PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between John Morrison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dominick Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The key to victory for John Morrison has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Morrison
vs
Cruz

170 cm
22
134 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

178 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, John Morrison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Dominick Cruz!
The judges for this bout are Ian Loll, Robert Douchet and Steve Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Cruz scores a takedown into full mount!
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Morrison is working to get back to half guard.
Morrison manages to regain half guard. Good work.

Morrison looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Cruz pushes past his half guard into mount!
Morrison is trying to escape the mount.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Cruz gets to his feet and calls his opponent to stand. Here come the fireworks!
Morrison fails with a takedown attempt.

Cruz throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Morrison was covering up waiting for the punch and Cruz finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Cruz preventing the sweep.
Cruz really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Morrison. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Morrison throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Cruz must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrison manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Cruz manages to get himself to full guard.
Morrison throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Cruz works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Morrison passes Cruz's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Morrison wants to pass to mount but Cruz is defending the position.
Morrison landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Morrison is looking to take a break and control but Cruz is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Morrison thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cruz defending well though.
Morrison trying to control the action but Cruz is working from the bottom.
Cruz blocking the ground and pound attempt from Morrison.
Cruz blocking the ground and pound attempt from Morrison.
Morrison has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Morrison throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Cruz wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Morrison.
Morrison thowing shots but they're missing.
Cruz is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Morrison misses with a head shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Morrison thowing shots but they're missing.
Morrison misses with a head shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Morrison dominated that round.
That's time! Morrison's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Morrison shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Morrison shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Cruz counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Morrison's guard now.
Morrison wants to sweep but no luck.
Cruz has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Morrison is proving hard to escape from.
Morrison bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Cruz's guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Morrison accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Morrison throwing strikes but missing.
Cruz keeping moving, preventing Morrison from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison throws an elbow that misses. Cruz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Morrison's guard. Nice move by Cruz!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Morrison is on top in guard.
Morrison passes Cruz's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Morrison slips a nice elbow through Cruz's hands, connecting with Cruz's forehead.
Morrison wants to free his trapped foot but Cruz is holding on for dear life with his legs.
John Morrison overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Cruz pushes Morrison off looking to stand but Morrison dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Morrison thows a huge punch but Cruz dodges it nicely.
Cruz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Morrison.
Morrison not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Morrison throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Morrison sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Cruz defending well though.
Morrison 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.
Morrison is trying to control the action in half guard but Cruz is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Morrison missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Morrison missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Morrison trying to pass the guard but Cruz defending well.
Morrison missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Cruz is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Morrison scores with a couple of nice shots.
Morrison uses his free foot to push down on Cruz's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Cruz.

Morrison is working for a guillotine from mount but Cruz frees his head quite easily.
Morrison thowing shots but they're missing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrison won't let Cruz get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Morrison trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Morrison sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Morrison postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Cruz looks a forlorn figure.
Morrison scoring with strikes but Cruz is staying in there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Morrison dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Cruz throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Morrison was covering up waiting for the punch and Cruz finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Morrison trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Morrison throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Morrison trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Morrison striking off his back but it's not causing Cruz any problems.
Morrison trying to keep a closed guard but Cruz is proving a slippery customer.
Cruz stopping the sweep attempt from Morrison.
Cruz is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Morrison throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Cruz won't allow Morrison to sweep him here.
Morrison manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Morrison tries to control but Cruz wriggling away.
Morrison punching from mount but Cruz doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Morrison looking to finish with strikes here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Morrison has control of Cruz's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Cruz regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Morrison throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Morrison misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Morrison throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Cruz because Morrison loaded up on that one.
Morrison throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Cruz that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Morrison misses with a head shot.
Morrison is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Cruz can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Cruz can do anything to dispel that myth.
Morrison lands with some strikes.
Morrison wants to control the pace but Cruz is squirming around nicely.
Morrison misses with a head shot.
Morrison sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Morrison punching from mount but Cruz doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Morrison misses with a head shot.
Morrison throwing strikes here but Cruz is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Morrison throwing strikes here but Cruz is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Cruz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Morrison with a couple of short strikes.
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 is in a horrible position here. Morrison smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Morrison unloads with some shots from mount but Cruz bucks and avoids them well.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Morrison is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Cruz has managed to escape the submission attempt.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Morrison showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Morrison, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Ian Loll scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Morrison!