PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Conner Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mikko Suvanto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Conner Cruz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cruz
vs
Suvanto

190 cm
22
220 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

188 cm
24
213 lbs
12 - 7 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Conner Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mikko Suvanto!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cruz with a poor takedown
enabling Suvanto to counter with a crisp jab.
Cruz fails with the takedown
letting Suvanto counter with a right hand.
Cruz throws out a loose jab but Suvanto uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cruz shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Suvanto counters with a stiff right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conner Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A decent looking cross lands there for Suvanto.

Cruz tries to keep at a distance but Suvanto has taken the fight into the clinch.
Cruz takes a shot to the head.
Suvanto lands a hook that snaps the head of Cruz backwards.
Suvanto misses with a punch on the inside.
Cruz cracks Suvanto with a nice body shot.
Cruz goes for a takedown attempt but Suvanto pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Cruz misses with a takedown attempt
and Suvanto counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Suvanto lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz gets a clinch.
Cruz changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Suvanto fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Cruz throws a combination that misses
and Suvanto counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Cruz thinking.
Cruz gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Suvanto counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cruz is breathing heavily.
Suvanto cracks a nice hook into Cruz's ribs.

Cruz moves into range and clinches up with Suvanto.
Suvanto doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Suvanto manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Cruz tries for a takedown but Suvanto manages to get underhooks.
Suvanto stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Suvanto swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Cruz blocks an uppercut.
Cruz blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Suvanto misses with a hook from the clinch.
Suvanto can't find room to land a body shot as Cruz controls the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Suvanto wants to break the clinch but can't.
Suvanto swings wildly with an uppercut but Cruz uses good head movement to avoid it.
Cruz is stalling here.
Suvanto pushes Cruz back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Suvanto has a couple of punches blocked by Cruz.
A short right from Suvanto.
Suvanto lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
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!
Suvanto scores with a nice hook to the head.
Suvanto lands a body shot in the clinch.
Suvanto lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Cruz or not.
Suvanto softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Suvanto lands a body punch.
A short uppercut from Suvanto.
Suvanto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Suvanto lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Cruz backwards.
A body shot lands from Suvanto.
Suvanto digs a right hand underneath Cruz's ribcage. Cruz let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Suvanto lands a right hand that snaps the head of Cruz backwards.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Suvanto.
Suvanto lands a nice uppercut.
Suvanto gets through Cruz's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Come on Suvanto - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suvanto lands an uppercut.

Suvanto breaks the clinch.
Cruz takes one on the button.
Cruz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Cruz with a poor takedown
and Cruz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Suvanto throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Cruz doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Suvanto makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Suvanto.

Suvanto gets tackled into the cage by Cruz. Cruz maintains the clinch.
Suvanto misses with a punch on the inside.
Cruz tries for a takedown but Suvanto manages to get underhooks.
Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Suvanto avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Suvanto has a couple of punches blocked by Cruz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Suvanto fails to land.
Suvanto lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Cruz or not.
A head punch on the inside from Suvanto fails to land.
Cruz blocks an uppercut.
Suvanto fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cruz tries for a takedown. No joy.
Suvanto lands a left hand.
Come on Suvanto - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Suvanto misses with a punch on the inside.
Suvanto lands a right hand that snaps the head of Cruz backwards.
Cruz tries to score a body lock takedown but Suvanto shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Suvanto working aggressively here.

Suvanto breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Suvanto lands with a nice combination. Cruz backs away looking to recover.
Suvanto scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Suvanto closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Cruz is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
A hook to the body from Suvanto.
Suvanto fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Cruz drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Suvanto gets the underhooks and prevents it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikko Suvanto dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Cruz moves out of range of the body kick.
Suvanto cracks Cruz with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Cruz misses with a takedown
and Suvanto counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Conner Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Cruz misses with a double jab.
Cruz shoots and misses
and Suvanto counters with a nice uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz takes one on the button.

Cruz closes the distance and clinches.
Suvanto throws a head punch that misses.
Suvanto lands a body shot in the clinch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Suvanto.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Suvanto stops a takedown attempt from Cruz.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Conner Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Suvanto is pressed up against the cage. Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Suvanto down to the mat. Suvanto avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Suvanto lands a jab to the nose.

Cruz instigates a clinch.
Suvanto is pressed up against the cage. Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Suvanto down to the mat. Suvanto avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Suvanto jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Cruz uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Suvanto.
Suvanto swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Suvanto throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Suvanto keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Suvanto throws a right and a left that Cruz avoids nicely.
Cruz with a lazy takedown attempt
and Suvanto counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Cruz needs to keep his hands up - Suvanto had a free shot at his head there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Suvanto tries to sprawl but Cruz drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Suvanto tries to get to full guard but Cruz has control of the leg.
Cruz trying to advance position but Suvanto counters by regaining guard.
Suvanto has his hands on Cruz's head, controlling the position.
Cruz wants to control from the top but Suvanto keeps moving.
Suvanto is controlling Cruz's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suvanto keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.
Suvanto is adopting a defensive guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

We're going to have a standup here because Conner Cruz wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Suvanto lands a nice shot that snaps Cruz's head back.

That's four 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.
Suvanto connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Cruz fails with the takedown
and Suvanto counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Cruz thinking.
Cruz avoids a punch combination nicely.

Cruz pushes Suvanto up against the cage in a clinch.
Suvanto lands a body punch.
Suvanto looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Suvanto gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Cruz.
Suvanto misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Suvanto tries to stall but Cruz uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Suvanto misses with a short punch on the inside.
Suvanto lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A shot in the inside from Suvanto.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mikko Suvanto showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Suvanto jabs Cruz to the body, keeping him at a distance.

Cruz closes the distance and clinches.
Suvanto misses with a punch on the inside.
Suvanto scores with a hook to the body.
Cruz lands a body punch in the clinch.
Suvanto lands a nice uppercut.
Suvanto is pressed up against the cage. Cruz has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Suvanto down to the mat. Suvanto avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Suvanto shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Suvanto showed some decent athleticism there.
Cruz tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Suvanto has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Suvanto takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz gets back to half guard.
Suvanto is keen to just control but Cruz is a slippery customer.
Cruz trying to control from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cruz has a hand on Suvanto's thigh, trying to get back to full guard. Suvanto takes advantage of the position though and mounts him!
Suvanto has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Suvanto controlling his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz wants to control but Suvanto is having none of it.
Suvanto controlling the pace for now.
Cruz tries to hold on but Suvanto postures up.
Cruz is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Suvanto content just to control the position here.
Cruz working to try and regain half guard.
Suvanto putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Mikko Suvanto is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cruz working to try and regain half guard.
Cruz wants to hold on but Suvanto pushes him away.

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.
Cruz bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Suvanto.
Suvanto looking to control.
Cruz passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Cruz tries to advance to mount but Suvanto denies him.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mikko Suvanto comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Suvanto has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mikko Suvanto!