PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Finn Van Thom (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cristobal De La Fuente (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Van Thom comes to the cage accompanied by Foo Fighters - Hero. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Van Thom
vs
De La Fuente

185 cm
19
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

191 cm
20
195 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

EVOLUTION Clothing

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 New York, Finn Van Thom!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Cristobal De La Fuente!
The judges for this bout are David Schapiro, Columbo Gatti and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Van Thom lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!

De La Fuente gets a clinch.
De La Fuente misses with a short punch on the inside.

Van Thom breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Van Thom misses with the combination.
De La Fuente fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Van Thom on the side of the head.

It looks like Finn Van Thom has been cut.
A looping hook to the body misses from De La Fuente. Van Thom does a little dance to reset his feet.
De La Fuente is looking to clinch but Van Thom is avoiding it.
A looping hook to the body misses from Van Thom. De La Fuente does a little dance to reset his feet.
Van Thom with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling De La Fuente to score with a decent uppercut.
Van Thom throws a combination but it was largely blocked by De La Fuente.
De La Fuente lands a right hook to the body.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
De La Fuente misses the shot to the body.
Van Thom takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Van Thom misses with the combination.
Van Thom ducks under a wild hook from De La Fuente.
A telegraphed right hand from De La Fuente misses the target.
De La Fuente swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice jab there from De La Fuente.
De La Fuente throws a body punch but Van Thom moves out of range.
De La Fuente looks to score with a jab to the body but Van Thom is just out of range.
A jab from De La Fuente finds it's way through Van Thom's defenses.
Van Thom misses with an uppercut.
Cristobal De La Fuente is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
De La Fuente throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
De La Fuente uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Van Thom misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De La Fuente.
Van Thom looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
De La Fuente let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Nice defenses there by Van Thom.
De La Fuente tries to close the distance and clinch up but Van Thom swats him away and circles back towards the center.
De La Fuente getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Sloppy strikes from Van Thom. Those never looked like landing.
Van Thom misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from De La Fuente.
De La Fuente tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De La Fuente throws a hook but Van Thom avoids it easily.
Cristobal De La Fuente seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Van Thom dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Van Thom has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from De La Fuente finds it's way round the side to connect with Van Thom's head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Van Thom shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Van Thom is trying to control the action in half guard but De La Fuente is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Van Thom not doing much here.
De La Fuente is looking for a sweep. Van Thom is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Van Thom controlling the action here.
Van Thom missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Thom not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Van Thom seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but De La Fuente does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
De La Fuente really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Van Thom. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Van Thom throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Van Thom wants to lay and pray for a moment but De La Fuente keeps working.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Van Thom in particular looking to stall.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Van Thom thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Van Thom trying to control the action but De La Fuente is working from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Van Thom throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. De La Fuente tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Van Thom is in De La Fuente's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Thom working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Van Thom scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Van Thom is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! De La Fuente is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! De La Fuente has escaped and now he's on top!

De La Fuente tries to free his leg and advance position but Van Thom is retaining full guard.
Van Thom wants to sweep here but De La Fuente controlling him for the moment.

Van Thom escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. De La Fuente gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Cristobal De La Fuente will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Finn Van Thom's cut.
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.

Van Thom scores with a push kick.
De La Fuente throws out a loose jab but Van Thom uses good head movement to avoid it.
De La Fuente lands with an uppercut that bounces Van Thom off the cage and back into range.
Van Thom ducks under a wild hook from De La Fuente.
De La Fuente moves out of range of the body kick from Van Thom.
Van Thom with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Van Thom uses good head movement to avoid the hook from De La Fuente.
Van Thom feinted with a counter takedown.
De La Fuente fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Van Thom looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
De La Fuente throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Van Thom.

Van Thom instigates a clinch.
De La Fuente stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
De La Fuente misses with a punch on the inside.
Van Thom has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Van Thom breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Van Thom circles away from the clinch attempt.
Van Thom is looking to wear down De La Fuente with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Thom scores with a crisp jab that stopped De La Fuente in his tracks.
De La Fuente misses with a hook. Van Thom ducked under it nicely.
Finn Van Thom is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
De La Fuente throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Van Thom counters with a left and a right that stings De La Fuente.
De La Fuente scores with a jab. Van Thom acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
De La Fuente misses with an uppercut.
De La Fuente works Van Thom's body with a nice hook.

