PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between John Cross (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rusty Shackleford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Cross looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Cross
vs
Shackleford

185 cm
19
190 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

184 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Cross!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rusty Shackleford!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Mauricio Rocha and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Shackleford escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Shackleford misses with a takedown attempt - Cross sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Shackleford shoots in and bounces Cross off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Cross is on top in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cross cracks Shackleford with a solid left hand.
Shackleford lands a couple of shots from the bottom.
Shackleford preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Cross has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Shackleford is on top in guard.

Cross looking for a guillotine here but Shackleford defends easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shackleford preventing the sweep.

Cross looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Shackleford passes into half guard.
Cross is breathing heavily.
Shackleford moves nicely into side control.
Cross is looking for a sweep.
Shackleford connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Cross some visible discomfort.

Shackleford decides to stand back up.
Cross avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cross circles away from the clinch attempt.
Cross misses with a takedown attempt

and Shackleford counters by moving into the clinch.
Cross drops down looking for an ankle pick but Shackleford pulls his leg out and moves away.

Shackleford moves into the clinch successfully.

Shackleford manages to pull guard.

Cross drops back looking for a leg! Shackleford is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Shackleford manages to kick Cross off! Cross jumps back into Shackleford's guard.
Shackleford lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Cross!
Shackleford looking to finish Cross with some ground and pound. This is bad for Cross!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cross keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Shackleford wants to take his opponent's back but he's not managed it.
Shackleford has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Cross sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Cross is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Shackleford's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Shackleford's back!

Cross has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Shackleford has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!
Shackleford controlling the position well but he knows he's in a bad position.
Cross gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.
Cross doesn't have the hooks in and Shackleford manages to turn into his guard.
Cross is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shackleford throws a strike from the bottom that misses.
Cross moves into full mount! Shackleford won't be happy about that!

Cross has hold of Shackleford's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Shackleford manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Shackleford regains half guard.
Cross takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Cross lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Shackleford won't allow Cross to pass to mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cross slips a nice elbow through Shackleford's hands, connecting with Shackleford's forehead.

Shackleford is rocked!
Cross is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Shackleford is still in real trouble! Can Cross finish him?
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Ground and pound from Cross.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that John Cross will probably get the nod.
That's time! Cross's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Cross is looking for a takedown. Wow, that's a brutal slam - Shackleford is in big trouble! Cross is landing strikes from the mount and this one is all over! The ref jumps in to save a confused looking Shackleford. Poor guy.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:05 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Slam). John Cross!