PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Darian Cruz (ranked 1491 p4p, 1718 weight class) and Ethan Irwin (ranked 169 p4p, 192 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Cruz
vs
Irwin

171 cm
31
145
6 - 4 - 0

168 cm
30
154
8 - 10 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Core Combat

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Darian Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ethan Irwin!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Thiago Cunha and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Irwin misses with a wild body shot.
Cruz uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Irwin has time to react.
Cruz blocks a jab.
Cruz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Irwin slips under a jab.
Cruz throws a hook but Irwin avoids it easily.
Irwin thinks about the counter body kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Cruz. Irwin does a little dance to reset his feet.
Irwin takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Irwin avoids a punch combination nicely.
Irwin throws a body punch but Cruz moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Irwin takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
A slow jab from Cruz misses its intended target.
Cruz swings for the body but Irwin moves out of range.
Cruz throws a combination. Irwin tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz lands with a shot to the body.
Cruz misses with a series of wild punches.
Ethan Irwin is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A left lands for Cruz.

Cruz scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Irwin is in trouble now - Cruz has advanced to mount!
Cruz controlling the pace for now.
Cruz fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Cruz scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Irwin?
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Irwin taking shots to the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Irwin wants to hold on but Cruz pushes him away.
Irwin is looking to improve his position but Cruz isn't that keen on the idea.
Irwin looks winded!
Cruz lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irwin is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Cruz lands a big shot there that rocks Irwin but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Cruz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Irwin is bucking up trying to escape but Cruz cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Cruz controlling the position easily from mount.
Irwin is squirming around, avoiding Cruz's attempts to control the action.
Cruz controlling the pace for now.
Cruz with a couple of short strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz lands with some strikes.
Cruz looking to control but Irwin is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Cruz lands a couple of good shots and Irwin has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Cruz keeps control of the position easily here as Irwin tries to buck him off.
Irwin trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Cruz controls the action.
Cruz'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.
Irwin rolls, trying to escape but Cruz keeps control of the position.
Cruz lands with a hammerfist to the side of Irwin's head.
Cruz has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
The referee is taking a good look at Irwin as he is on the wrong end of some big shots from Cruz!
Irwin rolls, trying to escape but Cruz keeps control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz biding his time, looking for the opening.

Irwin defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Cruz has the hooks in. Irwin is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Cruz softening up his opponent with strikes here.

Cruz is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Cruz has the hooks in. Irwin is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Cruz lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.
A lull in the action here.

Irwin fending off the submission attempt from Cruz.
Irwin is really stuck here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darian Cruz dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Cruz misses with a double jab.
A cross from Cruz lands.
Cruz moves out of range as Irwin strikes.
A combination from Cruz does no damage.
Cruz throws a body punch but Irwin moves out of range.
Cruz lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Irwin thows a left - swing and a miss!
Cruz lands a glancing blow to the side of Irwin's head.
Irwin walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Cruz throws a body punch but Irwin moves out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cruz with a hook.
Irwin displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Cruz throws out the jab.
Irwin looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Cruz looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Irwin throws out a counter right but Cruz avoids it with no problem.
Cruz cracks Irwin with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Irwin circles away quickly and effectively.
Cruz misses with a hook.
Irwin is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Cruz with a body shot.
Cruz misses the jab.
Cruz is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Irwin.
Irwin takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
A looping hook to the body misses from Cruz. Irwin does a little dance to reset his feet.
Cruz misses with a body shot.
Irwin ducks under a wild hook from Cruz.
Irwin stuffs the takedown attempt from Cruz. Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
Irwin flicks out a counter leg kick but Cruz steps away.
Cruz misses with a body shot.
Irwin throws a body punch but Cruz moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Irwin takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Cruz.
A little jabbing left from Irwin on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Darian Cruz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Irwin drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Cruz misses with a takedown attempt
and Irwin counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Nice shot lands for Cruz.
Jab by Cruz.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Irwin looks to land a body kick but Cruz moved away.
Irwin is breathing heavily.
Irwin throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Darian Cruz is winning the standup battle so far.
Cruz tries to bum rush Irwin with a series of wild strikes but Irwin uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Cruz falls off balance throwing a combination
and Irwin counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz misses with the combination.
Cruz ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Irwin moves away.
Irwin flicks out a counter leg kick but Cruz steps away.
Cruz looks to land a right hand but Irwin moved out of range.
Irwin takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
The crowd cheers as Cruz lands an impressive looking overhand right. Irwin doesn't seem phased though.

Cruz fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Irwin to the ground. Cruz is now in Irwin's guard.
Irwin keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.
Irwin wants to get back to his feet but Cruz passes into half guard.
Cruz is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Irwin is staying active underneath Cruz, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz content to control rather than advance.
Cruz drops an elbow to the side of Irwin's head.
Cruz is keen to just control but Irwin is a slippery customer.
Cruz prevents Irwin from standing back up.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Irwin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Cruz trying to mount his opponent but Irwin defends it.
Cruz controlling the action here.
Cruz looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Irwin with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Darian Cruz dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Irwin enables Cruz to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Irwin manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Cruz scoring with some ground and pound.
Cruz trying to control but Irwin is working from the bottom.
Cruz preventing the sweep.
Cruz controls from within his opponent's guard.
Irwin wants to sweep here but Cruz controlling him for the moment.
Cruz throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Irwin works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Cruz trying to control but Irwin is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Cruz's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Irwin takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Cruz trying to control the position from guard on top but Irwin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Cruz is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cruz is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Irwin 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.
Cruz trying to control but Irwin is working from the bottom.
Darian Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruz is looking to work some ground and pound but Irwin has wrist control.
Cruz missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Cruz engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Cruz scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Cruz sitting in guard here, content to control.
Irwin keeping moving, preventing Cruz from controlling successfully.
Cruz is stalling in the full guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ethan Irwin has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cruz is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Irwin can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
A shot to the body from Irwin misses
and Cruz counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Cruz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Irwin slips a jab from Cruz.
Cruz misses with a right hand
and Irwin counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Irwin misses with a leg kick
and Irwin takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Irwin wants to slow Cruz down by chopping away at his legs.
Irwin avoids a punch combination nicely.
It seemed like Irwin was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Cruz misses with a straight right.
Irwin defending well as Cruz loads up on a big left hand.
A big right from Cruz misses.
A punch lands to the side of Irwin 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Darian Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Cruz throws out a loose jab but Irwin uses good head movement to avoid it.
Darian Cruz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cruz avoids a kick to the body.
Cruz takes a swing at Irwin's ribcage but misses.
Irwin walks into a left hand.
Cruz bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Irwin's head.
A telegraphed right hand from Cruz misses the target.
Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Irwin flicks out a counter leg kick but Cruz steps away.
Cruz thuds his right hand into Irwin's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Irwin uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Cruz.
Irwin replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Cruz blocks it well.
Irwin stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Irwin wants it to stay on the feet.
Irwin let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Irwin just misses with a punch to the body.
Cruz fails to land with a series of punches.

Cruz drives through with a takedown into Irwin's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Darian Cruz is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Cruz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz trying to control the position from guard on top but Irwin is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Irwin is looking for a triangle but Cruz pushes his legs off easily.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Cruz chips away with some ground and pound.
Cruz is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Cruz wants to control from the top but Irwin keeps moving.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Irwin is on top in guard.

Irwin must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Cruz is on top in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Darian Cruz showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cruz 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:26
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Darian Cruz!
In his post fight interview, Darian Cruz started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.