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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ricardo Cruz (ranked 2820 p4p, 290 weight class) and Gregory O Connor (ranked 2774 p4p, 284 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!
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| 181 cm
27
165 lbs
8 - 3 - 0 |
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175 cm
22
164 lbs
6 - 5 - 0 |
BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin |
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BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed |
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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of
8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of
6 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Gregory O Connor!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Richard Clark and Phil Schofield.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
O Connor throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Cruz sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by O Connor.
Cruz throws a sloppy head kick and O Connor moves out of range easily.
O Connor scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Cruz doesn't seem bothered though.
O Connor lands a nice shot to the body.
Cruz looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Cruz drives through and clinches with O Connor against the cage.
Cruz missing with knees to the body.
Cruz is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Cruz pushes off an throws an elbow but O Connor leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Cruz stalling against the cage.
O Connor creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
O Connor manages to break the clinch.
O Connor misses with a looping left.
Ricardo Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz tries to clinch but O Connor moves away
and O Connor counters with a nice uppercut.
Cruz closes the distance and pushes O Connor back into the cage.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Cruz comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Cruz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
O Connor throws a body shot but no joy.
Cruz clinches up against the cage.
Cruz keeps the fight in the clinch, despite O Connor's efforts to push away.
O Connor breaks from the clinch.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by O Connor.
O Connor looks to land a left hand but Cruz moved out of range nicely.
Cruz appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
Cruz wants to clinch.
Cruz tries to clinch up
and O Connor counters with a stiff right hand.
Cruz gets in close and instigates a clinch.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on O Connor's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Cruz working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
O Connor tries to break free but Cruz pushes him back against the cage.
O Connor is looking to break free of the clinch but Cruz has double underhooks.
O Connor is trying to break the clinch but Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
Cruz works on O Connor's body with a couple of short punches.
O Connor tries to circle away but Cruz has him pinned against the cage.
Cruz content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Cruz landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Cruz working O Connor over with knees to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
O Connor pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Cruz throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and O Connor counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Cruz thinking.
Cruz tries to clinch but O Connor is having none of it.
Cruz has O Connor up against the cage in a clinch.
Cruz will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning O Connor up against the cage.
Cruz stalling against the cage.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz pushes off an throws an elbow but O Connor leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
O Connor breaks from the clinch.
O Connor jabs Cruz to the body, keeping him at a distance.
A looping hook to the body misses from O Connor. Cruz does a little dance to reset his feet.
O Connor throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Cruz misses with a head kick.
O Connor throws a body shot but no joy.
O Connor thuds his right hand into Cruz's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Gregory O Connor is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Cruz has taken the fight to the clinch.
O Connor throws an elbow but it's blocked.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Cruz.
O Connor tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Cruz's elbow.
O Connor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Connor takes a swing at Cruz's ribcage but misses.
O Connor misses with a jab, cross combination.
Cruz throws a series of punches but O Connor avoids them all with ease.
O Connor keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but O Connor moves away.
O Connor comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
O Connor connects with the punch.
Cruz gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Cruz working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A quick uppercut on the inside from O Connor.
O Connor can't break the clinch.
O Connor tries a body shot but Cruz blocks it.
Cruz looking to throw knees to the head but O Connor is blocking nicely.
O Connor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Cruz tries to clinch there but O Connor circles away.
Cruz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.
A close round but Gregory O Connor will probably get the nod.
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 takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A leg kick checked by Cruz.
Cruz throws a big counter combination but O Connor scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Some wild striking there from O Connor.
Cruz tries to clinch but O Connor moves away
and O Connor counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Cruz gets a clinch.
O Connor wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Cruz is working O Connor over against the cage.
O Connor is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
O Connor can't break the clinch.
A short uppercut from Cruz.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
O Connor can't find room to land a body shot as Cruz controls the action.
Cruz taking a breather.
O Connor on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Connor wants to break free but Cruz has control.
O Connor is looking to break free of the clinch but Cruz has double underhooks.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz throws a knee to the head but misses.
Cruz cracks O Connor with a nice body shot.
O Connor pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
O Connor swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Cruz went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
O Connor misses the shot to the body.
Cruz misses with a body kick.
Cruz ducks under a wild hook from O Connor.
O Connor avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Cruz gets in close and instigates a clinch.
O Connor lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
O Connor can't break the clinch.
Cruz looking to throw knees to the head but O Connor is blocking nicely.
Cruz missing with knees to the body.
O Connor is looking to break free of the clinch but Cruz has double underhooks.
Cruz tries to land a knee to the head but O Connor blocks with his arms.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Connor wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
Ricardo Cruz has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Cruz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from O Connor.
O Connor is looking to break free of the clinch but Cruz has double underhooks.
