PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between King Dela Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Romulo Barral (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Dela Cruz
vs
Barral

194 cm
24
215 lbs
16 - 7 - 0

190 cm
24
216 lbs
13 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

[CBK] The Smashwear Corporation
[CBK] The Smashwear Corporation

[CBK] The Smashwear Corporation

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, King Dela Cruz!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Romulo Barral!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Shirou Masuda and Taro Takaoka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dela Cruz tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Barral swivels and escapes.
Barral is looking to clinch but Dela Cruz is avoiding it.
Dela Cruz shoots in looking for a takedown. Barral tries to sprawl out of it but Dela Cruz keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Barral manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Barral fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz misses with a takedown
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for King Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dela Cruz on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Barral throws an overhand right that lands on Dela Cruz's shoulder, as Dela Cruz tries to avoid the shot.
Barral fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barral throws a series of punches but Dela Cruz avoids them all with ease.

Barral closes the distance and clinches.
Dela Cruz tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Barral can't break the clinch.

Barral breaks from the clinch.
Barral doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Barral looks to throw the jab but Dela Cruz is out of range.
Dela Cruz shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Barral defends it nicely.
Dela Cruz moves out of range of the body kick from Barral.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barral.
Dela Cruz takes a swing at Barral's ribcage but misses.
Dela Cruz looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Barral fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot.
Dela Cruz avoids the body shot from Barral.
A good leg kick by Barral.
Barral dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral moves in looking to clinch but Dela Cruz pushes him off.
Barral swings for the body but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
Dela Cruz tries for a takedown but Barral circles away easily
and Dela Cruz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A swing and a miss from Barral.
Dela Cruz keeps the fight on the outside.
Barral fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dela Cruz ducks under a wild hook from Barral.
Dela Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barral moves away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A decent looking cross lands there for Barral.
Barral looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Barral connects with a jab.
Barral tries to clinch up but Dela Cruz circles away and keeps his distance.
Romulo Barral seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Dela Cruz looks to score with a jab to the body but Barral is just out of range.
Barral misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt.
Barral takes a swing at Dela Cruz's ribcage but misses.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Barral wants to land a leg kick but Dela Cruz is out of range.
Dela Cruz fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Horrible takedown by Dela Cruz or perhaps it was just good defense by Barral which made him look bad.
Barral tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dela Cruz was well out of range. Poor timing from Barral.
Dela Cruz takes a swing at Barral's ribcage but misses.
Barral tries to clinch up but Dela Cruz circles away and keeps his distance.
Dela Cruz misses with a wild body shot.
Barral misses with a wild body shot.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Barral defending well as Dela Cruz loads up on a big left hand.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Barral as he jumps to the side.
Barral pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Dela Cruz has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Barral finds it's way round the side to connect with Dela Cruz's head.
Dela Cruz avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Dela Cruz shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Barral defends it nicely.
Dela Cruz is looking to wear down Barral with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Barral tries to land a leg kick but Dela Cruz saw it coming and moves away.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Barral lands with a cross.
Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a double leg but Barral sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Barral misses with a wild body shot.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Dela Cruz. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Nice shot lands for Barral.
Barral is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz moves out of range of the body kick from Barral.
Barral goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Dela Cruz looks to score with a jab to the body but Barral is just out of range.
Barral misses with a hook. Dela Cruz ducked under it nicely.
Barral waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barral manages to avoid it.
Dela Cruz shoots in looking for a takedown but Barral manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Dela Cruz's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Barral misses with a looping left.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz moves out of range of the body kick from Barral.
Dela Cruz scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Barral tests Dela Cruz's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Barral fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dela Cruz manages to avoid it.
Dela Cruz misses with an uppercut
and Barral counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Barral is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Dela Cruz had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barral scores with a jab. Dela Cruz acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Barral wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romulo Barral dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Barral uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Dela Cruz.
Barral fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dela Cruz manages to avoid it.
Barral tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dela Cruz was well out of range. Poor timing from Barral.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dela Cruz connects with a right hand. Barral shakes it off.
A big left from Dela Cruz misses.
Dela Cruz swings widly with a right hand
and Barral counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dela Cruz slips a jab from Barral.
Barral looks to land a right hand but Dela Cruz moved out of range.
Barral uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz throws an overhand right that lands on Barral's shoulder, as Barral tries to avoid the shot.
Barral tries to clinch up.
Dela Cruz jabs Barral right on the nose. Barral blinks but takes it well.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Barral as he avoids it easily.
Barral throws a body punch but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
Barral moves out of range of the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barral tries to clinch up but Dela Cruz circles away and keeps his distance.
Romulo Barral seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A slow jab from Barral misses its intended target.
Barral fails in his attempt to clinch.
Dela Cruz fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barral manages to avoid it.
Barral throws a shot from downtown. Dela Cruz moves away and avoids it.
Barral changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Dela Cruz scores with a jab to the head.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot
and Barral counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Dela Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Barral moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral is looking to slow Dela Cruz down with leg kicks.
Barral misses with a kick to the body.
Dela Cruz moves out of range as Barral strikes.
Barral wants to slow Dela Cruz down by chopping away at his legs.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Barral but Barral pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for King Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barral fails with an attempt to clinch.
Barral leaves Dela Cruz with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.

