PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Richard Kuklinski (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Richard Alvarez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alvarez comes into a darkened arena with his song building. There's No Solution kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Kuklinski
vs
Alvarez

188 cm
24
210 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

190 cm
24
205 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

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 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Richard Kuklinski!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Richard Alvarez!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Wesley Smith and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kuklinski walks into a straight right hand from Alvarez.
A swing and a miss from Alvarez.
Nice uppercut lands for Alvarez. That snapped Kuklinski's head back.
Alvarez jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Kuklinski shoots in looking for a takedown. Alvarez tries to sprawl out of it but Kuklinski keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Alvarez manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Alvarez connects with a jab.
Kuklinski shoots in but Alvarez avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Kuklinski checks a low kick from Alvarez.
Kuklinski showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Alvarez.
Alvarez connects with a looping right hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Kuklinski blocks a head kick by Alvarez.
A looping hook to the body misses from Alvarez. Kuklinski does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A slow jab from Alvarez misses its intended target.
Richard Alvarez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Alvarez lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Kuklinski on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Danga de danga de dang - Alvarez scores with a four punch combination!
Kuklinski moves away from the strike by Alvarez.
Alvarez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kuklinski fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Alvarez avoids it really well and circles away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Richard Kuklinski. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kuklinski uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Alvarez.
Alvarez walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Kuklinski checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Alvarez throws a body punch but Kuklinski moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuklinski shoots for a takedown but Alvarez saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Alvarez looks to land a right hand but Kuklinski moved out of range.
Alvarez connects with a body shot.
Alvarez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A punch combination from Alvarez misses.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Kuklinski is defended easily by Alvarez.
Kuklinski misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
The crowd cheers as Alvarez lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kuklinski doesn't seem phased though.
Alvarez tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Alvarez throws a big shot that misses.
Alvarez looks to throw the jab but Kuklinski is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuklinski slips under a jab from Alvarez.
Alvarez with a jab.

Kuklinski closes the distance and clinches.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Kuklinski. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Kuklinski blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Alvarez is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Kuklinski tries for a takedown but Alvarez manages to get underhooks.
Kuklinski changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Alvarez fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Kuklinski blocks a jab.

Kuklinski closes the distance and clinches.

Kuklinski turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Kuklinski manages to end up in side control.

Kuklinski is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Alvarez knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The ground and pound from Kuklinski seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Kuklinski is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Alvarez knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.

Kuklinski thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Kuklinski taking a break here but Alvarez is having none of it and regains half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

No joy there for Alvarez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Alvarez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Alvarez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Kuklinski ducks under a wild hook from Alvarez.
Alvarez lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Kuklinski keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Alvarez.
Richard Alvarez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Kuklinski moves out of range of the strikes.
Alvarez throws a big shot that misses.
A jab from Alvarez misses.
A head kick misses from Alvarez.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Kuklinski.
Alvarez throws a body punch but Kuklinski moves out of range.
Alvarez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Alvarez throws a series of punches but Kuklinski avoids them all with ease.
Alvarez throws the left hand but Kuklinski avoids the punch easily.

Kuklinski shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Kuklinski was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Kuklinski has hold of Alvarez's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Alvarez manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kuklinski tries to control but Alvarez wriggling away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez avoids a series of strikes thrown by Kuklinski.

Kuklinski working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

Kuklinski is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Alvarez has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Kuklinski fails to take his opponent's back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Kuklinski there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

Kuklinski looking to secure an arm triangle but Alvarez defends it well.

Kuklinski looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.

Kuklinski working for a submission but Alvarez is keeping him at bay.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Kuklinski looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Alvarez really wants to buck Kuklinski off and get back to his feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Kuklinski is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Alvarez can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Kuklinski can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Alvarez is looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Richard Kuklinski will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

A swing and a miss from Alvarez.
Kuklinski is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Alvarez misses with an uppercut.

Kuklinski moves into range and clinches up with Alvarez.
Kuklinski goes for a takedown in the clinch but Alvarez prevents it.

Alvarez manages to break the clinch.
Alvarez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kuklinski.
Richard Alvarez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alvarez scores with a jab. Kuklinski acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Alvarez misses with a wild body shot.

Kuklinski has taken the fight to the clinch.

Alvarez breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A jab from Alvarez does it's job there.
Kuklinski cracks a nice hook into Alvarez's ribs.
Horrible takedown by Alvarez or perhaps it was just good defense by Kuklinski which made him look bad.
Alvarez throws the kick towards the body but Kuklinski avoids it.
Alvarez misses the body punch

and Kuklinski counters with a single leg into guard. Alvarez didn't expect that.

Kuklinski is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Kuklinski drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Kuklinski jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Alvarez is looking to stand up but Kuklinski isn't so interested in that idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez has momentary wrist control but Kuklinski slips an elbow through the middle.
Kuklinski trying to control the position from guard on top but Alvarez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Alvarez wants to get back to his feet but Kuklinski is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Kuklinski has gone for a leg lock! Alvarez slips out almost immediately though and dives into Kuklinski's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

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

Kuklinski has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Alvarez can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Alvarez wants to stand but Kuklinski is controlling his posture from full guard.

Kuklinski has his foot on Alvarez's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Alvarez works his way back into a safe position though.
Alvarez really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kuklinski. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Alvarez avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Alvarez would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Kuklinski is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Kuklinski prevents Alvarez from standing back up.
Alvarez takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Kuklinski is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

And that's the end of the fight!
Richard Kuklinski showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Kuklinski 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Richard Kuklinski!