.
Cruz throws a series of punches but Saheed avoids them all with ease.
Cruz cracks Saheed with an open hand slap.
Cruz swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Saheed counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Cruz slips under a jab.
Cruz misses the shot to the body.
Cruz throws a right hand that misses
and Saheed counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cruz drops his hands momentarily and Saheed takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Saheed has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Saheed there as he acknowledges the shot.
Saheed misses with a hook. Cruz ducked under it nicely.
Cruz circles away from the clinch attempt
and Cruz counters with a series of strikes. Saheed will be more careful next time no doubt.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Saheed looks to score with a jab to the body but Cruz is just out of range.
Despite the aggression on Cruz's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saheed drops his hands momentarily and Cruz takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Saheed listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Saheed throws a lazy uppercut
letting Cruz counter with a right hand.
Cruz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Cruz fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Cruz misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Saheed uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cruz.
Saheed throwing a counter right hand but Cruz manages to avoid it.
Santa Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Cruz misses with the combination.
Cruz looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Cruz misses with a double jab.
Saheed thows a left - swing and a miss!
Cruz ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saheed moves out of range as Cruz strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Saheed connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

It looks like Santa Cruz has been cut.
Cruz swings away with a body shot that misses
and Saheed connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Cruz throws a combination that misses
and Saheed counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
The crowd cheers as Cruz lands an impressive looking overhand right. Saheed doesn't seem phased though.
A big right from Cruz misses.
Saheed swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
A slow jab from Cruz misses its intended target.
Nice defenses there by Saheed.
Saheed moves in looking to clinch but Cruz pushes him off.
Saheed tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cruz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cruz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Saheed missing with a left hand there. Cruz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Saheed misses with a jab to the body
and Cruz counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Cruz waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Saheed.
Saheed uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cruz.
Saheed uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Cruz.
Saheed moves away from the strike by Cruz.
Saheed avoids the body shot from Cruz.
Saheed missing with a left hand there. Cruz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Cruz loads up on a big right hand but Saheed slips the punch.
Cruz misses with the combination.
Cruz takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Saheed tries to clinch
and Cruz counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Donk. Cruz catches Saheed right on the button with a cross.
A shot to the body from Cruz misses
letting Saheed counter with a right hand.
Cruz swats away the attempt to clinch by Saheed.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cruz looks to land a combination. Saheed sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Saheed is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Nice uppercut lands for Cruz. That snapped Saheed's head back.
Saheed uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Cruz lands with a straight right. Saheed didn't see that one coming.
Cruz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Saheed was well out of range. Poor timing from Cruz.
Saheed misses with a wild body shot.
Cruz on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Cruz misses with a double jab
and Saheed counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Santa Cruz dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Santa Cruz's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Saheed throws a series of punches but Cruz moves out of range.
Cruz looks like he wants to counter punch here.
A telegraphed right hand from Cruz misses the target.
Cruz stuns Saheed with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Cruz scores with a decent looking hook.
Saheed showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Cruz.
This entire fight has taken place on the feet so far and you wonder whether Saheed might be better served trying to take this one to the ground because he's losing the standup battle so far.
A shot to the body from Cruz misses
and Saheed counters with a stiff right hand.
Saheed throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Cruz sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Cruz missing with a left hand there. Saheed was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Saheed was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz lands with a right hand.
Cruz misses with a body shot.
Cruz misses with a body shot.
Saheed throwing a counter right hand but Cruz manages to avoid it.
Saheed looks to throw the jab but Cruz is out of range.
Saheed throws a lazy right hand but Cruz sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz throws a jab but it's blocked by Saheed.
Cruz misses with a double jab
and Saheed cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Saheed tries to close the distance and clinch but Cruz swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Cruz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Santa Cruz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Cruz lands with an uppercut that bounces Saheed off the cage and back into range.
Cruz scores with a jab to the body.
Saheed works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Cruz fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Saheed on the side of the head.
Saheed misses with a jab, cross combination.
Cruz swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Santa Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Saheed moves out of range of the strikes.
Saheed slips a jab and a cross from Cruz.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saheed tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
A little jabbing left from Cruz on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Cruz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Saheed ducks under a wild hook from Cruz.
A little feinted left hand from Saheed on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Saheed lands a nice shot to the body.
Cruz misses with a hook to the body
and Saheed counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Saheed ducks under a wild hook from Cruz.
Saheed thows a left - swing and a miss!
Saheed looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Sloppy strikes from Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
Cruz avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Cruz scores with a jab. Saheed acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Saheed is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Cruz scores with a nice right hand.
Saheed dodges the punch combination from Cruz.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saheed throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Cruz appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Saheed moves away.
An attempted straight right counter from Saheed misses the target.
Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Saheed moves away.
Cruz swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Saheed counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Saheed misses with a hook
and Cruz counters with a two punch combo.
Cruz loads up on a big right hand but Saheed slips the punch.
Cruz misses with a right hand
letting Saheed counter with a right hand.
Saheed dips to his left and cracks Cruz with an uppercut!

Cruz is rocked!
Cruz swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Cruz is still on wobbly legs! Can Saheed finish him?
Saheed lands with a hook. Cruz tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Cruz bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Saheed throws an overhand right that drops Cruz like a sack of potatoes! Saheed dives in to finish the fight with more strikes and this one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Danjuma Saheed!
Danjuma Saheed really struggled to get his t-shirt on before his hand was raised. Making sure that BANZAI COMBAT NUTRITION logo gets some air time is pretty tricky when you're all sweaty.