Dela Cruz gets the takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Dela Cruz tries to score with some ground and pound. Barral controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Barral manages to get back to half guard.
Dela Cruz is thwarting Barral's attempts to control the position.
Barral gets back to full guard.
Barral not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Dela Cruz with a flurry of punches that miss.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Dela Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Barral.
Barral 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 five minutes gone in the round.
Barral is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Barral is just content to waste time from the top position. Dela Cruz takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Barral in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Dela Cruz keeping moving, preventing Barral from controlling successfully.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz can't keep his opponent in guard - Barral advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Barral is looking to advance position but Dela Cruz won't allow it.
Barral is thwarting Dela Cruz's attempts to control the position.
Barral throws a strike but Dela Cruz avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Dela Cruz preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Barral looking to sit in guard and control but Dela Cruz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Dela Cruz is looking to work some ground and pound but Barral has wrist control.
Dela Cruz postures up.
Barral keeping full guard, as Dela Cruz tries to pass.
Barral manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Barral throwing strikes here but Dela Cruz is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz blocking the ground and pound.
Barral thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Barral throwing strikes here but Dela Cruz is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Poor strikes thrown by Barral there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Barral thowing shots but they're missing.
Barral throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Barral with a couple of short strikes.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Barral throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Dela Cruz because Barral loaded up on that one.
Barral looking to control but Dela Cruz is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Barral looking to ground and pound but Dela Cruz is blocking nicely.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dela Cruz is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Barral thowing shots but they're missing.
Dela Cruz wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Barral.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barral sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romulo Barral showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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.

Dela Cruz walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Barral slaps away a takedown attempt from Dela Cruz, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Barral keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Barral looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Barral stuffs the takedown attempt from Dela Cruz. Dela Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
Barral fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dela Cruz takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Barral slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Barral lands an overhand right.
Barral throws a head kick but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
Barral lands a nice hook to Dela Cruz's body. Dela Cruz takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Barral throws a body punch but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
Barral tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dela Cruz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dela Cruz slips a jab from Barral.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Dela Cruz scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Barral is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Barral controlling the position for now.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dela Cruz throwing shots but Barral is blocking nicely.
Barral has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

Dela Cruz is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Barral doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz stalling away here and it's allowed Barral to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Dela Cruz has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dela Cruz is one step ahead there.
Barral is trying to control the position but Dela Cruz postures up.
Dela Cruz tries to free his leg and advance position but Barral is retaining full guard.
Dela Cruz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Barral not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Dela Cruz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz looking to pass the guard.
Barral wants to sweep but no luck.
Barral is trying to keep Dela Cruz in close.
Dela Cruz missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Barral looking to hit a scissor sweep but Dela Cruz is one step ahead there.
Dela Cruz stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Barral swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Dela Cruz throws and elbow that misses. Barral uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Dela Cruz's guard. Nice move by Barral!
Barral passes Dela Cruz's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Dela Cruz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Barral.
Barral moves nicely into side control.
Barral lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Dela Cruz down.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Barral controlling the position from side mount.

