PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Marcus De La Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Guilherme Fonseca (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). De La Cruz comes to the ring accompanied by http://youtu.be/lTiAdy--FOQ. The key to victory for Marcus De La Cruz has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

De La Cruz
vs
Fonseca

188 cm
19
188 lbs
2 - 5 - 0

185 cm
21
185 lbs
7 - 6 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Knockout power

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 2 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Marcus De La Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Guilherme Fonseca!
The judges for this bout are Paul Aken, Saam Ante and Albert Achterberg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De La Cruz lands a head kick!
De La Cruz throws a sloppy head kick and Fonseca moves out of range easily.
De La Cruz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
De La Cruz misses with a double jab.
Fonseca fails with a takedown attempt.
Fonseca pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
De La Cruz tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Fonseca counters by moving into the clinch.

De La Cruz pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Fonseca is trying hard to land a takedown here. De La Cruz sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz stalks Fonseca and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Fonseca's face. Fonseca staggers backwards, shaken.
De La Cruz wants to clinch.
De La Cruz misses with a wild combination.
Fonseca fails to land the takedown.
Marcus De La Cruz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Guilherme Fonseca.
De La Cruz moves in looking to clinch but Fonseca pushes him off.
De La Cruz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
De La Cruz lands an overhand right.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz fails to land with a series of punches.
De La Cruz wants to clinch

and Fonseca counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Fonseca jumps guard but De La Cruz stands there with Fonseca around his waist. Fonseca gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Fonseca jumps guard and drags De La Cruz to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
De La Cruz wants to stand but Fonseca has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Fonseca 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.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
De La Cruz wants to control from the top but Fonseca keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fonseca tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Fonseca trying to keep a closed guard but De La Cruz is proving a slippery customer.
Fonseca controlling the position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Guilherme Fonseca hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
De La Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Fonseca paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Fonseca throws a half hearted mid kick.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Fonseca breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Fonseca shoots in and drives through. De La Cruz sprawls well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fonseca tries to clinch but De La Cruz is having none of it.
Fonseca misses with a takedown attempt - De La Cruz sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Fonseca wants to clinch up but De La Cruz keeps it at a distance.
De La Cruz avoids the head kick by Fonseca.
Fonseca fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
De La Cruz tries to clinch up but Fonseca circles away and keeps his distance.
De La Cruz defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Fonseca.
Fonseca looks winded!
Fonseca moves out of range of the body kick.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Fonseca avoids the head kick by De La Cruz.

De La Cruz forces Fonseca back against the ropes and clinches.
Fonseca is trying to pull guard but De La Cruz turns him against the ropes and we stay in the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus De La Cruz dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

De La Cruz throws a leg kick but Fonseca moved away.
Marcus De La Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Fonseca wants to clinch up but De La Cruz keeps it at a distance.
Fonseca takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
De La Cruz lands with an uppercut that bounces Fonseca off the ropes and back into range.
Fonseca tries for a takedown but De La Cruz sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
De La Cruz doesn't manage to clinch there - Fonseca circles away.
De La Cruz closes the distance but Fonseca moves to the side

and Fonseca counters by clinching up.
Fonseca jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as De La Cruz walks away with a smile on his face. Fonseca gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Fonseca swats away the attempt to clinch by De La Cruz.
De La Cruz misses with a head kick.
Marcus De La Cruz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz lands a nice shot to the body.
De La Cruz tries to clinch up but Fonseca circles away and keeps his distance.
Fonseca avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Marcus De La Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fonseca changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. De La Cruz tries to avoid it but Fonseca manages to keep hold of a leg and drag De La Cruz to the ground. De La Cruz escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Marcus De La Cruz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Guilherme Fonseca.
De La Cruz tries to clinch up.
Sloppy strikes from De La Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
De La Cruz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
De La Cruz throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Fonseca.
Marcus De La Cruz is winning the standup battle so far.
De La Cruz tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Fonseca counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Fonseca wants to pass the guard but De La Cruz is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz trying to control the position.
Fonseca trying to control but De La Cruz is working from the bottom.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Fonseca is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Fonseca is stalling in the full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Guilherme Fonseca.
Nice takedown defense from De La Cruz. No joy for Fonseca on that attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fonseca has a takedown stuffed.
De La Cruz misses with the combination.
Fonseca misses with a jab, cross combination.
De La Cruz tries to bum rush Fonseca with a series of wild strikes but Fonseca uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
De La Cruz tries to clinch there but Fonseca circles away.
Horrible takedown by Fonseca or perhaps it was just good defense by De La Cruz which made him look bad.
Fonseca avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Fonseca closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
De La Cruz gets back to full guard.
Fonseca showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
De La Cruz keeping moving, preventing Fonseca from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Guilherme Fonseca will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Some wild striking there from De La Cruz.

De La Cruz forces Fonseca back against the ropes and clinches.
Fonseca keeps control of De La Cruz as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
De La Cruz wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.

Fonseca has picked De La Cruz up - he's going for a ride! Fonseca dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Fonseca is trying to control the action in half guard but De La Cruz is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
De La Cruz trying to control but Fonseca postures up.
Fonseca looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De La Cruz is staying active underneath Fonseca, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
De La Cruz wants to sweep but Fonseca has passed to side control!
Fonseca trying to control the position but De La Cruz is working away.
De La Cruz is looking for a sweep.
Fonseca working away.
Guilherme Fonseca has got the better of the ground game so far.
Fonseca takes a little break here. De La Cruz wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De La Cruz can't do much from the bottom here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Fonseca shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. De La Cruz manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Fonseca pushing down on De La Cruz's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
De La Cruz wants to stand back up but Fonseca manages to pass into side control.

Fonseca has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De La Cruz pulls out of a head kick attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Fonseca gets tackled into the ropes by De La Cruz. De La Cruz maintains the clinch.
De La Cruz is trying to force a seperation but Fonseca has the dominant position.

Fonseca has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed De La Cruz clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Fonseca is looking to control De La Cruz but De La Cruz is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Fonseca has the hooks in. De La Cruz is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Fonseca has good solid back control here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fonseca trying to control momentarily.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Guilherme Fonseca hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
De La Cruz displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Fonseca.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Fonseca gets the takedown into side control.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De La Cruz wants to control but Fonseca postures up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Guilherme Fonseca comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Fonseca 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 Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Guilherme Fonseca!
A relieved looking Guilherme Fonseca thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.