PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Chris Fitzpatrick (ranked 4224 p4p, 4132 weight class) and Jimmy Kross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Jimmy Kross will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Fitzpatrick
vs
Kross

180 cm
22
156
1 - 0 - 0

225 cm
25
130
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Tends to cut

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Chris Fitzpatrick !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Jimmy Kross!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, Donald Grub and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kross tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Fitzpatrick swivels and escapes.
Fitzpatrick shoots in but Kross avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Kross feints the counter takedown.
A head kick misses from Kross.

Fitzpatrick scores with a takedown into Kross's guard.
Kross is looking to stand back up but Fitzpatrick counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Kross.

Fitzpatrick wants to control but Kross is keeping him busy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kross is trying to maintain the position but Fitzpatrick is very close to passing his half guard.
Fitzpatrick prevents Kross from standing back up.
Kross is trying to control but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fitzpatrick trying to mount his opponent but Kross defends it.
Kross is holding on to half guard well.
Fitzpatrick wants to take a breather but Kross is having none of it.
Fitzpatrick thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kross's head.
Fitzpatrick wants to control but Kross is keeping him busy.
Kross tries to roll over but Fitzpatrick keeps him under control.
Kross is staying active underneath Fitzpatrick , who seems content to just control the action from this position.

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.
Fitzpatrick is just content to waste time from the top position. Kross takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Kross preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Kross is trying to keep Fitzpatrick in close.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A combination from Kross does no damage.
Fitzpatrick appears to be looking for a big counter.
Kross tries to clinch but Fitzpatrick moves away

and Fitzpatrick counters with a nice double leg into side control. Kross won't be happy with that.
Fitzpatrick is looking to take a break and control but Kross is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Fitzpatrick content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Fitzpatrick tries for a kimura but Kross is defending well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Kross manages to work his way to half guard, despite Fitzpatrick 's best efforts.
Fitzpatrick working over Kross with some ground and pound. Kross looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Fitzpatrick throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Fitzpatrick sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Kross is looking to control Fitzpatrick 's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Kross avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Fitzpatrick prevents Kross from improving his position.
Fitzpatrick wants to stand but Kross has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Kross is trying to maintain the position but Fitzpatrick is very close to passing his half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Fitzpatrick dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Kross forces Fitzpatrick back against the cage and clinches.
Fitzpatrick is trying to pull guard but Kross has him pressed against the cage.

Fitzpatrick works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Fitzpatrick has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Fitzpatrick wants to pass the guard but Kross is keeping the position.
Kross not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Fitzpatrick sitting in guard here, content to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kross working a defensive guard here.
Fitzpatrick landing some decent shots from guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kross looking for subs off his back but Fitzpatrick has passed one foot through into half guard.
Fitzpatrick wants to control but Kross is keeping him busy.
Fitzpatrick winds up and cracks Kross with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Kross wants to improve his position but Fitzpatrick is controlling well.

Fitzpatrick is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Fitzpatrick in particular looking to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Kross is trying to get back to full guard.
Fitzpatrick is trying to control the action in half guard but Kross is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Kross has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Fitzpatrick is on him like a limpet, forcing Kross back against the cage.
Kross will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Fitzpatrick up against the cage.

Kross pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Kross enables Fitzpatrick to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Kross manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fitzpatrick forces his way into half guard.
Fitzpatrick performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Fitzpatrick thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kross's head.
Fitzpatrick is pressing down on Kross's thigh, looking to free his foot. Kross is holding on for now.

Kross kicks off Fitzpatrick and gets to his feet.

Fitzpatrick shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Kross is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fitzpatrick seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Kross does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Kross has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Fitzpatrick is on him like a limpet, forcing Kross back against the cage.
Kross looking to slow down the pace here.
Fitzpatrick is pushing Kross up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Kross escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Jimmy Kross will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Fitzpatrick tries to clinch but Kross moves out of range.
Fitzpatrick tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kross manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Kross.

Fitzpatrick shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Kross's guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Kross doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.
Kross keeping moving, preventing Fitzpatrick from controlling successfully.
Fitzpatrick is really struggling to control Kross but he's trying to hold on to the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kross controls Fitzpatrick momentarily but Fitzpatrick frees himself.
Fitzpatrick content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kross manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Fitzpatrick gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Kross taking a break, stalling in the clinch.

Kross has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Fitzpatrick uses from the top position.
Kross wants to stand and escape but Fitzpatrick is having none of it.
Kross pulls Fitzpatrick in close to prevent any damage.
Fitzpatrick controls from within his opponent's guard.
Fitzpatrick looking to sit in guard and control but Kross gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kross pushes down on Fitzpatrick 's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Kross tries to pass the half guard into mount. Fitzpatrick knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Fitzpatrick wants to improve his position but Kross is controlling well.
Fitzpatrick moves into full guard.
Kross not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Fitzpatrick has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Kross can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Fitzpatrick pulls Kross in close to prevent any damage.
Chris Fitzpatrick overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Fitzpatrick 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Fitzpatrick keeping moving, preventing Kross from controlling successfully.
Kross wants to stand but Fitzpatrick is controlling his posture from full guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Fitzpatrick looking to score a takedown here. Kross is defending well but Fitzpatrick drives through and ends up in Kross's guard.
Kross bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Fitzpatrick 's guard.

Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Kross decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Fitzpatrick , up you get!
Fitzpatrick shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Fitzpatrick shoots for a double leg takedown but Kross sprawls well. He's pushed Fitzpatrick 's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jimmy Kross comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Kross has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Daniel Bishop scores the fight for Jimmy Kross!
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Jimmy Kross!
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight for Jimmy Kross!

Jimmy Kross wins by unanimous decision!