PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Nate Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tengo Ray (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Cruz
vs
Ray

170 cm
25
152 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
25
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Nate Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tengo Ray!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Yukihiro Shimada and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ray throws a head kick but Cruz moves out of range.
Tengo Ray seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Ray shoots and misses

and Cruz counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ray is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Cruz is looking to control Ray's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cruz avoid being mounted?
Cruz is trying to stand back up but Ray is controlling him
Cruz gets back to full guard.
Cruz wants to stand and escape but Ray is having none of it.

Cruz had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ray defends it easily.
Cruz wants to stand up but Ray is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Ray is aware though and is defending well.

Cruz pushes Ray off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.

Ray looking to score a takedown here. Cruz is defending well but Ray drives through and ends up in Cruz's guard.
Cruz looking for a sweep. Not yet Cruz, not yet.

Cruz kicks Ray off and gets to his feet.
Ray misses with a series of wild punches.
Ray fails with the takedown

and Cruz counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Ray's guard now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ray avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Cruz throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ray keeping full guard, as Cruz tries to pass.
Ray trying to control the position.
Cruz showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Cruz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ray is keeping the position for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

Cruz has his feet on Ray's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.

Ray throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Cruz tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Ray is in Cruz's guard.
Ray looks gassed!

Cruz working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ray doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ray manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz wants to stand up but Ray is controlling him.
Cruz might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Cruz wants to sweep here but Ray controlling him for the moment.
Ray makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Cruz wants to stand and escape but Ray is having none of it.
Cruz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nate Cruz dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ray shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ray showed some decent athleticism there.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cruz regains full guard. Nicely done.
Ray really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Cruz. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Cruz is looking to stand up but Ray isn't so interested in that idea.
Cruz tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Cruz keeping full guard, as Ray tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz is trying to keep Ray in close.

Ray got a little sloppy there for a moment and Cruz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ray has managed to get both his arms back between Cruz's legs - danger averted.
Ray keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Cruz's head.
Cruz wants to stand and escape but Ray is having none of it.
Cruz is trying to control the position but Ray postures up.
Cruz keeping moving, preventing Ray from controlling successfully.

Cruz looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Ray trying to control the position from guard on top but Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Ray slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Cruz wants to get back to his feet but Ray is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Cruz had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ray defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ray won't allow Cruz to get back to his feet.
Cruz looking for a sweep. Not yet Cruz, not yet.

Cruz wriggles free and stands up.
Ray shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

so Cruz counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Ray is trying to keep Cruz in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz working some strikes from top position.
Ray utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Cruz drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Cruz jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Ray can't keep his opponent in guard - Cruz advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Cruz is pressing down on Ray's thigh, looking to free his foot. Ray is holding on for now.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Ray can do anything to dispel that myth.

Cruz is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Ray is trying to get back to full guard.
Cruz not landing any meaningful shots this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nate Cruz dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Ray feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

Ray postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Cruz is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Ray, into his guard.

Cruz thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Ray looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Cruz pushing down on Ray's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Cruz tries to pass to full mount but Ray defends it.
Ray is in trouble now - Cruz has advanced to mount!
Ray takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Cruz with good strikes from the mount here!
Cruz is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ray can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Ray taking shots to the head.
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 unloading with bombs!
Ray is looking to improve his position but Cruz isn't that keen on the idea.
Cruz unloading with bombs!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruz dominating with strikes here.
Cruz lands a heavy elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Cruz postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Ray looks a forlorn figure.
Nate Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruz unloading with bombs!
Cruz controlling the position easily from mount.

Cruz jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Ray manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Cruz scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Ray to see if he's OK.
Cruz passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Ray!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz tries to control but Ray wriggling away.
Ray tries to hold on but Cruz pushes him away.
Cruz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.

Cruz working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Ray is squirming around, avoiding Cruz's attempts to control the action.
Cruz with a couple of short strikes.
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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ray is looking to improve his position but Cruz isn't that keen on the idea.

Cruz is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Ray can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
The referee warns Ray that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

Cruz working for a submission but Ray is keeping him at bay.
Cruz lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Ray hang on?
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Cruz trying to control but Ray is having none of it.
Tengo Ray has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cruz working the ground and pound effectively.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nate 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:27
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nate Cruz!