PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rza Reckta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Carlos Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Reckta comes into the arena with Bring The Pain blaring out of the sound system. Rivera has chosen Your Hand in Mine as his entrance music. Rza Reckta has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Reckta
vs
Rivera

195 cm
29
194 lbs
18 - 8 - 1

190 cm
24
197 lbs
13 - 5 - 1

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Heavy handed

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 18 - 8 - 1, fighting out of New York, Rza Reckta!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 5 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Carlos Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yukihiro Shimada and Ren Mimura.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rivera tries to clinch there but Reckta circles away.
Reckta gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Rivera counters with a good low kick that Reckta was not able to check.

Rivera drives through and clinches with Reckta against the cage.
The referee calls for Rivera to work.
Rivera scores with a shot to the side of Reckta's head.
Rivera lands a nice shot to the body.
Rivera leaning his opponent against the cage.

Reckta pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Reckta throws a body punch but Rivera moves out of range.
Reckta keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Reckta swings widly with a right hand
and Rivera counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Reckta doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Rivera counters with a straight right hand.
Rivera ducks under a wild hook from Reckta.
Reckta bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Rivera's head.
Reckta misses the shot to the body.
Reckta misses with an uppercut.
Carlos Rivera is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Reckta throws a right and a left that both miss.
Reckta throws a right hand that misses
and Rivera counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Nice defenses there by Rivera.
Reckta rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rivera counters with an inside leg kick.
Reckta throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Rivera counter with a right hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera falls off balance throwing a combination
letting Reckta counter with a right hand.
Rivera takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Reckta throws a right hand that misses
and Rivera counters with a body kick that stops Reckta in his tracks momentarily.
A telegraphed right hand from Reckta misses the target.
Rivera throws an off balance right hand
and Reckta counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Reckta throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Reckta wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Reckta throws a leg kick
and Rivera counters with a right hand to the body.
Rivera looks to score with a jab to the body but Reckta is just out of range.
Reckta will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rza Reckta. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Decent striking displayed by Rivera there.
Reckta rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rivera counters with a straight right hand.
Rivera misses with a wild body shot.
Reckta misses with an uppercut

and Rivera counters by moving into the clinch.

Reckta breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A jab from Reckta misses.
Reckta throws a lazy uppercut
enabling Rivera to counter with a crisp jab.
Rivera uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Reckta.
Reckta misses with a hook. Rivera ducked under it nicely.
Rivera tries to close the distance and clinch up but Reckta swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Rivera looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Rza Reckta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivera throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rivera ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Reckta moves away.
Rivera connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Reckta tries to bum rush Rivera with a series of wild strikes but Rivera uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Reckta swings away with a body shot that misses
and Rivera counters with a good low kick that Reckta was not able to check.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Rivera checks a leg kick.
Reckta throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rivera uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Reckta.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Reckta tries for a takedown but Rivera circles away easily
and Rivera counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Rivera is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Reckta had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
The fighters circling - Rivera throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carlos Rivera dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Rivera moves in looking to clinch but Reckta pushes him off.
A big right from Reckta misses.
Rivera misses with a hook
and Reckta counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Reckta swings widly with a right hand
and Rivera counters with a right hand to the body.
Reckta connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Reckta lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

Reckta drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rivera is looking to stand up but Reckta isn't so interested in that idea.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivera trying to keep a closed guard but Reckta is proving a slippery customer.

Reckta is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Rivera is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Rivera has escaped and now he's on top!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera trying to stand up but can't free himself from Reckta's guard.
Reckta keeping full guard, as Rivera tries to pass.
Reckta is trying to control the position but Rivera postures up.
Reckta controlling the position.
Reckta trying to control the position.

We're going to have a standup here because Rza Reckta wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Rivera keeps Reckta at a distance using the push kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Reckta misses with a low kick.
Reckta misses with a shot to the body
and Rivera counters with a low kick, right behind Reckta 's knee.
Reckta misses with a hook
and Rivera counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Reckta throws a shot from downtown. Rivera moves away and avoids it.
Rivera misses with a jab to the body

and Reckta counters with a shoot takedown. Rivera fights it but they end up in guard.
Reckta wants to control from the top but Rivera keeps moving.
Rivera wants to get back to his feet but Reckta is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Reckta trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Reckta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Reckta throws a big right hand that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Reckta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Reckta trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Reckta working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Reckta stops Rivera from standing up.
Reckta throwing strikes but missing.
Rivera working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Reckta.
Reckta scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Reckta working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rivera's head.

Reckta drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Reckta jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Reckta missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Reckta working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Reckta trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Reckta throws a strike but Rivera rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Rivera would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Reckta working a defensive guard here.
Reckta looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Reckta is on top in guard.
Reckta in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rza Reckta dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Rivera uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Reckta.
Reckta rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rivera moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Rivera waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Reckta.
Rivera swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Reckta cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Reckta keeps the fight on the outside.
Reckta throws a right hand that misses
and Rivera counters with a nice uppercut.
Reckta connects with a body shot that sends Rivera's belly button to the back.
Rivera scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Rivera closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Reckta looks to score with a jab to the body but Rivera is just out of range.
Rivera throws a predictable looking body shot

and Reckta decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Rivera's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera wants to stand but Reckta is controlling the position.
Reckta trying to control the position from guard on top but Rivera is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Reckta wants to pass the guard but Rivera is keeping the position.
Reckta postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Reckta keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rivera's head.

Reckta drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Rivera manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Reckta has Rivera in his guard.
Reckta pulls Rivera in close to his closed guard and prevents Rivera from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera wants to control from the top but Reckta keeps moving.
Rivera is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Reckta wants to sweep here but Rivera controlling him for the moment.
Reckta is trying to control the position but Rivera postures up.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Carlos Rivera was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Reckta throws an off balance right hand
and Rivera counters with a nice leg kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Rivera.
Reckta rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rivera counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A jab lands there for Reckta.
Reckta misses with a hook to the body
and Rivera counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rivera connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
A nice leg kick lands there from Rivera.
Reckta connects with a body shot that sends Rivera's belly button to the back.
Reckta changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Reckta misses with a right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Reckta defending well as Rivera loads up on a big left hand.
Reckta misses with a jab to the body
and Rivera counters with a right hand to the body.
Reckta throws out a loose jab but Rivera uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivera moves into range and connects with a jab.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Rivera!
Rivera doesn't manage to clinch there - Reckta circles away.
Rivera lands a nice hook to Reckta's body. Reckta takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Reckta misses with a left hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Reckta throws a predictable looking body shot
and Rivera counters with a body kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Reckta throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Rivera counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Reckta misses with an uppercut

and Rivera moves into the clinch.
Rivera's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.

And that's the end of the fight!
Carlos Rivera comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rivera 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Carlos Rivera!