PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Roderick Cruickshank (ranked 7555 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rodrigo Dos Santos (ranked 6258 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Cruickshank
vs
Dos Santos

178 cm
25
156 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

175 cm
25
156 lbs
2 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Roderick Cruickshank !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rodrigo Dos Santos!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Eddie Farnsworth and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dos Santos shoots for a double leg takedown but Cruickshank sprawls well. He's pushed Dos Santos's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Cruickshank misses the target.
Dos Santos tries to close the distance and clinch but Cruickshank swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Cruickshank gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Cruickshank manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Dos Santos accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Dos Santos sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Cruickshank 's guard.
Dos Santos is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Cruickshank !
Cruickshank wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Dos Santos.
Cruickshank is looking to improve his position but Dos Santos isn't that keen on the idea.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dos Santos trying to control but he's not successful this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Cruickshank is trying to escape the mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruickshank is trying to stand.
Cruickshank slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Cruickshank is looking to control Dos Santos's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Cruickshank avoid being mounted?
Dos Santos has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Dos Santos seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Cruickshank does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Cruickshank is looking for a sweep. Dos Santos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Dos Santos wants to stand but Cruickshank has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Dos Santos wants to take a breather but Cruickshank is having none of it.
Cruickshank is looking to escape.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Cruickshank is looking for a sweep. Dos Santos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Dos Santos shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Cruickshank tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Dos Santos swivels and escapes.
Dos Santos misses with a takedown
and Cruickshank counters with a stiff right hand.
Roderick Cruickshank has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rodrigo Dos Santos.
Cruickshank shoots in and drives through. Dos Santos sprawls well.
Dos Santos drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Cruickshank defends it well.

Cruickshank takes the fight into the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos throws a head punch that misses.
Dos Santos jumps guard but Cruickshank stands there with Dos Santos around his waist. Dos Santos gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Dos Santos changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Cruickshank fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Cruickshank looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Dos Santos is fending him off so far but Cruickshank persists. Nope, Dos Santos circles away and we're back to standing.
Dos Santos dives in and grabs Cruickshank 's left leg, looking for a takedown. Cruickshank pushes down on Dos Santos's head and hops out.

Cruickshank looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Dos Santos!
Dos Santos is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Cruickshank working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos stops Cruickshank from passing to mount.
Dos Santos manages to work his way to half guard, despite Cruickshank 's best efforts.
Cruickshank not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Cruickshank trying to advance position but Dos Santos counters by regaining guard.
Dos Santos throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cruickshank is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Cruickshank 's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Roderick Cruickshank will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Dos Santos moves in looking to clinch but Cruickshank pushes him off.
Dos Santos fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Cruickshank swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.

Cruickshank has managed to clinch.
Cruickshank lands with a right to the head.

It looks like Rodrigo Dos Santos has been cut.

Cruickshank breaks the clinch.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Dos Santos.
It looked like Cruickshank was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

Cruickshank gets a double leg takedown into Dos Santos's guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruickshank is stalling in the full guard.
Dos Santos trying to keep a closed guard but Cruickshank is proving a slippery customer.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruickshank looking to pass the guard.
Dos Santos looking to control.
Cruickshank controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Cruickshank seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Dos Santos for as long as he can get away with.
Cruickshank trying to control the position from guard on top but Dos Santos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Dos Santos tries to clinch up but Cruickshank circles away and keeps his distance.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Cruickshank .
Cruickshank shoots in looking for a takedown but Dos Santos manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Cruickshank 's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Dos Santos stuffs the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Roderick Cruickshank . That's going to take a lot out of him.
Cruickshank avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Cruickshank tries to counter with a takedown but Dos Santos is quick to defend against it.
Roderick Cruickshank is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Dos Santos falls off balance throwing a combination

and Cruickshank counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Cruickshank .
Dos Santos trying to control the position but instead, Cruickshank has worked for underhooks and has pushed Dos Santos into the cage.
Cruickshank digs a right hand into Dos Santos's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Dos Santos's gas tank.
Dos Santos is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cruickshank breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Dos Santos dives in for a single leg takedown but Cruickshank sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Horrible takedown attempt by Dos Santos or perhaps it was just good defense by Cruickshank , which made it look bad.
Cruickshank dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Dos Santos. That did some damage!
Dos Santos tries to clinch there but Cruickshank circles away.
Cruickshank tries to counter with a takedown but Dos Santos is quick to defend against it.
No luck for Dos Santos with that takedown attempt.
Cruickshank stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Cruickshank wants it to stay on the feet.
Dos Santos is breathing heavily.

Cruickshank clinches with his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Cruickshank decides to pull guard.
Cruickshank pulls Dos Santos in close to his closed guard and prevents Dos Santos from doing any damage or advancing position.

Cruickshank is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

Cruickshank breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Cruickshank circles away from the clinch attempt.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Cruickshank throws a leg kick but Dos Santos checks it.

Cruickshank closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Cruickshank just content to control the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Roderick Cruickshank dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Rodrigo Dos Santos's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

No joy there for Cruickshank , who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Cruickshank fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Dos Santos sprawls well initially but Cruickshank persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Dos Santos trying to get back to full guard but Cruickshank takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Cruickshank controlling from mount.
Dos Santos tries to buck Cruickshank off but he can't manage it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dos Santos is wriggling around trying to escape.
Dos Santos tries to hold on but Cruickshank pushes him away.
Cruickshank controlling the pace for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dos Santos tries to hold on but Cruickshank pushes him away.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dos Santos tries to reverse the position but Cruickshank maintains control.
Dos Santos is in a horrible position here. Cruickshank smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Cruickshank cracks Dos Santos with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Roderick Cruickshank overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruickshank controlling the position easily from mount.
Cruickshank throws some wild stikes that Dos Santos manages to avoid easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cruickshank wants to take Dos Santos's back but he can't do it this time.
Dos Santos reaches up to try and control the position but Cruickshank seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Dos Santos rolls and tries to escape and now Cruickshank has his back!
Cruickshank controls the action.
Cruickshank not allowing Dos Santos to control his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dos Santos tries to escape but Cruickshank has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Cruickshank lands with a hammerfist to the side of Dos Santos's head.

Cruickshank has his hand under the chin of his opponent looking for the choke. He's nearly got it! This one could be all over! But no, Dos Santos has freed his hand and lives to survive another… well, another couple of seconds at least!

Cruickshank patiently working for the choke. Which fighter will keep their nerve here?
Cruickshank is trying to stick to Dos Santos's back but Dos Santos is turning into Cruickshank . He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Cruickshank 's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Dos Santos.
Cruickshank is pulling down on Dos Santos's head to control his posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruickshank keeping full guard, as Dos Santos tries to pass.
Cruickshank throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

Cruickshank scrambles and gets back to his feet.

Cruickshank gets a clinch.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Dos Santos.
Dos Santos missing with knees to the body.
Rodrigo Dos Santos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Roderick Cruickshank is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cruickshank is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Dos Santos can do to turn this around?
Dos Santos jumps guard but Cruickshank stands there with Dos Santos around his waist. Dos Santos gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Roderick Cruickshank showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cruickshank 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:27
Judge Eddie Farnsworth scores the fight 30:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Roderick Cruickshank !