Cruz working O Connor over with knees to the body.
O Connor has thrown a lot of knees so far in this fight and we're lead to believe that's something he's been working on the gym prior to this fight.
Cruz misses with a shot to the kidneys.
O Connor has had enough of the clinch but Cruz keeps him there for the moment.
O Connor wants to break free but Cruz has control.
Cruz misses with a knee to the head.
Cruz scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Cruz scores with a knee to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
O Connor wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
O Connor is trying to break the clinch but Cruz is controlling him.
O Connor wants to break the clinch but can't.
Cruz throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
O Connor is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Cruz scores with a knee to the head.
O Connor's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by O Connor.
Cruz gets a clinch.
O Connor wants to break the clinch but can't.
O Connor looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
O Connor escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Ricardo Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Cruz tries to clinch up but O Connor circles away and keeps his distance.
O Connor digs a good hook to Cruz's body.
Cruz moves into the clinch.
Cruz using the Thai plumb to throw knees but O Connor has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
O Connor wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
Cruz softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
O Connor wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
O Connor wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
A short left from O Connor.
O Connor can't break the clinch.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
O Connor tries to break free but Cruz pushes him back against the cage.
Cruz keeps control of O Connor as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
O Connor breaks from the clinch.
Cruz takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
O Connor scores with a jab to the body.
This has been an exciting period of action!
O Connor throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
O Connor takes a swing at Cruz's ribcage but misses.
Cruz throws a counter high kick but O Connor was just alert enough to avoid it.
Cruz tries to clinch but O Connor is having none of it.
Cruz is looking to clinch but O Connor is avoiding it.
O Connor throws a hook to the side of Cruz's head but Cruz sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Cruz doesn't manage to clinch there - O Connor circles away.
O Connor cracks a nice hook into Cruz's ribs.
O Connor swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Cruz wants to clinch up but O Connor keeps it at a distance.
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 Ricardo Cruz will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!
O Connor throws a jab but it's blocked by Cruz.
Cruz looks to clinch
and O Connor counters with a stiff right hand.
The fight stays on the outside here - Cruz looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Cruz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
An attempted straight right counter from Cruz misses the target.
Cruz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Cruz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but O Connor swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Cruz tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. O Connor manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
O Connor doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz drives through and clinches with O Connor against the cage.
Cruz landing some nice looking knees to the body.
O Connor on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cruz missing with knees to the body.
Cruz blocks an uppercut.
That's one minute gone in the round.
O Connor tries to break free but Cruz pushes him back against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on O Connor's face as he tries to break the clinch.
O Connor tries to work over Cruz's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Cruz lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of O Connor backwards.
O Connor breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but O Connor paws at him with a jab and circles away.
O Connor scores with a nice strike.
O Connor thuds a left hand into Cruz's body.
Cruz gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
O Connor breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Cruz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Cruz displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as O Connor throws out the jab.
Cruz takes one to the chin there.
O Connor circles away from the clinch attempt.
A little jabbing left from O Connor on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Connor connects with the punch.
Cruz takes the fight into the clinch.
O Connor breaks from the clinch.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruz fails with an attempt to clinch.
O Connor ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Cruz moves away.
Cruz moves into the clinch successfully.
Cruz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from O Connor.
Cruz just leaning against O Connor, taking a breather.
O Connor can't find room to land a body shot as Cruz controls the action.
Cruz tried to land a shot to the body but connects with O Connor's elbow.
A short right from Cruz on the inside.
O Connor's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
O Connor breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Cruz tries to clinch but O Connor moves out of range.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz clinches up with O Connor and pushes him back against the cage.
O Connor takes a knee right on the jaw!
It looks like Gregory O Connor has been cut.
Cruz working some nice short punches in the clinch.
O Connor prevents a body shot from Cruz.
O Connor on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Cruz utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
O Connor tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Cruz avoids it.
O Connor can't break the clinch.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Cruz.
Cruz controlling the action here for a moment.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Cruz for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Cruz with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Connor working aggressively here.
Cruz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from O Connor.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Cruz just misses with a elbow thrown towards O Connor's brow.
Cruz breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A looping hook to the body misses from O Connor. Cruz does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cruz closes the distance and clinches.
O Connor is trying to push Cruz away but Cruz has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Cruz lands with a light punch inside.
This has been an exciting period of action!
O Connor has had enough of the clinch but Cruz keeps him there for the moment.
Knees to the body from Cruz.
O Connor is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Cruz looking to throw knees to the head but O Connor is blocking nicely.
Cruz dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
O Connor misses with an elbow strike.
And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Cruz showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Cruz 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight 29:28
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight 29:28
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo Cruz!
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
55% |
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