PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Liko Dares (ranked 2811 p4p, 3548 weight class) and Clint Rivers (ranked 344 p4p, 441 weight class). Clint Rivers told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Dares
vs
Rivers

184 cm
25
177
2 - 1 - 0

172 cm
20
170
3 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Good knees
Very strong

Good wrestler
Basic striking
Granite chin

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Liko Dares!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Clint Rivers!
The judges for this bout are Dirk Anderson, Bart Greer and Winston Alpacca.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rivers throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Dares counters with a body kick.
Dares definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Rivers jabs at Dares's body.
Dares moves away from the strike by Rivers.
A nice leg kick lands there from Dares.
Dares throws a low kick but Rivers avoids it.
Rivers throws a lazy right hand but Dares sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Dares slips a jab from Rivers.
Dares is looking to counter with head kicks.
Rivers throws a looping overhand right but Dares ducks down to avoid it.
Dares throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Rivers throws a right hand that misses
and Dares counters with a low kick, right behind Rivers 's knee.
A good leg kick by Dares.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rivers misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Dares counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Dares takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A solid leg kick lands there for Dares.
A head kick from Dares lands but Rivers takes it in his stride.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rivers misses with a double jab
and Dares makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dares moves out of range as Rivers strikes.
Rivers is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Rivers misses with a body shot.
Good leg kick by Dares.
Dares is looking to chop away at Rivers's legs.
Rivers throws an off balance right hand
and Dares counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.
Dares plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Rivers connects with a nice looking jab.
A slow jab from Rivers misses its intended target.
Rivers takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Rivers avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Rivers misses with a right hand
and Dares counters with a slapping leg kick.
Rivers throws a big shot that misses.
Dares is looking to counter with a body kick.

Rivers fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Dares sprawls well initially but Rivers persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rivers working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivers wants to lay and pray for a moment but Dares keeps working.
Dares blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rivers.
Dares blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rivers.
Rivers thows a huge punch but Dares dodges it nicely.
Rivers is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Rivers works his way into full mount!
Rivers trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Rivers 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.
Rivers punishing his opponent with strikes.
Dares takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Rivers looking to finish with strikes here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice elbow there by Rivers.
Dares is trying desperately to improve position.
Dares on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Dares tries to get out of the position.
Rivers is landing with some decent strikes but Dares is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Rivers landing strikes from the mount and Dares is in trouble!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Dares in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Rivers cracks Dares with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Rivers landing strikes, looking to finish!
Rivers lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Rivers controlling his opponent.
Rivers lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Rivers with the ground and pound from mount.
Rivers looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Rivers with the ground and pound from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers is landing with some decent strikes but Dares is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Dares takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivers punishing his opponent with strikes.
Rivers has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rivers looking to control but Dares is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rivers throws some wild stikes that Dares manages to avoid easily.
Dares taking shots to the head.
Dares knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rivers on the ground.
Rivers controlling from the full mount.
Dares tries to lock up and control but Rivers gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Dares is bucking up trying to escape but Rivers cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Rivers landing punches.
Dares is in a horrible position here. Rivers smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Rivers landing strikes, looking to finish!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Clint Rivers dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Dares bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Rivers misses with a body punch
and Dares makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Rivers really felt that one!
Rivers lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Rivers misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Dares.
Rivers scores with a punch to the head.
Rivers looks to throw the jab but Dares is out of range.
Liko Dares is winning the standup battle so far.
Rivers lands with a shot to the body.
Rivers darts in looking for a takedown but Dares gets double underhooks and turns Rivers into the cage.
Rivers throws a jab but it's blocked by Dares.
Rivers connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Dares's hands.

Rivers gets the takedown into side control.

Dares bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivers throws a jab but it's blocked by Dares.
Dares wants to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers throws out a loose jab but Dares uses good head movement to avoid it.
Dares tried to counter with a leg kick but Rivers avoided it.
Rivers ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Dares slips a jab from Rivers.
Rivers throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Dares tried to counter with a leg kick but Rivers avoided it.
Rivers tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dares was well out of range. Poor timing from Rivers.

Dares takes the fight into the clinch.
Rivers can't find room to land a body shot as Dares controls the action.
Dares unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rivers lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Dares leaning against his opponent.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Rivers wants to take the fight to the mat but Dares manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
A bit of stalling here from Dares.
Dares unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Rivers is breathing heavily.
Rivers swings wildly with an uppercut but Dares uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rivers has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dares landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Rivers tries to break the clinch but Dares is controlling the position.
Rivers's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Dares lands a knee to the body.
Dares with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rivers goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Rivers takes a knee to the side of the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Dares.
Dares landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Dares lands a good knee to the midsection. Rivers won't want to take too many of those.

