PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Shane Dela Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Barril Salvador (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dela Cruz has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Shane Dela Cruz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Dela Cruz
vs
Salvador

187 cm
37
199 lbs
27 - 23 - 0

188 cm
21
196 lbs
4 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

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 27 - 23 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Shane Dela Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Barril Salvador!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Patrick Alders and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dela Cruz misses with a body kick.
Dela Cruz swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Dela Cruz looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Salvador trying to control from the bottom.
Dela Cruz controlling the pace.
Dela Cruz trying to control from half guard but Salvador is working away.
Dela Cruz is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Dela Cruz has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

Shane Dela Cruz has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Dela Cruz misses with a double jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salvador moves away from the strike by Dela Cruz.

Dela Cruz drives through with a takedown into guard.
Dela Cruz is breathing heavily.
Salvador looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Salvador looking to control.
Salvador has momentary wrist control but Dela Cruz slips an elbow through the middle.
Salvador can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Dela Cruz controls the pace.
Salvador is trying to hold Dela Cruz in close to prevent damage but Dela Cruz has managed to pass into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz wants to stand up but Salvador is controlling the position.
Dela Cruz is just content to waste time from the top position. Salvador takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Dela Cruz has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Salvador is proving hard to escape from.
Dela Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Salvador.
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!
Dela Cruz is looking to stand up but Salvador won't let him.
Salvador wants to control the position but Dela Cruz says "no thanks buddy" and passes to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Salvador wants to get back to full guard.
Dela Cruz is looking to take a break and control but Salvador is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Dela Cruz content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Dela Cruz seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Salvador for as long as he can get away with.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Dela Cruz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Shane Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz misses with a lunging right hand

and Salvador counters by moving into the clinch.
Salvador is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Salvador jumps into guard, dragging Dela Cruz to the mat.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dela Cruz lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Dela Cruz landing with the ground and pound.

Salvador has his foot on Dela Cruz's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Dela Cruz works his way back into a safe position though.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dela Cruz stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Salvador swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Dela Cruz would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shane Dela Cruz dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Shane Dela Cruz's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Dela Cruz slips a jab and a cross from Salvador.
Sloppy strikes from Salvador. Those never looked like landing.
Dela Cruz changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Salvador tries to avoid it but Dela Cruz manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Salvador to the ground. Salvador escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Salvador looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Salvador gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Dela Cruz throws a wild body kick that Salvador sees coming a mile off.
Dela Cruz throws a left and a right that both miss

and Salvador counters by clinching up.
Salvador is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Dela Cruz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Salvador just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Shane Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Salvador jumps guard and drags Dela Cruz to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Shane Dela Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Salvador wants to sweep but no luck.
Dela Cruz working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dela Cruz looking to sit in guard and control but Salvador gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Dela Cruz is adopting a defensive guard.
Salvador stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Dela Cruz swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Salvador trying to control but Dela Cruz is working from the bottom.
Dela Cruz is adopting a defensive guard.
Salvador must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Dela Cruz misses with a series of wild punches.
Salvador fails with an attempt to clinch.
Salvador slips under a jab from Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz shoots for a double leg takedown but Salvador sprawls well. He's pushed Dela Cruz's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Salvador fails to land with a series of punches.
Dela Cruz pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Salvador tries to close the distance and clinch up but Dela Cruz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Dela Cruz circles away from the clinch attempt.

Dela Cruz changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Salvador looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Salvador has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dela Cruz prevents Salvador from escaping the position.
Salvador is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz lands a nice forearm strike.
Salvador regains half guard.
Dela Cruz has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Dela Cruz is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Salvador can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Dela Cruz working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Dela Cruz looking to control and managing it successfully.
Dela Cruz's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Salvador is working to get back to half guard.
Dela Cruz landing strikes from the mount and Salvador is in trouble!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dela Cruz trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Salvador is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Salvador tries to hold on but Dela Cruz pushes him away.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Salvador is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Dela Cruz landing punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shane Dela Cruz dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Shane Dela Cruz's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Salvador drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Salvador staying out of range there.
Salvador shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Dela Cruz defends it nicely.
Salvador tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Salvador shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Dela Cruz pinned against the cage. Dela Cruz gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Dela Cruz lands with a kick to the temple. Salvador shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"

Salvador is rocked!

It looks like Barril Salvador has been cut.

Dela Cruz closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Salvador to the mat! Salvador manages to get full guard.
Salvador is still in real trouble! Can Dela Cruz finish him?
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dela Cruz wants to get up but he can't break Salvador's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
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!
Dela Cruz stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Salvador swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Dela Cruz wants to stand but Salvador is controlling his posture from full guard.
Salvador avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Dela Cruz 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Salvador controls Dela Cruz momentarily but Dela Cruz frees himself.
Salvador might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Dela Cruz haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Barril Salvador was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Dela Cruz closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Dela Cruz lands in his opponent's guard.
Dela Cruz is looking to work some ground and pound but Salvador has wrist control.
Salvador controls Dela Cruz momentarily but Dela Cruz frees himself.
Dela Cruz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Dela Cruz landing with the ground and pound.
Dela Cruz stays in close to Salvador's body and controls the position.
Salvador is striking from the bottom but Dela Cruz uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
Dela Cruz trying to control the pace.
Dela Cruz seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Dela Cruz winds up and cracks Salvador with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Dela Cruz content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Salvador!
Salvador seems to have recovered his senses.
Dela 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 Salvador's face.
Dela Cruz controlling his opponent.
Salvador is in all sorts of trouble here.
Salvador is squirming around, avoiding Dela Cruz's attempts to control the action.
Salvador is trying desperately to improve position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz controlling his opponent.
Dela Cruz fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Salvador is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Dela Cruz unloading with bombs!
Salvador tries to hold on but Dela Cruz postures up.
Dela Cruz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Dela Cruz unloads with some vicious shots from mount and Salvador wants out - he looks towards the referee who steps in to save him! Dela Cruz celebrates on the cage and the crowd goes wild!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Shane Dela Cruz!
Shane Dela Cruz decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.