PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Richard Villareal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raylan Givens (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Villareal
vs
Givens

188 cm
20
189 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
20
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Very strong

ADCC Champion
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

BioPharm Nutrition

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Richard Villareal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Raylan Givens!
The judges for this bout are Alyssa Summers, Reed Andrews and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Villareal looks for a takedown but Givens sprawls well.

Villareal decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Givens tries to get to full guard but Villareal has control of the leg.
Villareal throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Villareal is pressing down on Givens's thigh, looking to free his foot. Givens is holding on for now.
Villareal sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Givens defending well though.
Givens is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Givens keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Givens is looking to control Villareal's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Givens avoid being mounted?
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
A slow jab from Givens misses its intended target.
Givens scores with a one two! Villareal had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Villareal on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Villareal takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Villareal fails with a takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Villareal blocks a jab.
Givens throws a sloppy head kick and Villareal moves out of range easily.
Villareal shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Givens pinned against the cage. Givens gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Richard Villareal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Givens cracks Villareal with a good jab.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Givens clobbers Villareal with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Givens dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Givens shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Givens lands a heavy elbow.
Villareal in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Givens scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Villareal?
Villareal is trying to escape the mount.
Givens with good strikes from the mount here!
Villareal really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Givens pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Givens connects with a massive shot to the dome!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Givens putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Villareal is trying to escape the mount.

Givens with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Givens lands a big shot there that rocks Villareal but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Givens cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Givens fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Givens wants to control the pace but Villareal is squirming around nicely.
Villareal gets back to half guard.
Givens thows a huge punch but Villareal dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Villareal kicks off Givens and gets to his feet.
Villareal lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Givens backs up against the cage.
Givens ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Villareal with a poor takedown

and Givens counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Villareal is breathing heavily.
Givens trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Givens trying to control but Villareal is working from the bottom.
Villareal tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Villareal has Givens pulled in close to control his posture.
Villareal working a defensive guard here.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Givens loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Givens's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Givens just misses with a punch to the body.
Givens fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Villareal manages to avoid it.
Villareal tries for a takedown but Givens circles away easily

and Givens counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Givens is pressing down on Villareal's thigh, looking to free his foot. Villareal is holding on for now.
Villareal wants to improve his position but Givens is controlling well.
Villareal is staying active underneath Givens, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Villareal tries to roll over but Givens keeps him under control.
Villareal wants to get back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Givens throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Villareal shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Givens counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Givens cracks Villareal with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Villareal fails with the takedown
and Givens counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Richard Villareal is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Givens closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Villareal gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Villareal has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Givens is working away from the top position though.
Ground and pound from Givens.
Givens is pressing down on Villareal's thigh, looking to free his foot. Villareal is holding on for now.
Givens not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

Villareal looking for submissions off his back.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Villareal is trying to stand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Givens missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Givens passes to full mount!
Givens scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Givens dominating with strikes here.
Villareal is trying desperately to improve position.

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

Givens is in full mount, looking to secure a guillotine but Villareal is surviving well by controlling Givens's body position as best he can.
Villareal tries to buck Givens off but he can't manage it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Villareal is looking to improve his position but Givens isn't that keen on the idea.
Villareal sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Givens working the head and body with strikes.
Villareal is trying to maintain the position but Givens is very close to passing his half guard.
Givens throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Givens working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Villareal's thigh. Villareal counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Givens prevents Villareal from getting back to his feet.
Villareal wants to sweep here but Givens controlling him for the moment.

Villareal is looking for a triangle but Givens pushes his legs off easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Villareal wants to sweep but no luck.
Villareal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Villareal tries for a takedown but Givens circles away easily
and Givens counters with a left to the body.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Richard Villareal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Givens stuns Villareal with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Givens clobbers Villareal with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Givens moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Givens's corner calls for a 1-2. Givens obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.

Givens shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Villareal's guard.
Givens has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Givens passes Villareal's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

Givens is trying to work for a kimura but Villareal is defending well.

Givens is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Villareal has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Givens is working for a kimura but Villareal is defending it quite comfortably.
Givens looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Villareal with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Villareal moves into full guard.
Villareal is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Givens drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Givens jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Villareal is trying to control the position from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Raylan Givens showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Givens thows a body shot but no joy.
Givens cracks Villareal with an open hand slap.
Villareal takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Villareal shoots and misses
and Givens connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Villareal moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Villareal fails with the takedown
and Givens counters with a nice uppercut.
Villareal shoots and misses
and Villareal takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Richard Villareal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Villareal wants to clinch.
A jab lands there for Givens.
Nice shot by Givens.
Villareal tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Givens throws a nice head kick!
Villareal takes a shot to the body in his stride.

Givens shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Givens showed some decent athleticism there.

Givens is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Villareal sees it coming and defends easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Villareal pushes Givens off looking to stand but Givens dives back in and keeps control.
Villareal misses with some strikes from the bottom.

Givens is looking for a kimura but Villareal is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Givens to get the leverage.
Villareal trying to control here.
Villareal wants to get back to his feet.
Givens drops an elbow to the side of Villareal's head.
Villareal tries to get to full guard but Givens has control of the leg.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Villareal shoots and misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Villareal drops his hands momentarily and Givens takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Villareal gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Givens counters with a series of strikes. Villareal will be more careful next time no doubt.
Richard Villareal has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Villareal walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Villareal misses with a takedown attempt
letting Givens counter with a right hand.

Givens fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Villareal sprawls well initially but Givens persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Givens scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Villareal wants to get back to his feet.
Givens lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Givens uses his free foot to push down on Villareal's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Villareal.
Villareal is desperately trying to improve his position but Givens has a good base and remains in mount.

Givens throws some shoulder strikes here and then postures up. Oh, he's gone for an armbar! Villareal has his hands clasped together but Givens breaks the hold and Villareal is forced to tap! This one is aaaaaaaaaaall over! That was lightning fast by Givens!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:18 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Raylan Givens!