PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Luken Cromwell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rikky Balboa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 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.

Cromwell
vs
Balboa

180 cm
18
180 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
19
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

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 New York, Luken Cromwell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rikky Balboa!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Reed Andrews and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cromwell misses with a body shot.
Balboa tries to clinch up.
Balboa moves in looking to clinch but Cromwell pushes him off.
Cromwell misses with a wild combination.
Balboa avoids the head kick by Cromwell.
Cromwell fails with a takedown attempt.
Cromwell tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Balboa counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Cromwell is lucky that one didn't land flush.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balboa wants to clinch but Cromwell slips to the side

and Cromwell counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Cromwell wants to control from the top but Balboa keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Balboa throws his legs up looking for a submission but Cromwell uses it to pass to side control.
Cromwell misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Cromwell advances to full mount.
Balboa tries to hold on but Cromwell pushes him away.
Cromwell throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Balboa because Cromwell loaded up on that one.
Cromwell wants to control the pace but Balboa is squirming around nicely.

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.
Cromwell with the ground and pound from mount.
Cromwell trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Cromwell controlling from the full mount.
Cromwell trying to control but Balboa is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cromwell thowing shots but they're missing.
Cromwell thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Balboa looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Cromwell lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cromwell misses with a punch to the head.
Balboa tries to escape but Cromwell has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Cromwell is looking to control Balboa but Balboa is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Cromwell is really struggling to control Balboa but he's trying to hold on to the position.
Balboa trying to control the hands but Cromwell won't let him.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Luken Cromwell dominated that 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.

Cromwell fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Cromwell tries a head kick but it misses.
Cromwell tries for a takedown but Balboa circles away easily

and Balboa moves into the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Balboa'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.
Balboa tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Cromwell jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Balboa walks away with a smile on his face. Cromwell gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Luken Cromwell. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cromwell darts in trying to clinch

and Balboa counters with a single leg into guard. Cromwell didn't expect that.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Balboa stopping the sweep attempt from Cromwell.
Cromwell keeping full guard, as Balboa tries to pass.

Cromwell is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Balboa defends well.

Cromwell looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Cromwell keeping moving, preventing Balboa from controlling successfully.
Cromwell 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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Cromwell is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Balboa is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Cromwell keeping moving, preventing Balboa from controlling successfully.
Balboa is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Cromwell pulls Balboa in close to prevent any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Balboa trying to control the position from guard on top but Cromwell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Balboa is breathing heavily.

Cromwell has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Balboa can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Cromwell is on top in guard.
Cromwell wants to control from the top but Balboa keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Cromwell passes easily into side control. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Cromwell is trying to get an arm triangle but Balboa is defending well.

Cromwell decides to stand back up. Cromwell steps back and let's Balboa get back to his feet.
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 Luken Cromwell will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

A head kick by Cromwell misses
and Balboa counters with a nice low kick that buckles Cromwell's knee momentarily.

Balboa forces Cromwell back against the cage and clinches.
Balboa tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Balboa throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Balboa throws a knee to the head but misses.
Balboa has Cromwell pressed against the cage, preventing Cromwell from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Balboa landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.

Cromwell manages to break the clinch.
Cromwell fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Balboa.
Cromwell fails with a takedown attempt.
Balboa tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Cromwell counters with a shoot takedown. Balboa fights it but they end up in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cromwell wants to control from the top but Balboa keeps moving.
Balboa takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cromwell is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Cromwell wants to control from the top but Balboa keeps moving.
Cromwell stands and throws Balboa's legs to the side, diving into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Cromwell thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Cromwell tries to advance to mount but can't.
The referee asks Cromwell politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Cromwell prefers to stall for the moment though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cromwell wants to control but Balboa is keeping him busy.

Cromwell working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Luken Cromwell overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The referee asks Cromwell politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Cromwell prefers to stall for the moment though.
Cromwell creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Balboa sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Cromwell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Cromwell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
A lull in the action here as Cromwell stalls from top position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

And that's the end of the fight!
Luken Cromwell showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Cromwell, 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:28
Judge Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:27
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Luken Cromwell!