Barral looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Barral in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Barral tries to advance to mount but Dela Cruz denies him.
The ground and pound from Barral seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Barral is trying to ground and pound but Dela Cruz uses the momentary lack of control by Barral to regain half guard.
Barral scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Barral prevents Dela Cruz from improving his position.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz blocking the ground and pound attempt from Barral.
Dela Cruz keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Barral is looking to advance position but Dela Cruz won't allow it.
Barral thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Barral moves into full mount! Dela Cruz won't be happy about that!
Barral throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Barral throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Dela Cruz holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Barral tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Barral throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Dela Cruz because Barral loaded up on that one.
Dela Cruz blocking the ground and pound.
Barral punching from mount but Dela Cruz doing a good job of avoiding damage.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barral throws some wild stikes that Dela Cruz manages to avoid easily.
Dela Cruz has worked his way to half guard, taking advantage of Barral's lack of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romulo Barral really dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Barral ducks right into an uppercut from Dela Cruz.
Barral wants to clinch up but Dela Cruz keeps it at a distance.
Barral fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Dela Cruz.
Barral is looking to clinch.
Barral walks into a straight right hand from Dela Cruz.
Barral tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dela Cruz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Barral stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Barral wants it to stay on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dela Cruz takes one to the side of the head.
Barral tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Dela Cruz circles away from the clinch attempt.
Barral has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Nice jab there from Barral.
Dela Cruz keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Barral.
Barral moves in looking to clinch but Dela Cruz pushes him off.
Barral moves in looking to clinch but Dela Cruz pushes him off.
Dela Cruz shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Barral pinned against the cage. Barral gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Barral tries to sprawl but Dela Cruz drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Barral is looking for a sweep. Dela Cruz is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Barral trying to control from the bottom.

Dela Cruz is working for a kimura but Barral is defending it quite comfortably.
Barral is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Dela Cruz is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral moves into full guard.
Dela Cruz postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Barral wants to sweep but no luck.
Barral trying to control the position.
Barral keeping moving, preventing Dela Cruz from controlling successfully.
Dela Cruz postures up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Dela Cruz wants to control from the top but Barral keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Dela Cruz scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Dela Cruz shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for King Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barral throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a double leg but Barral sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Barral throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Dela Cruz fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barral manages to avoid it.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Barral keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Dela Cruz lands a head shot.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown but Barral shows good takedown defense.
Horrible takedown by Dela Cruz or perhaps it was just good defense by Barral which made him look bad.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Dela Cruz defending well as Barral loads up on a big left hand.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut lands for Barral. That snapped Dela Cruz's head back.
Barral tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Dela Cruz manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Barral tries to close the distance and clinch up but Dela Cruz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Barral tries to clinch up but Dela Cruz circles away and keeps his distance.
Barral scores with a shot to the body.
Barral lands a nice shot to the body.
Barral tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Dela Cruz shoots in looking for a takedown but Barral manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Dela Cruz's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Barral goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Barral misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Barral throws a sloppy head kick and Dela Cruz moves out of range easily.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot.
Dela Cruz just misses with a punch to the body.
Barral clobbers Dela Cruz with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Barral as he avoids it easily.
Barral looks to score with a jab to the body but Dela Cruz is just out of range.
Barral throws a shot from downtown. Dela Cruz moves away and avoids it.
Barral does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Barral fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dela Cruz manages to avoid it.
Barral ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dela Cruz moves away.
Dela Cruz misses with a wild body shot.
Barral avoids the body shot from Dela Cruz.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Barral tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dela Cruz was well out of range. Poor timing from Barral.
Dela Cruz gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Barral counters with a nice body shot.
Dela Cruz fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Barral manages to avoid it.
Barral scores with a hook.
Dela Cruz lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Barral lets loose with a powerful body kick. Dela Cruz will feel that in the morning.
Barral lands a nice looking body kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romulo Barral dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

