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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jose De La Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alexey Tikhonov (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.
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| 165 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0 |
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172 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0 |
BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined |
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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
0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Jose De La Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Alexey Tikhonov!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fray, Josh West and Micheangelo Fripello.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De La Cruz closes the distance but Tikhonov moves to the side
and Tikhonov counters with a nice uppercut.
Tikhonov uses good head movement to avoid the hook from De La Cruz.
Jose De La Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De La Cruz shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Tikhonov tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. De La Cruz manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz tries to clinch there but Tikhonov circles away.
De La Cruz tries for a takedown but Tikhonov sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Tikhonov misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De La Cruz.
De La Cruz gets tackled into the cage by Tikhonov. Tikhonov maintains the clinch.
De La Cruz is defending well against a takedown attempt.
De La Cruz is working for takedown but Tikhonov is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jose De La Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De La Cruz is trying to break free.
De La Cruz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Tikhonov just stands there and leans against the cage.
De La Cruz has Tikhonov pressed against the cage, preventing Tikhonov from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
De La Cruz is pressed up against the cage. Tikhonov has hold of a leg and is looking to drag De La Cruz down to the mat. De La Cruz avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Tikhonov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Tikhonov wants it to stay on the feet.
That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz dives in and grabs Tikhonov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tikhonov pushes down on De La Cruz's head and hops out.
De La Cruz slaps away a takedown attempt from Tikhonov, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Tikhonov swats away the attempt to clinch by De La Cruz.
De La Cruz fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Tikhonov, pushing him back against the cage.
De La Cruz pushes off an throws an elbow but Tikhonov leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
De La Cruz breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
De La Cruz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Tikhonov.
De La Cruz tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Tikhonov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Tikhonov.
Tikhonov looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Tikhonov throws a head kick that misses.
Tikhonov misses with a head kick.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tikhonov with a poor takedown
and Tikhonov takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
De La Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Tikhonov swats him away and circles back towards the center.
De La Cruz moves into the clinch.
De La Cruz gets control of Tikhonov's arms and successfully pulls guard. De La Cruz will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
De La Cruz can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Tikhonov controls the pace.
De La Cruz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
De La Cruz working for a triangle but Tikhonov defends it easily.
De La Cruz is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De La Cruz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tikhonov trying to control but De La Cruz is working from the bottom.
De La Cruz wants to stand and escape but Tikhonov is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tikhonov stands and steps away. De La Cruz gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
De La Cruz gets a clinch.
De La Cruz tries to pull guard but Tikhonov holds him up against the cage and eventually De La Cruz drops back down to his feet.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tikhonov taking a breather.
Tikhonov has De La Cruz pressed against the cage, preventing De La Cruz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
De La Cruz looking to slow down the pace here.
De La Cruz comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Tikhonov prevents a body shot from De La Cruz.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Tikhonov as De La Cruz tries to tie him up.
De La Cruz tries for a takedown but Tikhonov manages to get underhooks.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tikhonov is trying to work for a single leg takedown but De La Cruz pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Tikhonov displaying some good clinch control by pressing De La Cruz up against the cage.
De La Cruz has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Tikhonov is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
That was a close round but I would say that Jose De La Cruz will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.
De La Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Jab by Tikhonov.
Tikhonov shoots in for a takedown but De La Cruz shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
De La Cruz shoots in but no luck this time.
Tikhonov tries to land a leg kick but De La Cruz saw it coming and moves away.
Tikhonov fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Tikhonov stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Tikhonov wants it to stay on the feet.
Tikhonov displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from De La Cruz.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Jose De La Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De La Cruz fails with an attempt to clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Tikhonov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. De La Cruz defends it nicely.
Tikhonov connects with a jab.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Tikhonov slips a jab and a cross from De La Cruz.
De La Cruz misses with a takedown attempt - Tikhonov sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
De La Cruz defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Tikhonov.
Sloppy strikes from De La Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
De La Cruz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Tikhonov defends well against a solid takedown attempt from De La Cruz.
Tikhonov shoots in for a takedown but De La Cruz shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
De La Cruz fails with a takedown attempt.
Tikhonov tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but De La Cruz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Tikhonov wants to slow De La Cruz down by chopping away at his legs.
Tikhonov shoots in but no luck this time.
Tikhonov fails with a takedown attempt.
De La Cruz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
De La Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Tikhonov moves away.
De La Cruz stuffs the takedown.
De La Cruz closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Tikhonov's guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tikhonov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
De La Cruz postures up in Tikhonov's guard and throws a big left but Tikhonov blocks it.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Tikhonov wants to sweep here but De La Cruz controlling him for the moment.
De La Cruz looking to sit in guard and control but Tikhonov gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
De La Cruz keeping full guard, as Tikhonov tries to pass.
De La Cruz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Tikhonov defends well.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz looking to control.
De La Cruz wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Tikhonov is now in half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tikhonov stalling.
Let's hope that Tikhonov has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
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 Jose De La Cruz will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!
The fight stays on the outside here - Tikhonov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Tikhonov scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Tikhonov gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Tikhonov is controlling De La Cruz's posture.
De La Cruz has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Tikhonov is proving hard to escape from.
De La Cruz throws a big right hand that misses.
Tikhonov is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tikhonov wants to sweep but no luck.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Tikhonov is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Tikhonov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Tikhonov trying to stall but De La Cruz improves his position.
De La Cruz scores with a hook to the body.
Tikhonov wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
De La Cruz tries to stall but Tikhonov uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
De La Cruz pulls guard effortlessly.
De La Cruz controls Tikhonov momentarily but Tikhonov frees himself.
Tikhonov stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. De La Cruz swivels though and keeps the full guard.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Tikhonov trying to control but De La Cruz is working from the bottom.
Tikhonov wants to pass the guard but De La Cruz is keeping the position.
De La Cruz wriggles free and stands up.
Tikhonov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Tikhonov shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. De La Cruz defends it nicely.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz dives in and grabs Tikhonov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Tikhonov pushes down on De La Cruz's head and hops out.
De La Cruz has closed the distance and engaged Tikhonov in a clinch.
Tikhonov has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. De La Cruz is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
De La Cruz stops a takedown attempt from Tikhonov.
Jose De La Cruz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alexey Tikhonov.
De La Cruz looking for a takedown.
Tikhonov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
De La Cruz wants to control from the top but Tikhonov keeps moving.
Jose De La Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
De La Cruz slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Tikhonov trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a big right hand that misses.
De La Cruz looking to pass the guard.
Tikhonov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Tikhonov working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from De La Cruz.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Tikhonov is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
De La Cruz shoots in and drives through. Tikhonov sprawls well.
And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Jose De La Cruz.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for De La Cruz, 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 Colin Fray scores the fight for Jose De La Cruz!
Judge Josh West scores the fight for Jose De La Cruz!
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight for Alexey Tikhonov!
Jose De La Cruz wins by split decision!
A determined Jose De La Cruz didn't want to dwell on this fight in his post fight interview. Instead he was more keen to state he wants a title shot. Let's see if he gets it!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
51% |
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