PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Manus Murphy (ranked 2470 p4p, 2941 weight class) and Ricardo P Cruz (ranked 357 p4p, 403 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Murphy
vs
P Cruz

195 cm
28
207
14 - 13 - 0

193 cm
28
225
8 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 14 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Manus Murphy!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Ricardo P Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Tarja Halkonen, Johanna Lukiainen and Anni Minnemäki.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

P Cruz gets a clinch.
Murphy misses with a punch on the inside.
Murphy lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

P Cruz manages to break the clinch.
P Cruz misses with a looping left.
P Cruz moves out of range of the strikes.
P Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch but Murphy swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Nice uppercut lands for P Cruz. That snapped Murphy's head back.
P Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Murphy moves out of range of the strikes.
P Cruz is looking to clinch but Murphy is avoiding it.
P Cruz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
It looked like Murphy wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
P Cruz throws a front kick aimed at Murphy's knee but Murphy avoids it well.
P Cruz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Murphy circles away quickly and effectively.

Murphy forces P Cruz back against the cage and clinches.

P Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murphy shoots for a takedown but P Cruz saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A little jabbing left from P Cruz on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Nice shot by P Cruz.
P Cruz will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's one minute gone in the round.
P Cruz takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Murphy fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Murphy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. P Cruz tries to avoid it but Murphy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag P Cruz to the ground. P Cruz escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manus Murphy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
P Cruz cracks Murphy with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
P Cruz catches Murphy with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Murphy has been working on his boxing with his coaches at The Jungle Room in the buildup to the fight.
P Cruz feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Murphys jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
P Cruz throws a push kick but Murphy slaps the foot to one side.
Nice takedown defense from P Cruz. No joy for Murphy on that attempt.
Murphy showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from P Cruz.
Murphy misses with a straight right.
Murphy fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
P Cruz keeps the fight on the outside.
P Cruz avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Murphy throws a looping overhand right but P Cruz ducks down to avoid it.
P Cruz pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Murphy back to the cage. P Cruz follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Murphy blocks a head kick by P Cruz.
Left hook, right uppercut from P Cruz.
Murphy shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Murphy throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around P Cruz's waist but P Cruz gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Murphy off to one side.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Murphy.
P Cruz looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
No joy there for P Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
P Cruz throws a head kick that misses.
Murphy throws a shot from downtown. P Cruz moves away and avoids it.
Murphy dodges the punch combination from P Cruz.

P Cruz clinches with his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphy is trying to pull guard but P Cruz has him pressed against the cage.
P Cruz looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
P Cruz takes a knee right on the jaw!

P Cruz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
P Cruz misses with a looping left.
P Cruz scores with a jab. Murphy acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
P Cruz swinging wildly here.
Murphy moves out of range as P Cruz strikes.
P Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Murphy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
P Cruz misses with a few strikes there.
Murphy is looking to counter punch.
P Cruz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
P Cruz misses with a jab, cross combination.
Murphy attempts a counter takedown but P Cruz avoids it well and moves away.
Murphy looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
P Cruz rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Murphy moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Murphy.
P Cruz has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
Murphy scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Murphy smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murphy shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as P Cruz sprawls well. P Cruz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Murphy gets slowly back to his feet.
Ricardo P Cruz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Murphy connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between P Cruz's hands.
P Cruz throws a right and a left that Murphy avoids nicely.
Murphy attempts a counter takedown but P Cruz avoids it well and moves away.
Murphy tries to score a power double leg takedown but P Cruz sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Murphy somewhat.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo P Cruz dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

P Cruz tries a head kick but it misses.
Manus Murphy is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
P Cruz scores with the left hand. Murphy knows he should have avoided that one.
Murphy connects with a crisp jab.
P Cruz goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
P Cruz throws a hook but Murphy blocks it.
Horrible takedown attempt by Murphy or perhaps it was just good defense by P Cruz, which made it look bad.
Murphy swats away the attempt to clinch by P Cruz.
A little feinted left hand from Murphy on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
P Cruz throws a lazy head kick
letting Murphy counter with a right hand.
P Cruz throws a lazy uppercut
and Murphy counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
P Cruz stuffs the takedown.
Murphy shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says P Cruz as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manus Murphy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
P Cruz dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Murphy. That did some damage!
A chopping leg kick lands by P Cruz.
Murphy dodges the punch combination from P Cruz.
Murphy drops down looking for a counter takedown but P Cruz sprawls and moves away.
Murphy is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

That's one minute gone in the round.
P Cruz swinging wildly here.
P Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Murphy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Murphy tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but P Cruz paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Nice sprawl there from P Cruz as Murphy shoots in.
Murphy has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from P Cruz finds it's way round the side to connect with Murphy's head.
Murphy shoots in but no luck this time.
As Murphy backs off P Cruz throws a huge counter combo but Murphy manages to avoid it all.
Murphy tries to clinch but P Cruz moves out of range.

P Cruz moves into range and clinches up with Murphy.
Murphy tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Murphy misses with a short punch on the inside.
Murphy misses with a hook from the clinch.
P Cruz tries to circle away but Murphy has him pinned against the cage.

P Cruz breaks from the clinch.
P Cruz tries to clinch there but Murphy circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
P Cruz drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Ricardo P Cruz seems to be getting the better of the standup.

P Cruz has taken the fight to the clinch.
Murphy lands with a light punch inside.