A jab from Barral finds it's way through Dela Cruz's defenses.
Barral throws the left hand but Dela Cruz avoids the punch easily.
Barral does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Barral misses the body punch
and Dela Cruz makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Dela Cruz fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Dela Cruz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Barral was well out of range. Poor timing from Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz throws a lazy uppercut
and Barral counters with a left to the body.
Barral missing with a left hand there. Dela Cruz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barral tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dela Cruz was well out of range. Poor timing from Barral.
Barral connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Barral fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Barral loads up on a big right hand but Dela Cruz slips the punch.
Barral is looking to score with low kicks.
Barral gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Barral ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dela Cruz moves away.
Dela Cruz fails miserably with a takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz blocks a leg kick.
Dela Cruz ducks under a wild hook from Barral.
Barral throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Dela Cruz stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Barral tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Dela Cruz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Dela Cruz swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Barral counters with a body kick.
Dela Cruz doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Dela Cruz needs to keep his hands up - Barral had a free shot at his head there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barral tries to clinch but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
Barral closes the distance and clinches up with Dela Cruz, looking for a takedown. Barral pushes Dela Cruz against the cage but Dela Cruz circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Barral's jab looks to have found its range, popping Dela Cruz under the eye.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Barral sprawls well. Barral wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Dela Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for King Dela Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dela Cruz shoots in but Barral avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Barral tries a head kick but it misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Barral thows a body shot but no joy.
Dela Cruz scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Barral doesn't seem bothered though.
Barral on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Dela Cruz swings for the body but Barral moves out of range.
Barral fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Dela Cruz manages to avoid it.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Dela Cruz is defended easily by Barral.
Dela Cruz shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Barral but Barral pushes him off and we're back to square one.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz avoids the body shot from Barral.
Barral moves forwards but Dela Cruz connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Barral darts in trying to clinch
letting Dela Cruz counter with a right hand.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Barral misses with a hook.
Dela Cruz connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Dela Cruz shoots in but Barral avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Dela Cruz shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Barral pinned against the cage. Barral gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Barral throws a series of punches but Dela Cruz moves out of range.
King Dela Cruz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Barral.
Dela Cruz cracks Barral with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

Dela Cruz shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Barral is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Barral is trying to control but can't.
Barral is looking to improve his position.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Dela Cruz is looking for a kimura here.
Dela Cruz wants to pass to mount but Barral is defending the position.
Barral tries to get to full guard but Dela Cruz has control of the leg.
Barral trying to control from the bottom.
Barral is controlling Dela Cruz's trapped leg to prevent Dela Cruz from advancing to side control.
Barral avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Dela Cruz.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Dela Cruz thows a huge punch but Barral dodges it nicely.
Dela Cruz thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Barral's head.
Barral tries to roll over but Dela Cruz keeps him under control.
Romulo Barral is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Dela Cruz wants to work for an arm triangle but Barral is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Dela 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.
Dela Cruz throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Dela Cruz is thwarting Barral's attempts to control the position.
Romulo Barral has got the better of the ground game so far.
Dela Cruz wants to advance to full mount but Barral doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Romulo Barral.
Well Barral has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight for Romulo Barral!
Judge Shirou Masuda scores the fight for Romulo Barral!
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight for Romulo Barral!

Romulo Barral wins by unanimous decision!
Romulo Barral is the new light heavyweight champion!