PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between PO Burn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Augusto Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burn comes to the cage accompanied by Animal i have become. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Burn
vs
Cruz

164 cm
22
143 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

175 cm
22
145 lbs
3 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

[WOT] DTK Designs (Laundry)

CEC Nutrition Q160

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 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, PO Burn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Augusto Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Viktor Lagutenko and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Burn tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Cruz was well out of range. Poor timing from Burn.
A leg kick checked by Burn.
Burn fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Burn throws a hook to the side of Cruz's head but Cruz sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cruz lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Burn tries to clinch but Cruz moves out of range.
Cruz cracks a nice hook into Burn's ribs.
Burn shoots in but Cruz avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Burn tries to clinch there but Cruz circles away.
Burn throws a lazy right hand but Cruz sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
No luck for Burn with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for PO Burn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Burn changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Burn connects with a single shot there.
Cruz throws a low kick but Burn avoids it.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Burn dives in and grabs Cruz's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cruz pushes down on Burn's head and hops out.
Cruz tries to clinch up.

Cruz tries to sprawl but Burn drives through with a takedown into half guard.
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!
Burn working the head and body with strikes.
Cruz is looking for a sweep. Burn is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Burn is working for a submission of some sort.

Cruz is defending against the submission attempts here by Burn.
Burn missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Burn 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.
Burn trying to control from half guard but Cruz is working away.
The fighters are battling for position here. Cruz manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Burn is pushing down on Cruz's leg trying to pass to half guard. Cruz is fighting to maintain full guard but Burn has managed to sneak the leg through.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Burn is looking for a kimura here.

Burn is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Burn stalling away here and it's allowed Cruz to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Burn engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Cruz has momentary wrist control but Burn slips an elbow through the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Cruz keeping moving, preventing Burn from controlling successfully.
Burn looking to pass the guard.
Burn scoring with punches to the head and body.
Burn trying to control the position from guard on top but Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cruz seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Burn advances to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burn throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Burn is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Cruz is trying to stand.

Burn is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Burn stops Cruz from getting back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Burn is trying to work for a kimura but Cruz is defending well.
Cruz is refusing to be controlled, as Burn sits in half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

PO Burn 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.

Burn tries for a takedown but Cruz sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Burn scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Burn shoots in but Cruz avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Burn scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Cruz doesn't seem bothered though.

Cruz has Burn up against the cage in a clinch.
Cruz throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Burn lands a left hand.
Cruz lands a knee to the head.

It looks like PO Burn has been cut.

Burn jumps guard and drags Cruz to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Cruz is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Burn keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.
Burn is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Augusto Cruz.
Burn looks to land a combination but Cruz avoids it well.
Augusto Cruz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Burn moves into the clinch.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cruz just misses with a elbow thrown towards Burn's brow.
Cruz comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Burn avoiding damage as Cruz throws knees to the body.
Burn avoiding damage as Cruz throws knees to the body.
Cruz crunches a lovely knee into Burn's ribcage.
Cruz is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for PO Burn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Burn blocks an elbow strike.
A right hook to the body lands for Burn.

Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cruz moves out of range of the strikes.
Cruz lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Cruz tries to land a front kick but Burn steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Augusto Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Burn.
Cruz throws a leg kick but Burn checks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Burn swats away the attempt to clinch by Cruz.
Cruz misses with a head kick.
Burn misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Burn tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Cruz counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Burn is lucky that one didn't land flush.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruz tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Burn is able to avoid easily.
Burn looks to land a right hand but Cruz moved out of range.
Cruz displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Burn throws out the jab.
Burn on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Burn throws a combination that misses
and Cruz finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Cruz throws a hook to the side of Burn's head but Burn sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nice shot lands for Cruz.
Burn throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Cruz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cruz goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

Burn has closed the distance and engaged Cruz in a clinch.

Cruz breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Burn shoots in and bounces Cruz off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Cruz looking to control.

Cruz has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Burn off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Cruz throws a head kick but Burn moves out of range.
Burn moves in looking to clinch but Cruz pushes him off.
Cruz misses with a low kick.
Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Burn swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Burn throws a hook to the side of Cruz's head but Cruz sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cruz misses with a head kick.
A combination from Burn does no damage.
Burn has his takedown stuffed
and Cruz counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz slips a jab from Burn.

Burn has closed the distance and engaged Cruz in a clinch.
A short uppercut from Burn.
Cruz tries to land knees in the clinch but Burn avoids the damage to the body.
Cruz lands a hook that snaps the head of Burn backwards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Burn jumps into guard, dragging Cruz to the mat.
Cruz trying to control the position from guard on top but Burn is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Burn looking to control.
Cruz wants to control from the top but Burn keeps moving.
Burn looking to control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Cruz controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Augusto Cruz.
Burn moves in looking to clinch but Cruz pushes him off.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Augusto Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on PO Burn's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Cruz lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Burn looks for a takedown but Cruz sprawls well.
Cruz lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Cruz pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Cruz cracks the inside of Burn's front leg.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Burn is defended easily by Cruz.
Cruz throws a nice inside leg kick.
Burn shoots in looking for a takedown. Cruz tries to sprawl out of it but Burn keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Cruz manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for PO Burn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cruz fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Burn.

Cruz has Burn up against the cage in a clinch.
Cruz throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Burn blocks it with crossed arms.
Cruz tries a knee to the head but he's missed.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burn looking for a takedown.
Cruz pushes off an throws an elbow but Burn leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Burn lands a body shot.
Cruz is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Burn is defending well for now.
Burn avoids a wild elbow strike from Cruz.
Burn tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Cruz just stands there and leans against the cage.
Cruz comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.

Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
PO Burn seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Burn. That did some damage!
Burn blocks a head kick by Cruz.
Cruz lands a nice leg kick that just misses Burn's sensitive parts.
Cruz slaps away a takedown attempt from Burn, before circling back to the center of the mat.

Cruz closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
A short uppercut from Cruz.
Burn tries to pull guard but Cruz won't allow it.
Cruz is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Cruz connects with a knee to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz lands an elbow inside that Burn shrugs off.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz missing with knees to the body.

Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cruz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Burn.
Burn scores with a body shot.
Cruz tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Burn tries to close the distance and clinch up but Cruz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Burn looks to score with a jab to the body but Cruz is just out of range.
Burn takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.

Burn closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Cruz quickly recovers to half guard.
Burn is looking to advance position but Cruz won't allow it.
Cruz is trying to stand back up but Burn is controlling him
PO Burn overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Burn thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cruz's head.
Burn missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burn moves into full mount! Cruz won't be happy about that!
Cruz regains half guard.

Burn is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Cruz is looking to escape.
Burn with the ground and pound but Cruz uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Cruz wants to stand and escape but Burn is having none of it.
Cruz trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burn passes Cruz's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Burn thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Cruz's head.
Burn not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Burn looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Cruz pushes Burn off but Burn dives into side control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Augusto Cruz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Cruz has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 28:29
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Augusto Cruz!
After winning the bout, Augusto Cruz thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.