PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Santa Cruz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Krwawy Lopez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Santa Cruz comes to the cage accompanied by 50 cent P.I.M.P. Lopez has chosen DJ Kronic feat. Bombs Away - Looking For Some Girls as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Santa Cruz
vs
Lopez

180 cm
27
175 lbs
12 - 6 - 0

179 cm
29
180 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

KO Clothing

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 12 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rafael Santa Cruz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Krwawy Lopez!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Bruno Lombardi and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lopez throws a lazy right hand but Santa Cruz sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Santa Cruz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Lopez slips a jab and a cross from Santa Cruz.
Lopez is looking to slow Santa Cruz down with leg kicks.
Lopez shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Santa Cruz eats them both and turns towards Lopez to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Santa Cruz keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
An inside leg kick from Santa Cruz misses.
Santa Cruz plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Santa Cruz misses with a low kick as Lopez jumps back.
Santa Cruz lands a leg kick that knocks Lopez off balance momentarily.
A clash of legs there as Lopez blocks the low kick.
Lopez misses the shot to the body.
Lopez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Santa Cruz.
Lopez has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Santa Cruz finds it's way round the side to connect with Lopez's head.
Santa Cruz pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Rafael Santa Cruz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Lopez darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lopez dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santa Cruz misses with a body shot
and Lopez cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Santa Cruz is looking to chop away at Lopez's legs.
Lopez pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Santa Cruz moves in looking to clinch but Lopez pushes him off.
We've been hearing reports that Santa Cruz has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
A jab from Santa Cruz misses.
Santa Cruz misses with a leg kick.
Lopez tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Santa Cruz is able to avoid easily.
Lopez lands with a straight right. Santa Cruz didn't see that one coming.
Lopez tries to bum rush Santa Cruz with a series of wild strikes but Santa Cruz uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Santa Cruz clinches.
Santa Cruz misses with the head strike.
Santa Cruz throws a head punch that misses.

Lopez breaks from the clinch.
Santa Cruz throws a low kick but it's checked well by Lopez.
Lopez just misses with a punch to the body.
Lopez has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Santa Cruz.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santa Cruz tries a head kick but it misses.
Santa Cruz shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Lopez sprawls well. Lopez wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Santa Cruz gets slowly back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santa Cruz avoids a punch combination nicely.
Lopez tries a head kick but it misses.
Lopez lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Santa Cruz misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Lopez throws out a leg kick but Santa Cruz moves out of range and Lopez only half commits.
Santa Cruz throws a sloppy head kick and Lopez moves out of range easily.
Lopez avoids the head kick by Santa Cruz.
Lopez blocks a low kick nicely.
Nice uppercut lands for Santa Cruz. That snapped Lopez's head back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lopez avoids the head kick by Santa Cruz.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Santa Cruz, right into the meat.
Lopez checks the leg kick nicely there.
Santa Cruz tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Santa Cruz pivots, looking for a leg kick but Lopez is out of range and Santa Cruz settles back down.
Santa Cruz lunges at Lopez with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Lopez's hand.
Santa Cruz throws a low kick but Lopez moves out of range easily.
Santa Cruz closes the distance but Lopez moves to the side

and Lopez counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Lopez wants to control from the top but Santa Cruz keeps moving.
Lopez stopping the sweep attempt from Santa Cruz.
Lopez lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
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!

Santa Cruz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Lopez defends well.

Santa Cruz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Lopez controls from within his opponent's guard.
Santa Cruz keeping moving, preventing Lopez from controlling successfully.
Lopez lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Lopez trying to control the position from guard on top but Santa Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lopez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Santa Cruz works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lopez trying to control but Santa Cruz is working from the bottom.

Santa Cruz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Krwawy Lopez will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Santa Cruz throws a low kick but Lopez avoids it.
Lopez misses with an uppercut.
Santa Cruz loads up on a big right hand but Lopez slips the punch.
Lopez finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.

