PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Georg Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sailo Lance (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Lance has chosen Alive as his entrance music. Sailo Lance is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Cruz
vs
Lance

176 cm
25
144 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

173 cm
23
134 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Knockout power

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, Georg Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sailo Lance!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Vladimir Khabensky and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lance misses with a two punch combination.
Cruz swats away the attempt to clinch by Lance.
Lance lands with a straight right. Cruz didn't see that one coming.
Cruz takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

Lance rushes Cruz and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Cruz wants a takedown.
Lance prevents the takedown attempt.

Cruz tightens his grip and picks Lance up, before dumping him to the ground. Lance manages to land in guard.
Cruz looking to pass the guard.

Lance is working an open guard so Cruz takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lance shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Cruz as he jumps to the side.
Cruz shoots in for a takedown but Lance shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Georg Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cruz fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
A punch combination from Lance misses.
Lance stuffs the takedown attempt from Cruz. Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lance swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Cruz keeps the fight on the outside.
Cruz doesn't manage to clinch there - Lance circles away.
Lance displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Cruz.
Sloppy strikes from Lance. Those never looked like landing.
Cruz fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Cruz shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Lance but Lance pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Some wild striking there from Lance.
Cruz fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Lance will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Lance misses with a few strikes there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lance looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Cruz drives through with a takedown into guard.
Cruz with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Cruz throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lance works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lance wants to stand up but Cruz is controlling him.
Lance looks gassed!
Cruz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Lance is keeping the position for now.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Cruz stands up from Lance's guard - Cruz perhaps looking for a knockout.
Lance slips a jab from Cruz.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz wants a takedown.
Lance tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Lance is trying to push Cruz away but Cruz has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.

Cruz gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Lance.
Cruz connects with a couple of short punches.
Cruz trying to control but Lance is working from the bottom.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Lance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cruz is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Cruz stands up and waves to Lance to follow him.
Lance throws a right hand that Cruz ducks under and follows up with a left that Cruz also avoids with ease.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lance swinging wildly here.
Lance throws a right hand that Cruz ducks under and follows up with a left that Cruz also avoids with ease.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cruz fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Lance avoids it really well and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Cruz walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Lance defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Cruz.
Cruz tries to score a power double leg takedown but Lance sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Cruz somewhat.
Lance shoots for a double leg takedown but Cruz sprawls well. He's pushed Lance's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Lance lands with a nice combination. Cruz backs away looking to recover.
Lance moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Cruz misses with a takedown attempt - Lance sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Georg Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Lance misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lance scores with a one two! Cruz had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

Cruz closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Cruz lands in his opponent's guard.
Lance is breathing heavily.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Lance avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Georg Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Cruz drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Lance manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Cruz has Lance in his guard.
Lance is looking to stand up but Cruz won't let him.

Cruz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Lance trying to control but Cruz is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cruz has an active guard here but Lance has managed to pass into half guard.
Lance wants to advance to full mount but Cruz doesn't think that's going to happen and regains full guard instead.
Cruz is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lance would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Lance is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Cruz keeping full guard, as Lance tries to pass.
Cruz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Lance is one step ahead there.
Cruz pulls Lance in close to prevent any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Sailo Lance wasn't active enough on the ground.
Nice shot lands for Lance.

Lance gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Cruz trying to control but Lance is working from the bottom.

Cruz stands up and waves to Lance to follow him.
Lance throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Cruz feints and as Lance raises his hands in defense, Cruz changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cruz is working Lance over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Georg Cruz dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Cruz takes a jab right on the kisser.
Lance tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

Cruz dives in and scores a takedown into Lance's guard.

Cruz is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Cruz forces his way into half guard.
Cruz misses with a head shot. Lance uses the momentum to regain guard.
Lance wants to sweep here but Cruz controlling him for the moment.
Lance keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz forces his way into half guard.
Cruz wants to take a breather but Lance is having none of it.

Cruz is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Cruz not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Lance is defending against the submission attempts here by Cruz.
Cruz is thwarting Lance's attempts to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Cruz is working for a kimura but Lance is defending it quite comfortably.
Cruz moves nicely into side control.
Lance 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 cracks Lance with a big right hand but Lance just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Lance can't do much from the bottom here.

Cruz swings around for an armbar but Lance sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Cruz's guard.
Lance is fighting to break Cruz's control of his arms but Cruz is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lance would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Lance takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lance trying to control the position from guard on top but Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Cruz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Cruz looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cruz throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Lance wants to stand but Cruz is controlling his posture from full guard.
Sailo Lance has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Lance stands and steps away. Cruz gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Georg Cruz is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Cruz shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Lance tries to strike from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Georg Cruz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Cruz, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Vladimir Khabensky scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27

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