PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Dominick Aldo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dominick Cruise (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Aldo
vs
Cruise

178 cm
18
135 lbs
2 - 4 - 0

173 cm
18
140 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dominick Aldo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dominick Cruise!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Frank Dennis and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Aldo rushes Cruise and presses him up against the cage.
Cruise makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Aldo tries to pull guard but Cruise holds him up against the cage and eventually Aldo drops back down to his feet.
Cruise tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cruise makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Cruise looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Aldo is trying to stall.
Cruise lands a hook that snaps the head of Aldo backwards.
Aldo really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Aldo tries to break free but Cruise pushes him back against the cage.
Aldo blocking some punches.
Aldo is trying to maintain a safe position but Cruise gets an underhook and turns Aldo into the cage.
Cruise drops down looking for an ankle pick but Aldo pulls his leg out and moves away.

Aldo closes the distance and clinches.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Aldo tries to pull guard but Cruise holds him up against the cage and eventually Aldo drops back down to his feet.
Cruise makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Knees in the clinch landing for Aldo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Cruise.

Aldo jumps guard and drags Cruise to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Cruise stops Aldo from standing up.
Aldo looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cruise controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Dominick Cruise was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Cruise throws a series of punches but Aldo moves out of range.

Cruise closes the distance and clinches.
Aldo tries to stall but Cruise uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Cruise lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Aldo working aggressively here.
Aldo has Cruise pressed against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Aldo is trying to pull guard but Cruise has him pressed against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dominick Aldo. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Aldo slowing the pace effectively.
Cruise lands a left hand.
Cruise scores with a shoulder strike.
A nice right hand lands inside from Cruise.

Aldo manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Aldo tries to land a sweep but no joy.
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!
Cruise wants to stand but Aldo is controlling his posture from full guard.

Cruise gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Aldo moves into the clinch.
Cruise lands a right hand.
Cruise tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Aldo letting Cruise take a breather here.
Aldo is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Aldo prevents the takedown attempt.
Aldo creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Cruise's defenses.
Aldo is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Cruise to keep the fight standing.
Cruise softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Cruise lands with a left to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Aldo's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Cruise has Aldo pushed against the cage.
Cruise lands with a left to the head.

Aldo is rocked!
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Cruise softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Oh Aldo is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Cruise swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruise just leaning against Aldo, taking a breather.
Cruise throws a punch but it's blocked by Aldo.
Cruise swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Cruise misses with a hook from the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Cruise.
Cruise tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cruise is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Cruise swings wildly with an uppercut but Aldo uses good head movement to avoid it.
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!
Aldo is trying to force a seperation but Cruise has the dominant position.
Cruise throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Cruise misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nice body punch from Cruise - that landed with a thud.
Aldo's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Aldo wants to break the clinch but can't.
Aldo blocks an uppercut.
Cruise has a couple of punches blocked by Aldo.
Cruise misses with a punch on the inside.
Cruise looks gassed!
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Cruise misses with a short punch on the inside.

Cruise pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Cruise takes the fight into the clinch.
Cruise throws a punch but it's blocked by Aldo.
Aldo jumps guard but Cruise turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Cruise throws a head punch that misses.
Aldo misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Cruise.
Cruise tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Cruise has a couple of punches blocked by Aldo.
Cruise working aggressively here.
Aldo wants to stall.
Cruise has a couple of punches blocked by Aldo.
Aldo tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Cruise smiles and moves away.
Some wild striking there from Cruise.

Cruise has managed to clinch.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Aldo has had enough of the clinch but Cruise keeps him there for the moment.
Cruise avoiding damage as Aldo throws knees to the body.
Cruise on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cruise tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Aldo seems to have got his legs back now.
Aldo misses with a hook to the ribs.
Cruise lands an uppercut.
A nice right hand lands inside from Cruise.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dominick Cruise 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.

Nice sprawl there from Cruise as Aldo shoots in.

Aldo moves into the clinch successfully.
Cruise tries to circle away but Aldo has him pinned against the cage.
Aldo tries to land a knee to the head but Cruise blocks with his arms.
Aldo is looking for a takedown.
Cruise lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Aldo stalling in the clinch but Cruise improves position.
Aldo tries to pull guard but Cruise holds him up against the cage and eventually Aldo drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dominick Aldo. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Aldo is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Cruise gets through Aldo's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Aldo can't get the takedown.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Cruise pulls guard.
Aldo trying to control but Cruise is working from the bottom.
Aldo wants to stand and escape but instead Cruise has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruise is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Aldo trying to keep a closed guard but Cruise is proving a slippery customer.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Dominick Aldo just wasn't active enough.

Cruise has taken the fight to the clinch.
Aldo's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruise avoids a wild elbow strike from Aldo.
Aldo changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Cruise fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Aldo pushes Cruise up against the cage in a clinch.
A nice left hand lands by Cruise.
Cruise scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Aldo blocks an elbow strike.
Aldo is looking to control Cruise's arms but Cruise gets an underhook and turns him. Now Aldo has his back to the cage.
Cruise lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Aldo is trying to pull guard but Cruise turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Cruise lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Cruise tries to break the clinch but Aldo is controlling the position.
Aldo is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
A nice left hand lands by Cruise.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Aldo takes a shot to the head.

Cruise jumps guard and drags Aldo to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Cruise avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Aldo in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Aldo trying to control but Cruise is working from the bottom.
Aldo stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Cruise swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Aldo postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Aldo slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

Aldo thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Cruise tries to bench press Aldo off him but Aldo keeps the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Aldo tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Aldo stands up.

Cruise clinches up with Aldo and pushes him back against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Aldo throws a punch but it's blocked by Cruise.
Cruise lands with a right to the head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Aldo tries to land a knee to the head but Cruise blocks with his arms.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Cruise lands a right hand.
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 Dominick Aldo will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Cruise with a poor takedown
and Aldo counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Cruise is working Aldo over against the cage.
Cruise avoiding damage as Aldo throws knees to the body.
Cruise lands a left hand that snaps the head of Aldo backwards.
Cruise lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Aldo.
Aldo goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Cruise.
Aldo tries for a takedown. No joy.

Aldo pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Aldo has managed to clinch.
Cruise lands with a right to the head.
Aldo trying to control the position but instead, Cruise has worked for underhooks and has pushed Aldo into the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Maybe Aldo would be better served going for some more strikes rather than trying to control so much.
Cruise keeps control of Aldo as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Aldo tries to stall but Cruise uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Aldo successfully pulls guard.

Cruise gets to his feet - Aldo follows without any prompting.
Cruise lands with a big left! Aldo is wobbled badly! Cruise comes in with a flurry of punches and drops Aldo to the floor. The ref jumps in to save him from unneccessary punishment.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:25 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Punches). Dominick Cruise!