Van Thom gets tackled into the cage by De La Fuente. De La Fuente maintains the clinch.
De La Fuente working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

De La Fuente is fighting off a takedown attempt but Van Thom is just too persistent for him and manages to trip De La Fuente to the mat. De La Fuente regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Thom throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as De La Fuente works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Van Thom slips nicely into half guard.
Van Thom trying to control from half guard but De La Fuente is working away.
De La Fuente on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Van Thom stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Van Thom misses with a looping right.
De La Fuente tests Van Thom's chin there with a solid looking shot.

Finn Van Thom's cut is getting worse.
De La Fuente keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Van Thom scores to the head and body with a nice combination!

Van Thom forces De La Fuente back against the cage and clinches.
Van Thom is trying to push De La Fuente away but De La Fuente has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
De La Fuente fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

De La Fuente escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
De La Fuente fails in his attempt to clinch.
De La Fuente cracks a nice hook into Van Thom's ribs.
Van Thom closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Van Thom throws a push kick but De La Fuente slaps the foot to one side.
Van Thom darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
De La Fuente stuns Van Thom with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Thom cracks a nice hook into De La Fuente's ribs.

Van Thom looking to score a takedown here. De La Fuente is defending well but Van Thom drives through and ends up in De La Fuente's guard.
Van Thom trying to control but De La Fuente is working from the bottom.
De La Fuente avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Van Thom scoring with some ground and pound.

Van Thom gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Van Thom cracks the inside of De La Fuente's front leg.
Van Thom misses with a head kick.
De La Fuente misses with an uppercut.
De La Fuente tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Van Thom manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
De La Fuente stuns Van Thom with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Van Thom lands a high kick!

Van Thom clinches up against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
De La Fuente scores with a shoulder strike.
A frustrated look appears on De La Fuente's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Van Thom is trying to drag De La Fuente to the mat but De La Fuente just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Van Thom is looking for a takedown.

De La Fuente breaks the clinch.
Van Thom keeps the fight on the outside.
Van Thom misses with a few strikes there.
Van Thom doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
De La Fuente moves out of range of the leg kick from Van Thom.
De La Fuente throws a big shot that misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
De La Fuente fails with an attempt to clinch.
De La Fuente digs a good body shot into Van Thom's ribs.
De La Fuente doesn't manage to clinch there - Van Thom circles away.

Van Thom tries to keep at a distance but De La Fuente has taken the fight into the clinch.
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 Finn Van Thom will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Finn Van Thom'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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Van Thom misses with a double jab.
De La Fuente doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Van Thom circles away from the clinch attempt.
De La Fuente cracks a nice hook into Van Thom's ribs.

Van Thom shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Van Thom seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Van Thom not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Van Thom is working for a submission of some sort.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Van Thom is trying to control. De La Fuente wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Thom takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Van Thom is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
De La Fuente trying to control but Van Thom postures up.
De La Fuente blocking the ground and pound attempt from Van Thom.
Van Thom is looking to stall here but De La Fuente recovers full guard.
Van Thom trying to control but De La Fuente is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
De La Fuente preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Van Thom slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Van Thom in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Van Thom misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Van Thom 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 three minutes gone in the round.

Van Thom looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Van Thom is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down De La Fuente's shoulder. That is not cool.
Van Thom wants to control but De La Fuente is keeping him busy.

Van Thom looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Sloppy strikes there by Van Thom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Van Thom in side control, throwing shots but De La Fuente defends.

Van Thom is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, De La Fuente has escaped the position, nice work there.
Finn Van Thom overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Van Thom in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
De La Fuente is looking for a sweep.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Van Thom throws a right and a left that De La Fuente avoids nicely.
De La Fuente scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
A jab from De La Fuente finds it's way through Van Thom's defenses.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Van Thom moves into range and connects with a jab.
A punch combination from Van Thom misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from De La Fuente. Van Thom does a little dance to reset his feet.
De La Fuente throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Finn Van Thom showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Van Thom has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Finn Van Thom!
Finn Van Thom bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.