PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between James Dove (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Max Lacroix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dove kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Renegades of Funk. The key to victory for James Dove has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Dove
vs
Lacroix

185 cm
23
170 lbs
1 - 8 - 0

186 cm
21
176 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, James Dove!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Max Lacroix!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Dillan Fox and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dove throws a shot from downtown. Lacroix moves away and avoids it.
A punch combination from Dove misses.
Dove throws a nice head kick!

It looks like Max Lacroix has been cut.

Lacroix clinches with his opponent.
Dove tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.

Lacroix's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Lacroix closes the distance and clinches.
Dove looking for a takedown.
Dove wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Lacroix is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Dove throws a head punch that misses.
We've been hearing reports that Dove has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.

Dove escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lacroix takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Dove defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Lacroix.
Dove tries to clinch but Lacroix moves out of range.
Dove tries to bum rush Lacroix with a series of wild strikes but Lacroix uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Lacroix lands a right hook to the body.

Lacroix takes the fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lacroix lands a hook to the side of the head.
Dove is trying to break the clinch but Lacroix is controlling him.

Lacroix pulls guard successfully.
Dove looking to sit in guard and control but Lacroix gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Dove can't keep his opponent in guard - Lacroix advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Lacroix wants to pass to mount but Dove is defending the position.
Lacroix passes the guard and advances to mount!
Lacroix content just to control the position here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lacroix looking to finish Dove with some ground and pound. This is bad for Dove!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Dove regains half guard.
My spies in Canadian Combat Sports inform me that Lacroix has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Dove has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Lacroix is working away from the top position though.
Dove is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lacroix is working for a submission of some sort.
Lacroix seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Lacroix has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lacroix trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Dove is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Lacroix wants to take Dove's back but he can't do it this time.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lacroix raining down shots from the mount!
Dove tries to buck Lacroix off but he can't manage it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Lacroix dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Max Lacroix's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Dove misses with a combination
and Lacroix counters with a nice uppercut.
No luck for Lacroix with that takedown attempt.

Lacroix closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Dove to the mat! Dove manages to get full guard.
Dove preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lacroix stands and throws Dove's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Lacroix wants to control but Dove is keeping him busy.
Dove tries to slip a leg under to move to half guard but Lacroix presses down on the leg and jumps into full mount!
Dove is in a horrible position here. Lacroix smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Lacroix working away from the top, dropping strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lacroix lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Lacroix trying to control but Dove is having none of it.
Lacroix scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Dove?
Dove is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Lacroix takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Lacroix trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Lacroix controlling from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lacroix throwing strikes here but Dove is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Lacroix in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lacroix throws some wild stikes that Dove manages to avoid easily.
Lacroix scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Dove?
Lacroix tries to control but Dove wriggling away.
Lacroix in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Lacroix fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Lacroix is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Dove is surviving well by controlling Lacroix's body position as best he can.
Dove on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Dove tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lacroix wants to control the pace but Dove is squirming around nicely.
Lacroix with good strikes from the mount here!
Dove is squirming around, avoiding Lacroix's attempts to control the action.
Dove is looking to get to half guard.
Lacroix with a couple of short strikes.
Dove avoids a series of strikes thrown by Lacroix.
Lacroix avoids the attempt from Dove to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Lacroix gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!

Lacroix shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Dove manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lacroix sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Lacroix working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Lacroix's corner is telling him to maintain position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Lacroix 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.
Lacroix passes easily into side control. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Max Lacroix showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Max Lacroix's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Lacroix fails to land the takedown.

Lacroix closes the distance and clinches.

Lacroix pulls guard successfully.
Lacroix keeping moving, preventing Dove from controlling successfully.
Lacroix looking for a sweep. Not yet Lacroix, not yet.
Lacroix has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Dove wanted to stand there but Lacroix had control of the position.

Lacroix had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Dove defends it easily.
Dove has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Lacroix seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Lacroix throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Lacroix has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lacroix has his hands on Dove's head, controlling the position.
Dove is looking to advance position but Lacroix has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Lacroix tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

Lacroix looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Dove looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
James Dove has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lacroix has the hooks sunk in and you can see the will to fight slowly draining out of Dove's body.
Dove tries to break free.

Lacroix sinks in the hooks and is looking for the choke. He's got it! Dove taps out!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:53 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Max Lacroix!
After winning the bout, Max Lacroix thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.