PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joe Workman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan De La Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Workman
vs
De La Cruz

217 cm
23
151 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

168 cm
21
150 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Joe Workman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Juan De La Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Hirohito Nitta, Sosuke Kotani and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De La Cruz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Workman's waist but Workman gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing De La Cruz off to one side.
A thudding body kick lands there by De La Cruz!
De La Cruz wants to slow Workman down by chopping away at his legs.
Workman dives in and grabs De La Cruz's left leg, looking for a takedown. De La Cruz pushes down on Workman's head and hops out.
De La Cruz throws a leg kick that is checked

and Workman moves into the clinch.

De La Cruz pulls guard.
Workman has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

De La Cruz uses the cage to get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Workman closes the distance looking to clinch
and De La Cruz counters with an outside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz shoots in for a takedown but Workman shows good takedown defense.
De La Cruz rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Workman counters by clinching up.
Workman really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Workman as he jumps to the side.
Joe Workman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan De La Cruz.
De La Cruz buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
De La Cruz tries to land a front kick but Workman steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz shoots in for a double leg but Workman sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
De La Cruz thows a leg kick but Workman checks it
and Workman counters with a one-two to the body.
De La Cruz dives in for a single leg takedown but Workman sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz misses with a right hand
and Workman counters with a left and a right that stings De La Cruz.
Workman takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De La Cruz throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Workman sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz scores with a punch to the head.
De La Cruz falls off balance throwing a combination
and Workman counters with a stiff right hand.
De La Cruz throws a left and a right that both miss

and Workman holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Workman circles away quickly and effectively.
Workman looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
De La Cruz misses with a double jab.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a nice looking combination but Workman bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Workman wants to clinch

and De La Cruz counters by moving into the clinch.
Workman wants to break free but De La Cruz has control.
Workman is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

De La Cruz successfully pulls guard.

De La Cruz pushes Workman off and gets back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juan De La Cruz dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

De La Cruz fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Workman has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.

De La Cruz clinches with his opponent.
Workman is trying to pull guard but De La Cruz turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Workman fails to pull the fight into his guard.

De La Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
De La Cruz swings for the body but Workman moves out of range.
De La Cruz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Workman was well out of range. Poor timing from De La Cruz.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Workman circles away quickly and effectively.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Sloppy strikes from De La Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
De La Cruz goes for a double leg but Workman avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Workman continues to drive forward.

De La Cruz manages to pull guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. De La Cruz manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
De La Cruz lands an elbow that stopped Workman in his tracks for a moment.
De La Cruz tries to pull guard but Workman holds him up against the cage and eventually De La Cruz drops back down to his feet.
Workman working hard to break the clinch.
De La Cruz tries to pull guard but Workman holds him up against the cage and eventually De La Cruz drops back down to his feet.
Joe Workman has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Juan De La Cruz.
Workman is trying to break the clinch but De La Cruz is controlling him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Workman is trying to pull guard but De La Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
De La Cruz is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Workman to keep the fight standing.
De La Cruz tries to break the clinch but Workman is controlling the position.
De La Cruz wants a takedown but no success here.
De La Cruz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
De La Cruz is breathing heavily.

De La Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
De La Cruz has a takedown stuffed.
De La Cruz throws a combination that misses
and Workman counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Workman shoots for a double leg takedown but De La Cruz sprawls well. He's pushed Workman's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
De La Cruz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Workman tries to clinch but De La Cruz moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Workman moves in looking to clinch but De La Cruz pushes him off.
Workman wants to clinch but De La Cruz slips to the side

and De La Cruz counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
De La Cruz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Workman has him pressed against the cage.
Workman tries to score a body lock takedown but De La Cruz shows good agility there to stay on his feet.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
De La Cruz misses with a combination

and Workman counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Workman distracts De La Cruz with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Workman in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Workman prevents De La Cruz from getting back to his feet.
Workman missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Juan De La Cruz has got the better of the ground game so far.

De La Cruz has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Workman off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
De La Cruz swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Juan De La Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Workman shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with De La Cruz but De La Cruz pushes him off and we're back to square one.
De La Cruz lands with a straight right. Workman didn't see that one coming.
De La Cruz misses with a combination
and Workman counters with a nice body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De La Cruz avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Workman takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Workman avoids the head kick by De La Cruz.
De La Cruz pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Joe Workman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De La Cruz throws a combination that misses

and Workman counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Workman missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
De La Cruz is looking to get back to is feet but Workman passes into side control.
Workman tries to score with some ground and pound. De La Cruz controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
De La Cruz takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz is pushing Workman's head away, looking to escape. Workman manages to hold on to the position though.

Workman is trying to get an arm triangle but De La Cruz is defending well.
De La Cruz wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
De La Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
De La Cruz throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
De La Cruz scores with a jab to the body.
Workman shoots in but no luck this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz has a takedown stuffed.
De La Cruz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Workman closes this distance looking for a takedown but De La Cruz circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Workman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
De La Cruz throws a sloppy head kick
and Workman counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps De La Cruz thinking.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
De La Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
Joe Workman has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Juan De La Cruz is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
De La Cruz circles away from the clinch attempt.

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 Joe Workman.
Well De La Cruz has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tatsuya Matsuyama scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Juan De La Cruz!