Dares pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rivers misses with a left hand
and Dares counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Rivers misses with a hook
and Dares counters with an inside leg kick.
Dares avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rivers takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Rivers misses with a takedown attempt - Dares sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Dares looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Liko Dares has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Clint Rivers.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dares tries to clinch up.
Rivers takes a kick to the side of the head.
Rivers getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Rivers shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Dares as he avoids it easily.
Dares lands with a kick to the ribs.
Rivers fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rivers throws a hook but Dares avoids it easily.
Rivers looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Dares lands a high kick!
Dares tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rivers goes for a double leg but Dares avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Dares continues to drive forward.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Dares fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Rivers swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Dares throws a nice inside leg kick.
Dares doesn't manage to clinch there - Rivers circles away.
Clint Rivers seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Dares tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Dares fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Rivers is out of range.
Rivers checks the leg kick.
Rivers throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Dares.
Dares uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rivers.
Rivers ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Dares moves away.
Liko Dares is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Dares thumps Rivers with a low kick.
Dares lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Liko Dares dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Dares doesn't manage to clinch there - Rivers circles away.
Rivers misses with an uppercut.
Dares is looking to counter with a body kick.
Rivers takes a swing at Dares's ribcage but misses.
Rivers lands a jab to the head.
Rivers takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
Rivers scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Dares tries to clinch but Rivers moves out of range.
Dares throws a sloppy head kick and Rivers moves out of range easily.
Rivers throws a right hand that misses
and Dares counters with a low kick, right behind Rivers 's knee.
Rivers fails to land the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rivers looks to score with a jab to the body but Dares is just out of range.
Rivers throws a lazy uppercut
and Dares counters with a thumping low kick.
Dares misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dares lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rivers misses with a straight left.
Rivers swings for the body but Dares moves out of range.
Dares throws a quick counter head kick but Rivers was just out of range.
Rivers throws a lazy uppercut
and Dares counters with a slapping leg kick.
Dares moves out of range of the strikes.
Nice cross by Rivers.
Rivers has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Dares.
Good leg kick by Dares.
Dares slips a jab from Rivers.
Dares moves out of range as Rivers strikes.
Dares keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
As Rivers looks to move away, Dares throws a big counter combo but Rivers just gets out of the way.
Dares displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rivers throws out the jab.
A head kick by Dares misses
and Rivers counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rivers scores with a nice strike.
Rivers throws a poor cross that misses
and Dares counters with a nice kick to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dares takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Dares connects with a solid leg kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A looping hook to the body misses from Rivers. Dares does a little dance to reset his feet.
Dares keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rivers. Dares does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rivers jabbing away but nothing is landing.
As Rivers looks to move away, Dares throws a big counter combo but Rivers just gets out of the way.
Rivers tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Dares was well out of range. Poor timing from Rivers.
Rivers misses with an uppercut
and Dares counters with a body kick that stops Rivers in his tracks momentarily.
Rivers takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Dares uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rivers.
Rivers swings for the body but Dares moves out of range.
Rivers waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Dares.
Dares ducks under a wild hook from Rivers.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivers throws an off balance right hand
and Dares counters with a low kick, right behind Rivers 's knee.
A big left from Rivers misses.
Rivers takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Dares throws a head kick that looked like it stung.
Rivers misses with a jab, cross combination.
A punch combination from Rivers misses.
Dares doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Rivers misses with a takedown attempt
and Dares counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Rivers is lucky that one didn't land flush.
Liko Dares has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Clint Rivers.
Dares with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rivers is trying hard to land a takedown here. Dares sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
As Rivers backs away, Dares returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Rivers misses with a straight right.
Dares blocks a jab.
Rivers throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Dares counters with a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dares tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Rivers paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Rivers blocks a head kick by Dares.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A thudding body kick lands there by Dares!
Dares looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Rivers throws a jab when Dares was well out of range.
Dares uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Rivers.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rivers. Dares does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rivers sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rivers throws the left hand but Dares avoids the punch easily.
Rivers steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Dares. That one must have hurt.
Dares scores with a head kick. Rivers tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Dares has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Rivers finds it's way round the side to connect with Dares's head.
Dares scores with a head kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Liko Dares.
I think Dares has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Dirk Anderson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Bart Greer scores the fight 29:28
Judge Winston Alpacca scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Liko Dares!