P Cruz breaks from the clinch.
Murphy wants to clinch up but P Cruz keeps it at a distance.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Murphy feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.

P Cruz kicks Murphy off and gets to his feet.
Murphy shoots in but no luck this time.
Murphy will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Murphy lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
P Cruz will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Murphy shoots in but no luck this time.
P Cruz swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
P Cruz throws out a loose jab but Murphy uses good head movement to avoid it.
Murphy dodges the punch combination from P Cruz.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
P Cruz throws a combination that misses
letting Murphy counter with a right hand.
P Cruz throws a leg kick but Murphy sees it coming and moves out of range.
P Cruz scoring well with a low kick there.
P Cruz throws a head kick that misses.
A big left from P Cruz misses.
Murphy slips a jab and a cross from P Cruz.
Murphy uses good head movement to avoid the hook from P Cruz.
Murphy shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as P Cruz sprawls well. P Cruz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Murphy gets slowly back to his feet.
A big left from P Cruz misses.
P Cruz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
P Cruz unleashes a big counter combination but Murphy bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Murphy uses good head movement to avoid the hook from P Cruz.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Murphy shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says P Cruz as he avoids it easily.

P Cruz clinches up with Murphy and pushes him back against the cage.

P Cruz manages to break the clinch.

P Cruz gets in close and instigates a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Murphy.
Murphy misses with a knee strike.

P Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
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!
P Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Murphy swats him away and circles back towards the center.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Murphy.
P Cruz scores with a nice body kick.

P Cruz clinches with his opponent.
P Cruz is trying to force a seperation but Murphy has the dominant position.
P Cruz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Murphy has a couple of punches blocked by P Cruz.
Murphy lands with a light punch inside.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo P Cruz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! And we move into the final round!

P Cruz misses with a two punch combination.
Murphy is looking for a counter combo.
P Cruz misses with a body kick.
A right-left combo lands from P Cruz.
Sloppy strikes from P Cruz. Those never looked like landing.
P Cruz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Murphy shoots in for a double leg but P Cruz sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Ricardo P Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Murphy closes the distance and clinches.
Murphy tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Murphy lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Murphy lands with a short shot to the head.
Murphy working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Murphy misses with some punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Murphy lands a left hand that snaps the head of P Cruz backwards.
P Cruz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Murphy tries a knee to the head but P Cruz blocks it.
P Cruz lands on the inside with an uppercut.
P Cruz tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Murphy fails to land.

P Cruz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Murphy keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from P Cruz.
Murphy went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
P Cruz cracks Murphy with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Murphy shoots in looking for a takedown but P Cruz manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Murphy's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
No joy there for P Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
P Cruz misses with an attempted mid kick.
P Cruz throws a series of strikes that have Murphy backpedaling.
Murphy has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by P Cruz.
Murphy misses with a two punch combination.
Murphy takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
P Cruz swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Murphy counters with a nice uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!
P Cruz tries to bum rush Murphy with a series of wild strikes but Murphy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
P Cruz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Murphy closes the distance and clinches up with P Cruz, looking for a takedown. Murphy pushes P Cruz against the cage but P Cruz circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manus Murphy. That's going to take a lot out of him.
P Cruz throws a head kick but Murphy moves out of range.
Murphy attempts a counter takedown but P Cruz avoids it well and moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
P Cruz waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Murphy.
Nice sprawl there from P Cruz as Murphy shoots in.
P Cruz looks to throw the jab but Murphy is out of range.
Murphy fails in his attempt to clinch.
No joy there for P Cruz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
P Cruz cracks a nice hook into Murphy's ribs.
P Cruz misses with an uppercut
enabling Murphy to counter with a crisp jab.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Murphy is defended easily by P Cruz.
Murphy changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. P Cruz tries to avoid it but Murphy manages to keep hold of a leg and drag P Cruz to the ground. P Cruz escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
P Cruz's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and P Cruz duly obliges.
P Cruz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Murphy tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but P Cruz swivels and escapes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
P Cruz lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

Murphy tries to keep at a distance but P Cruz has taken the fight into the clinch.
Murphy fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Murphy lands a hook that snaps the head of P Cruz backwards.
Murphy tries a body shot but P Cruz blocks it.
P Cruz blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

P Cruz breaks the clinch.
P Cruz moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Murphy looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? P Cruz is fending him off so far but Murphy persists. Nope, P Cruz circles away and we're back to standing.
Murphy walks forward, straight into a front kick from P Cruz.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Murphy.
Despite the aggression on P Cruz's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
P Cruz connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Murphy momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
P Cruz scores with a one two! Murphy had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
P Cruz misses with a double jab.
P Cruz lands a head kick. Murphy smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Murphy blocks a head kick by P Cruz.
A jab from P Cruz misses.
Murphy closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
P Cruz misses with a looping left.
P Cruz scores with the left hand. Murphy knows he should have avoided that one.

P Cruz clinches up against the cage.
Murphy throws a punch but it's blocked by P Cruz.
Murphy throws a punch but it's blocked by P Cruz.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

P Cruz's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A head kick by P Cruz misses
letting Murphy counter with a right hand.
Murphy tries to clinch but P Cruz moves out of range.
Manus Murphy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ricardo P Cruz is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Murphy misses with a hook. P Cruz ducked under it nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo P Cruz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got P Cruz winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricardo P Cruz!
In defeat, Manus Murphy stepped up to the mic, saying 'WTF??? How did that happen?'.