Santa Cruz closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Santa Cruz wants to lay and pray for a moment but Lopez keeps working.
Lopez is trying to improve his position.
Santa Cruz working away.
Santa Cruz misses with the ground and pound.
Lopez manages to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Santa Cruz throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Santa Cruz lands with a punch from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Santa Cruz is working away from the top position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lopez keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Santa Cruz is trying to control the action in half guard but Lopez is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Santa Cruz drops an elbow to the side of Lopez's head.
Santa Cruz trying to control the action but Lopez is working from the bottom.
Santa Cruz missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Lopez is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Santa Cruz scores with a couple of nice shots.
Santa Cruz looks to land a strike but Lopez avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Santa Cruz wants to control from the top but Lopez keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lopez working a defensive guard here.
Santa Cruz trying to control the position from guard on top but Lopez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Lopez is pulling down on Santa Cruz's head. It's preventing any offense from Santa Cruz, at least for the moment.
Lopez wants to sweep but no luck.
Santa Cruz chips away with some ground and pound.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Santa Cruz working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Lopez's head.
Santa Cruz throws a big elbow that misses.
Lopez pulls Santa Cruz in to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santa Cruz throws a strike but Lopez rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Santa Cruz trying to control the position.
Lopez trying to control but Santa Cruz is working from the bottom.
Santa Cruz throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Lopez trying to control the position from guard on top but Santa Cruz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Santa Cruz working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Lopez doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Lopez manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Lopez working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Lopez lands a couple of digs.
Santa Cruz trying to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santa Cruz being controlled here, momentarily.
Santa Cruz is trying to control the position but Lopez postures up.
Lopez throws a big elbow that misses.
Lopez lands a couple of digs.
Lopez postures up.
Santa Cruz wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Lopez is now in half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Santa Cruz trying to control from the bottom.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rafael Santa Cruz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Santa Cruz wants to get back to full guard.
Lopez sitting and controlling from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Santa Cruz dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

A lazy body kick from Santa Cruz
and Lopez counters with a low kick, right behind Santa Cruz 's knee.
Santa Cruz turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Santa Cruz shoots for a takedown but Lopez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Lopez checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Lopez throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Santa Cruz defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Lopez.
Lopez missing with a left hand there. Santa Cruz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Santa Cruz lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Lopez has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Lopez and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Krwawy Lopez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
That kick from Santa Cruz tenderised Lopez's leg. Lopez is trying to keep his angry face on.
Santa Cruz fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Lopez has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Lopez misses with an uppercut.
Santa Cruz feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Lopez's calf.
Santa Cruz takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Santa Cruz tried to score with a low kick but Lopez checks it.
Lopez cracks Santa Cruz with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lopez blocks a head kick by Santa Cruz.
Lopez blocks a head kick by Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz lands with a slapping head kick.
Santa Cruz does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Lopez throws a poor cross that misses
and Santa Cruz counters with a thumping low kick.
Santa Cruz tries to close the distance and clinch but Lopez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Lopez on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Santa Cruz avoids the body shot from Lopez.
Lopez misses with a straight right.

Lopez drives through with a takedown into Santa Cruz's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.

Lopez avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Santa Cruz looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santa Cruz wants to sweep here but Lopez controlling him for the moment.
Lopez pushing down on Santa Cruz's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
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!
Lopez is nestled in close to Santa Cruz, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Santa Cruz gets full guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Lopez working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Lopez stopping the sweep attempt from Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz keeping moving, preventing Lopez from controlling successfully.
Santa Cruz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Lopez is one step ahead there.
Santa 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santa Cruz wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.

Santa Cruz escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Lopez gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Lopez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Santa Cruz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lopez has managed to get both his arms back between Santa Cruz's legs - danger averted.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lopez accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Lopez wants to control from the top but Santa Cruz keeps moving.
Lopez content to stall in guard here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Lopez works over Santa Cruz with some ground and pound from guard.
Santa Cruz is pulling down on Lopez's head to control his posture.

Lopez got a little sloppy there for a moment and Santa Cruz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lopez has managed to get both his arms back between Santa Cruz's legs - danger averted.
Lopez wants to control from the top but Santa Cruz keeps moving.
Santa Cruz trying to control the position.
Santa Cruz 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.
Santa Cruz keeping moving, preventing Lopez from controlling successfully.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Krwawy Lopez has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Santa Cruz slips a jab from Lopez.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Krwawy Lopez.
I think Lopez has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 29:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Krwawy Lopez!
Krwawy Lopez bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.