PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Zed Zeddy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chad Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Zeddy
vs
Cruz

183 cm
25
194 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

181 cm
26
185 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Zed Zeddy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Chad Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Lou da Vinci and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Cruz shoots for a takedown but Zeddy saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Zeddy scores with a takedown into Cruz's guard.

Cruz wriggles free and stands up.
Cruz stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Cruz wants it to stay on the feet.
Cruz tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Zeddy swivels and escapes.

Cruz decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Cruz prevents Zeddy from improving his position.

Cruz is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Zeddy sees it coming and defends easily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Zeddy blocking the ground and pound attempt from Cruz.
Cruz takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Zeddy avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Cruz.
Cruz is looking for the mount but instead finds himself back in full guard.
Cruz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Zeddy keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Zeddy wants to stand up but Cruz is controlling him.
Cruz controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cruz working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cruz slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Cruz postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Cruz is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Cruz slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Cruz wants to control but Zeddy is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz in side control lands a decent elbow.
Cruz lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Zeddy down.
Zeddy knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Cruz on the ground.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cruz controlling from side mount.
Cruz in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Cruz lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Zeddy down.
Cruz controlling the position.
Zeddy is not content to let Cruz control the position.
Cruz misses with the ground and pound.
Zeddy tries to buck Cruz off but Cruz is having none of it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Zeddy is working hard here to advance position.
Cruz wants to lay and pray for a moment but Zeddy keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Zeddy's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Cruz in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.

Cruz is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Zeddy is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Zeddy gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Cruz is landing with some decent strikes but Zeddy is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Cruz has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Zeddy's face.
Cruz has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Zeddy's face.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Cruz with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz controlling the position easily from mount.
Cruz lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Cruz controlling the pace for now.
Cruz lands a big elbow.
Cruz working Zeddy over with strikes here.
Cruz with a couple of short strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cruz lands a nice shot to the head.
Cruz looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Cruz wants to control the pace but Zeddy is squirming around nicely.
Cruz has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Cruz pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A jab lands there for Zeddy.
Zeddy scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Cruz doesn't seem bothered though.
Chad Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Zeddy looks for a takedown but Cruz sprawls well.
Zeddy misses the shot to the body.

Cruz gets a takedown into half guard.
Cruz keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Zeddy is staying active underneath Cruz, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Cruz slips a nice elbow through Zeddy's hands, connecting with Zeddy's forehead.

Cruz is trying to work for a kimura but Zeddy is defending well.
Cruz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Cruz is trying to control. Zeddy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Cruz working Zeddy over with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Cruz connects with a nice short shot to Zeddy's temple.
Cruz is looking to take a break and control but Zeddy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Cruz sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Zeddy defending well though.
Cruz is looking to take a break and control but Zeddy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cruz controlling the action here.
Zeddy tries to kick Cruz off but Cruz keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Chad Cruz.
Cruz misses with a takedown

and Zeddy counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Cruz pushes Zeddy off and scrambles back to his feet.
Cruz shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Zeddy pinned against the cage. Zeddy gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Cruz shoots in and bounces Zeddy off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz trying to control but Zeddy is working from the bottom.
Zeddy on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Zeddy tries to get out of the position.
Cruz passes Zeddy's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Zeddy taking some punishment here, with Cruz in his half guard.
Cruz with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Zeddy is looking to improve his position.
Zeddy is trying to control but Cruz passes into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz is working Zeddy over with some ground and pound from side control.
Zeddy seems a little lost for a moment, as Cruz dominates the positioning.
Cruz tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Cruz is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Cruz is looking to take a break and control but Zeddy is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Cruz looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Zeddy is avoiding damage well.
Cruz passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Zeddy!
Cruz tries to control but Zeddy wriggling away.
Cruz working Zeddy over with strikes here.
Cruz dominating with strikes here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Zeddy really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Cruz looking to control but Zeddy is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Cruz controlling from the full mount.
Cruz working the ground and pound effectively.
Cruz controlling from mount.
Cruz lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Cruz landing strikes from the mount.
Cruz pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chad Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Cruz shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Cruz was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Cruz lands a nice forearm strike.
Cruz just content to control the position.
Cruz works to advance to full mount. Zeddy defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Cruz landing punches.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Cruz cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Cruz content just to control the position here.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Zeddy in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Cruz controlling his opponent.
Zeddy is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz landing strikes from the mount and Zeddy is in trouble!
Zeddy is wriggling around trying to escape.

Cruz is going oldschool here, as he tries to force Zeddy to tap using a forearm choke. This isn't 1993 though, so Zeddy shrugs it off.
Cruz looking to control but Zeddy is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Zeddy is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Zeddy is squirming around, avoiding Cruz's attempts to control the action.
Cruz punishing his opponent with strikes.
Cruz unloading with bombs!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Cruz lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Zeddy hang on?
The referee warns Zeddy that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Zeddy is looking to get to half guard.

Cruz looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Cruz controlling from mount.
Cruz trying to control but Zeddy is having none of it.
Zeddy is in a horrible position here. Cruz smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Zeddy is desperately trying to improve his position but Cruz has a good base and remains in mount.
Cruz content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz landing strikes, looking to finish!
Cruz postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Zeddy looks a forlorn figure.
Cruz dominating with strikes here.
Cruz takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Cruz looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Zed Zeddy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cruz controlling from the full mount.
Cruz landing strikes from the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Zeddy in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Cruz tries to control but Zeddy wriggling away.
Cruz punishing his opponent with strikes.
Cruz connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Cruz landing shots from mount.
Zeddy tries to hold on but Cruz pushes him away.
Cruz landing strikes, looking to finish!
Zeddy tries to hold on but Cruz postures up.
Cruz connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
BOOM! Cruz connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Cruz with shots to the head and body - Zeddy looks very uncomfortable down there.

Zeddy is rocked!
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Cruz cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Oh Zeddy is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Cruz breaks from Zeddy's wrist control and lands an elbow.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chad Cruz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Cruz winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 26:30
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 26:30
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 26:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chad Cruz!