PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Xiao Long Li (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Astrud Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Astrud Rivera has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Long Li
vs
Rivera

172 cm
25
150 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

178 cm
18
145 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

[JMFC] 160!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Xiao Long Li!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Astrud Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rivera gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Li counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Rivera shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Li manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Rivera tries to stand but Li is controlling from the bottom.
Li tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rivera trying to control but Li is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Li wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Li misses with a kick to the body

and Rivera counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Li looking for a takedown.
Li drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Rivera gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Li tries to score a body lock takedown but Rivera shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Xiao Long Li. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Li turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Li manages to end up in side control.
Rivera sneaks back into half guard.
Li slows the pace down in half guard.
Li has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Li looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Rivera for as long as he can get away with.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Xiao Long Li just wasn't active enough.
Li misses with an attempted mid kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Li scoring well with a low kick there.
Rivera closes the distance but Li moves to the side
and Li counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Li moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Rivera doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Li counters with a one-two to the body.
Rivera has his takedown stuffed
and Li counters with a slapping leg kick.
Rivera looks gassed!
Li dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Li closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Rivera quickly recovers to half guard.
Still in half guard, Li seems content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xiao Long Li dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Rivera with a lazy takedown attempt

and Li counters with a nice double leg into side control. Rivera won't be happy with that.
Rivera is trying to escape the position but Li is controlling the position.
Rivera sneaks back into half guard.
Li stalling.
Li is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Rivera is breathing heavily.
Li is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Xiao Long Li just wasn't active enough.
Rivera tries to clinch up

and Li decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rivera's guard.
Li controlling from the top position.
Rivera is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rivera being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li slips nicely into half guard.
Li controlling the action here.
Rivera tries to roll over but Li keeps him under control.
Li content to control rather than advance.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Li shoots in and gets a takedown into Rivera's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Rivera's guard.
Li looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivera is in trouble now - Li has advanced to mount!
Li punishing his opponent with strikes.
Li content just to control the position here.
Li has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Xiao Long Li has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Li works over Rivera's head and body with a nice combination.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Li drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Xiao Long Li dominated that second round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Rivera shoots and misses
and Li cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Li fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rivera looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Li lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rivera has his takedown stuffed

and Li counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Li postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Rivera can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Li controls the pace.
Li pushes down on Rivera's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Li not doing much here.
Rivera takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Li scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Li content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Li's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Xiao Long Li.
Li throws a half hearted mid kick.
Li looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

Rivera tries to sprawl but Li drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Li is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Li is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Li is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Rivera trying to control here.
Li seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because Xiao Long Li wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Li fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

Li fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Rivera sprawls well initially but Li persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Li content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Li is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Li is taking a breather. Rivera says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

We're going to have a standup here because Xiao Long Li wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Li throws a right and a left that Rivera avoids nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Nice body punch from Li.
Li dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Rivera checks the leg kick nicely there.
Li throws a leg kick but Rivera moved away.
Li lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Li lands a nice shot to the body.
Li throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

Li shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Rivera napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Li taking a breather here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Xiao Long Li showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Li, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Jack Bonds scores the fight 30:25
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 30:25
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Xiao Long Li!