PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dom Cruz (ranked 1686 p4p, 192 weight class) and Max Power (ranked 983 p4p, 114 weight class). Max Power has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Cruz
vs
Power

172 cm
24
144 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

165 cm
29
145 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Nuggetori's Nutritionals

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dom Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Max Power!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Bruno Lombardi and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cruz fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Power sprawls well initially but Cruz persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Power is staying active underneath Cruz, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Power wants to improve his position but Cruz is controlling well.
Cruz working Power over with strikes.
Power is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Power is in trouble now - Cruz has advanced to mount!
Power wants to control but Cruz is having none of it.
Cruz raining down hammerfists from mount.
BOOM! Cruz connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Cruz is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Power can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
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!
Cruz looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Cruz fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Power in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Cruz can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Power is looking to escape.
Cruz in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz landing strikes from the mount.
Cruz landing shots from mount.
Power is looking to get to half guard.
Power is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Cruz with shots to the head and body - Power looks very uncomfortable down there.

Cruz is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Power has managed to escape the submission attempt.
A nice elbow there by Cruz.
Power really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Power sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Cruz looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Power with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Ground and pound from Cruz.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cruz working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Nice strikes from Cruz there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz wants to control but Power is keeping him busy.
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.
Cruz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Power tries to get to full guard but Cruz has control of the leg.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Cruz lands a nice short elbow.
Cruz seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Cruz working the head and body with strikes.
Cruz lands with a punch from half guard.
Cruz scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Power is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Cruz scores with a couple of nice shots.
Power throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Power is not content to let Cruz control the position.

Power looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Power on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Cruz working over Power with some ground and pound. Power looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Cruz seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Cruz working Power over with strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Cruz.
Power is not content to let Cruz control the position.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Cruz connects with a nice short shot to Power's temple.
Cruz working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Cruz takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Cruz is looking for a kimura here.
Cruz performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Cruz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Cruz lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Power trying to hold on to Cruz's head to control him but Cruz postures up.
Power has hold of Cruz's hands but Cruz slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz controlling the action here.
Cruz is nestled in close to Power, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Power taking some punishment here, with Cruz in his half guard.
The fighters are battling for position here. Power manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Cruz works over Power with some ground and pound from guard.
Cruz trying to control but Power is working from the bottom.
Cruz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Power is keeping the position for now.
Power throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Power.
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!
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cruz trying to control but Power is working from the bottom.
Cruz lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Cruz landing with the ground and pound.
Cruz looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dom Cruz dominated that round.
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.

Cruz stuns Power with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Power misses with a right hand
and Cruz counters with a stiff right hand.
Cruz tests Power's chin there with a solid looking shot.
A head kick misses from Cruz.
Dom Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz cracks a nice hook into Power's ribs.

Cruz drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Cruz stands up over Power, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Cruz passes Power's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Cruz prevents Power from improving his position.
Cruz is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Cruz lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Power tries to reverse the position but Cruz maintains control.
Cruz controlling from mount.
Cruz landing shots from mount.
Cruz avoids the attempt from Power to control.
Cruz lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Power is bucking up trying to escape but Cruz cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Cruz lands a big elbow.
Cruz pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
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 Power's face.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruz with a couple of short strikes.
Power is trying desperately to improve position.

Cruz jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Power is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Power and Cruz has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Power is looking to regain half guard here but Cruz keeps moving and retains side control.
Check out the look on Cruz's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Cruz is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Power can do to turn this around?
Cruz trying to control the position but Power is working away.
Cruz lands a few punches from side control.
Power tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cruz content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Power on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Cruz scoring with punches from side control.
Cruz scoring with punches and elbows.

Cruz working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Cruz is putting a hurting on Power here, landing some big shots from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Power gets back to half guard.
Cruz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Power tries to get to full guard but Cruz has control of the leg.
Cruz lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Cruz looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Power taking some punishment here, with Cruz in his half guard.
Cruz is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Power!

Cruz with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Power is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Power is trying to escape the mount.
Cruz punishing his opponent with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruz unloading with bombs!
Dom Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruz is landing with some decent strikes but Power is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

Power is rocked!
Cruz is landing with some decent strikes but Power is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Power is still in real trouble! Can Cruz finish him?
Power is breathing heavily.
Power is trying desperately to improve position.
Cruz dominating with strikes here.
Cruz lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Cruz landing punches.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Power keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Cruz cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

Cruz has hold of Power's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Power manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Cruz with the ground and pound from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dom Cruz dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Power walks into a jab.
Power seems to have recovered his senses.
Power moves forwards but Cruz connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Dom Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A good leg kick by Cruz.
Power avoids a punch combination nicely.

Cruz closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Power felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Power tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Cruz landing a few strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz lands a few punches from side control.

Cruz looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Cruz cracks Power with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Power sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Cruz wants to control but Power is keeping him busy.

Cruz is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Power wants to improve his position but Cruz is controlling well.
Power takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ground and pound from Cruz.
Cruz scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Cruz is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Power looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Max Power has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Power taking some punishment here, with Cruz in his half guard.
Cruz is trying to control the action in half guard but Power is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Cruz scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Cruz scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Cruz is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Cruz tries to control but Power wriggling away.
Cruz working Power over with strikes 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!
Cruz lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Dom Cruz is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Power throwing punches from his back but nothing is landing.
Cruz takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Power is wriggling around trying to escape.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz controlling the pace for now.
Cruz landing punches.
Cruz controlling the position easily from mount.
Power is working to get back to half guard.
The referee warns Power that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Power bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Cruz keeping full guard, as Power tries to pass.
Cruz trying to control the position here.
Cruz has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Power with a flurry of punches that miss.
Cruz has Power pulled in close to control his posture.
Power throwing strikes from guard but Cruz blocks nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dom Cruz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cruz has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Dean Styles scores the fight 30:25
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 30:25
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dom Cruz!
Dom Cruz took some time post fight to say the following; 'Ive said it over and over. No one can match my training, my speed, my intelligence. I won this fight before I stepped into the ring.'.