PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Barry Sandoval (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Raphael Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rivera is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Whose Fist is This Anyway. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Sandoval
vs
Rivera

200 cm
20
285 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

196 cm
23
281 lbs
11 - 5 - 0

Decent wrestler
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Barry Sandoval!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Raphael Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Thiago Cunha and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sandoval throws a looping overhand right but Rivera ducks down to avoid it.
Rivera moves to clinch but Sandoval breaks away
and Sandoval counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Sandoval thumps Rivera with a low kick.
Sandoval lands with a hook. Rivera tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Rivera closes the distance but Sandoval moves to the side
and Sandoval counters with a straight right hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rivera throws a combination that misses
and Sandoval counters with an outside leg kick.
Rivera looks gassed!

Sandoval lands a big head kick that sends Rivera tumbling to the mat! Sandoval takes a step backwards and waves Rivera back to his feet - he wants the finish!

Rivera is rocked!

It looks like Raphael Rivera has been cut.
Sandoval throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rivera closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Rivera is still on wobbly legs! Can Sandoval finish him?
Rivera closes the distance but Sandoval moves to the side
and Sandoval counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Rivera seems to have recovered his senses.
Sandoval lands with a good body shot.
Rivera is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Sandoval works Rivera's body with a nice hook.
Sandoval looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Sandoval lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sandoval lands with a nice body punch.
No joy there for Sandoval, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Good exchange - Sandoval coming out on top.
Rivera walks into a stiff left hand from Sandoval.
Sandoval paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Sandoval has Rivera up against the cage in a clinch.
Sandoval connects with a knee to the head.
Sandoval stalling.
Sandoval lands a nice uppercut.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sandoval.
Sandoval lands an uppercut.

Sandoval's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rivera moves to clinch but Sandoval breaks away
and Sandoval counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Sandoval plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Sandoval connects with a leg kick. Rivera looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Sandoval.
Sandoval throws a shot to the body.
Rivera takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Sandoval connects with an inside leg kick.
Rivera takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Sandoval throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Sandoval lands a leg kick that knocks Rivera off balance momentarily.

Rivera gets tackled into the cage by Sandoval. Sandoval maintains the clinch.
Sandoval lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Rivera tries a knee to the head but Sandoval blocks it.
Sandoval pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sandoval takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Sandoval lands a body punch in the clinch.
Sandoval tries to land a knee to the head but Rivera blocks with his arms.
Rivera misses with a knee to the head.
Sandoval stalls.
Sandoval lands a knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Knees to the body from Sandoval.
Sandoval presses Rivera against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Sandoval scores with a knee to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sandoval.
Sandoval lands a knee to the head.
Sandoval scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Rivera missing with knees to the body.
Sandoval throws a knee to the head but misses.
Sandoval stalling.
Rivera tries to land a knee to the head but Sandoval blocks with his arms.
Sandoval works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Rivera trying to land knees to the body.
Sandoval is struggling to control the position.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Sandoval trying to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval lands a body shot.

Sandoval manages to break the clinch.
Sandoval fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rivera tries to clinch but Sandoval is having none of it.
Rivera tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Sandoval counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Rivera tries to clinch but Sandoval moves away
and Sandoval counters with a head kick.
Rivera wants to clinch
letting Sandoval counter with a right hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rivera slips a jab from Sandoval.
Rivera tries to clinch up

and Sandoval counters by moving into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Barry Sandoval dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Raphael Rivera's cut.
That's time! Sandoval's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Rivera moves to clinch but Sandoval breaks away
and Sandoval counters with a head kick. That will keep Rivera thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Sandoval misses with a kick to the body.

Sandoval gets tackled into the cage by Rivera. Rivera maintains the clinch.
Rivera misses with an elbow strike.
Rivera creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Sandoval's defenses.
Rivera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Rivera in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Knees to the body from Sandoval.
Sandoval lands a body shot in the clinch.
Sandoval connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rivera's face.
Sandoval connects with a knee to the head.
Sandoval is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Rivera can do to turn this around?
A shot in the inside from Sandoval.
Sandoval scores with a knee to the head.
Sandoval lands a nice uppercut.
Knees to the body from Sandoval.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rivera takes a knee right on the jaw!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sandoval.
Sandoval putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Rivera in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.

