PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Adrian Holden (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Juan Dela Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Holden
vs
Dela Cruz

213 cm
19
193 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

180 cm
18
180 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
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 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Adrian Holden!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Juan Dela Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Holden shoots in and drives through. Dela Cruz sprawls well.

Dela Cruz closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Holden's guard.
Dela Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Holden.

Dela Cruz drops back looking for a leg! Holden is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Holden manages to kick Dela Cruz off! Dela Cruz jumps back into Holden's guard.
Dela Cruz stops Holden from standing up.
Holden is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Dela Cruz won't allow Holden to get back to his feet.

Dela Cruz is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Dela Cruz drops back, looking for a kneebar! Holden looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Holden looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Holden!

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Holden working the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Holden are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Holden working the ground and pound but Dela Cruz is defending the strikes.
Dela Cruz is looking to regain half guard here but Holden keeps moving and retains side control.
Holden throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Dela Cruz works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.

Dela Cruz looking for submissions off his back.
Holden slips a nice elbow through Dela Cruz's hands, connecting with Dela Cruz's forehead.

That's two 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.
Nice strikes from Holden there.
Holden winds up and cracks Dela Cruz with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Holden lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Holden missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Holden landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Holden missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Holden seems to be looking for submissions.

Dela Cruz looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Dela Cruz looks winded!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holden missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Holden is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Holden.
Holden thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Dela Cruz's head.
Dela Cruz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Holden.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Dela Cruz is defending against the submission attempts here by Holden.
Holden looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Dela Cruz with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Dela Cruz has been taking part in the yoga sessions down at Hard Knocks Training. Presumably he's going to look for a slick submission... Or maybe he's looking to avoid one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Holden not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Holden is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Holden throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Holden lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.

Dela Cruz is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Holden pulls his head out easily.
Holden really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Holden throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Adrian Holden dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Juan 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.

Holden shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Dela Cruz sprawls well. Dela Cruz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Holden gets slowly back to his feet.

Dela Cruz scores with a takedown into Holden's guard.
Dela Cruz won't allow Holden to sweep him here.

Dela Cruz drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Holden manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Dela Cruz has Holden in his guard.

Holden missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dela Cruz looking for a sweep. Not yet Dela Cruz, not yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holden landing some decent shots from guard.
Holden postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Holden throws an elbow that misses. Dela Cruz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Holden's guard. Nice move by Dela Cruz!

Dela Cruz tries to free his leg and advance position but Holden is retaining full guard.
Dela Cruz is breathing heavily.
Holden looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dela Cruz is one step ahead there.
Holden is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Holden is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Holden missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holden not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Adrian Holden overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Dela Cruz regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Holden.

Holden got a little sloppy there for a moment and Dela Cruz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Holden has managed to get both his arms back between Dela Cruz's legs - danger averted.
Holden scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Holden working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Holden throws a big right hand that misses.
Holden cracks Dela Cruz with a solid left hand.
Holden working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Holden lands a couple of digs.

Holden stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Dela Cruz has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! Holden manages to get his head free but now Dela Cruz has transitioned to an armbar! Holden grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Dela Cruz! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:54 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Juan Dela Cruz!