PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joey Rigatoni (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cooper King (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Joey Rigatoni could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Cooper King's chin.

Rigatoni
vs
King

172 cm
21
184 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

186 cm
22
185 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

BEST NUTRITION,no doping

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Joey Rigatoni!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Cooper King!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, William Peck and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rigatoni shoots in for a takedown but King shows good takedown defense.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by King.
King throws a nice looking combination but Rigatoni bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Rigatoni shoots in looking for a takedown. King tries to sprawl out of it but Rigatoni keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. King manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
King misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
King connects with a single shot there.
Cooper King seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rigatoni.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joey Rigatoni. That's going to take a lot out of him.
King thumps Rigatoni with a low kick.
King scoring well with a low kick there.
King tries to land a leg kick but Rigatoni saw it coming and moves away.
King swinging wildly here.
King displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rigatoni.
King misses with a low kick.
King throws a nice outside leg kick.
Rigatoni is breathing heavily.
This has been an exciting period of action!
King misses with a jab, cross combination.
King swinging wildly here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rigatoni uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by King.
King lands with a thumping leg kick.
King throws out a leg kick but Rigatoni moves out of range and King only half commits.
King looks to score with a jab to the body but Rigatoni is just out of range.
King throws a series of punches but Rigatoni moves out of range.
King misses with a series of wild punches.
Cooper King is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
King's corner calls for a 1-2. King obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Rigatoni takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
King misses the jab.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by King!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
King throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Rigatoni showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from King.
King is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
King misses with a series of wild punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for King.
King fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rigatoni manages to avoid it.
King throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
King tests Rigatoni's chin there with a solid looking shot.
King misses with a wild combination.
Rigatoni avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
King throws a right and a left that Rigatoni avoids nicely.
Rigatoni takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
King tries to bum rush Rigatoni with a series of wild strikes but Rigatoni uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A slapping leg kick lands for King.
King fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rigatoni checks a leg kick.
King tried to score with a low kick but Rigatoni checks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rigatoni defending well as King loads up on a big left hand.
A telegraphed right hand from King misses the target.
King connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Rigatoni momentarily.
King has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
King takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
King throws a hook to the side of Rigatoni's head but Rigatoni sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Some bone on bone action there as Rigatoni checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.

Rigatoni throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. King was covering up waiting for the punch and Rigatoni finishes the takedown easily into guard.
King preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Rigatoni wants to pass the guard but King is keeping the position.

King scrambles and gets back to his feet.
Rigatoni tries to score a power double leg takedown but King sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Rigatoni somewhat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
King lunges at Rigatoni with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Rigatoni's hand.
King circles away from the clinch attempt.

Rigatoni gets the takedown into side control.
King is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Rigatoni is controlling him well.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rigatoni decides to stand back up. Rigatoni steps back and let's King get back to his feet.

Rigatoni clinches.

Rigatoni has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics King uses from the top position.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Rigatoni holds on and takes a little breather.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cooper King dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

King throws a low kick, looking for Rigatoni's leg but Rigatoni calmly moves out of range.
King throws and low kick but Rigatoni moves out of range easily.
King missing with a left hand there. Rigatoni was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
King throws a low kick, looking for Rigatoni's leg but Rigatoni calmly moves out of range.
King throws a chopping leg kick but Rigatoni manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
King throws a nice looking combination but Rigatoni bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
King scores with a shot to the body.
King lands with a nice combination. Rigatoni backs away looking to recover.
Rigatoni dodges the punch combination from King.
King throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Cooper King seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Rigatoni slips a jab and a cross from King.
A leg kick checked by Rigatoni.

Rigatoni feints and as King raises his hands in defense, Rigatoni changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
King wants to stand but Rigatoni is controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rigatoni pushing down on King's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rigatoni seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
King is looking to escape.
Rigatoni wants to take a breather but King is having none of it.
Rigatoni thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rigatoni seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but King does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Rigatoni throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Rigatoni seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Rigatoni looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks King with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
King is trying to stand up here but Rigatoni is controlling him well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
King throws out a loose jab but Rigatoni uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rigatoni buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Rigatoni misses with a body kick.

Rigatoni closes the distance and clinches.
Rigatoni is looking for a takedown up against the cage. King gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

King manages to break the clinch.
King throws a leg kick

and Rigatoni counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rigatoni.
Rigatoni stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. King swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Rigatoni postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! King is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Rigatoni, into his guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rigatoni is working an open guard so King takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Rigatoni fails to land the takedown.
Rigatoni on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by King. King obviously looking to wear him down.
King falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rigatoni counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

King pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
King tests Rigatoni's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Rigatoni is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
King tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rigatoni was well out of range. Poor timing from King.
King scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rigatoni showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from King.
King lands a nice hook to Rigatoni's body. Rigatoni takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
King throws a one two combo.
King misses with the combination.
Rigatoni shoots in and drives through. King sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joey Rigatoni. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A swing and a miss from King.
King displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Rigatoni.
King is looking to slow Rigatoni down with leg kicks.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
King misses with a low kick.
King throws a right hand that Rigatoni ducks under and follows up with a left that Rigatoni also avoids with ease.
King swings and misses with a hook to the body.
King scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Cooper King will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

King misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Joey Rigatoni is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rigatoni tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but King paws at him with a jab and circles away.
King throws a series of punches but Rigatoni avoids them all with ease.
Rigatoni shoots in but King avoids the takedown attempt easily.
King throws a leg kick but Rigatoni moved away.
Rigatoni keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Nice takedown defense from King. No joy for Rigatoni on that attempt.
King throws a series of punches but Rigatoni avoids them all with ease.
King throws a right hand that Rigatoni ducks under and follows up with a left that Rigatoni also avoids with ease.
Rigatoni shoots in and drives through. King sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joey Rigatoni. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
King throws a big shot that misses.
Rigatoni is looking to clinch but King is avoiding it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
King connects with a solid leg kick.
King lands a jab-cross combination.
King throws a left and a right that both miss

and Rigatoni counters with a nice double leg into side control. King won't be happy with that.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rigatoni is chipping away with strikes.

Rigatoni tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
King is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Rigatoni asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Rigatoni wants to lay and pray for a moment but King keeps working.
King pushes Rigatoni away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Rigatoni gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Cooper King is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rigatoni content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.

Rigatoni tries for a kimura but King is defending well.

King bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
King listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
King swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Rigatoni counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
King wants to stand up but Rigatoni is controlling him.
Rigatoni is standing up over King. King looks to escape but Rigatoni dives into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rigatoni scoring with punches and elbows.
King pushes Rigatoni away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Rigatoni gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.

Rigatoni working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Rigatoni tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Rigatoni tries to land with some ground and pound but misses.
Joey Rigatoni overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
King is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Rigatoni is controlling him well.
Rigatoni scores with a couple of short elbows.
King bucks up and tries to throw Rigatoni off but instead Rigatoni has got his back!
King is covering up but some of the strikes from Rigatoni are getting through and doing damage.
Rigatoni scores with punches and elbows.
King trying to get back to his feet but Rigatoni is in full control for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joey Rigatoni showed his dominance in that final round.
I think King 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 28:29
Judge William Peck scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cooper King!