Sandoval escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rivera wants to clinch but Sandoval slips to the side
and Sandoval counters with a straight punch to the midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Sandoval.
Sandoval cracks a nice hook into Rivera's ribs.
Rivera tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Rivera takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Sandoval dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Raphael Rivera is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Good exchange - Sandoval coming out on top.
Rivera throws a combination that misses
and Sandoval makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Rivera really felt that one!
Rivera throws an off balance right hand
and Sandoval connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Raphael Rivera seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sandoval throws a head kick that half lands.

Sandoval takes the fight into the clinch.
Sandoval avoids the elbow strike from Rivera, against the cage.
Rivera tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Sandoval avoids it.
Sandoval working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
A short right from Sandoval on the inside.
Sandoval stalling the fight.
Sandoval lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera throws an elbow that misses.
A right handed body shot lands from Sandoval.
Sandoval scores with a knee to the head.
Still in the clinch, Sandoval scores with a nice short uppercut.

Sandoval breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Sandoval moves into the clinch.
Rivera misses with an elbow over the top.
Sandoval tries a knee to the head but Rivera blocks it.
Sandoval takes a knee right on the jaw!
Sandoval controlling the action here for a moment.
Rivera misses with a knee strike.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sandoval takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Sandoval utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sandoval landing knees to the head.
Knees in the clinch landing for Sandoval.
Sandoval tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rivera avoids it.
Rivera looking to throw knees to the head but Sandoval is blocking nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval presses Rivera against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Sandoval managing to block the knees to the body from Rivera.
Sandoval gets through Rivera's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Rivera pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Rivera misses with a knee strike.
Sandoval lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sandoval lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Sandoval lands a body shot.
Barry Sandoval has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A hook to the body from Sandoval.
Rivera is trying to maintain a safe position but Sandoval gets an underhook and turns Rivera into the cage.
Sandoval connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rivera's face.
Rivera using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Sandoval has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Sandoval utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
Sandoval stalling.
Rivera unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Rivera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Rivera blocks an elbow strike.
A short left from Sandoval.
Rivera is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Sandoval holding his opponent close, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval scores with a knee to the head.
Sandoval with a knee to the head.
Rivera stalls.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Sandoval is trying to break free.
A short left from Sandoval.
Sandoval avoids the elbow strike from Rivera, against the cage.
Rivera looking to throw knees to the head but Sandoval is blocking nicely.
Rivera misses with an elbow strike.
Sandoval stalls.
Rivera lands an elbow inside.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rivera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sandoval throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rivera blocks it with crossed arms.
Sandoval presses Rivera against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Rivera with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Sandoval connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rivera's face.
Sandoval lands with a left to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Barry Sandoval dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Raphael Rivera's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Sandoval connects with a body shot that sends Rivera's belly button to the back.
Sandoval cracks Rivera with a right hand to the side of the head.
Sandoval circles away from the clinch attempt

and Sandoval counters by moving into the clinch.
Rivera tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Rivera takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Sandoval misses with a knee to the head.
Rivera letting Sandoval take a breather here.
Sandoval avoiding damage as Rivera throws knees to the body.
A short right from Sandoval on the inside.
Sandoval missing with knees to the body.
Sandoval blocks an elbow strike.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rivera stalling in the clinch but Sandoval improves position.
A right hand to the body from Sandoval.
Sandoval lands with a left to the head.
Rivera lands a knee to the head.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sandoval lands a knee to the head.
Sandoval with a knee to the head.

Sandoval manages to break the clinch.
Nice uppercut lands for Sandoval. That snapped Rivera's head back.
Rivera scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Sandoval fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Sandoval throws a nice outside leg kick.
Sandoval lands a high kick!
Sandoval thumps Rivera with a low kick.
Rivera doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
A nice combination there by Sandoval.
Barry Sandoval is winning the standup battle so far.
Sandoval connects with a leg kick. Rivera looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Sandoval scores with a leg kick.

Sandoval closes the distance and clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval connects with a knee to the head.
Rivera throws an elbow but it misses.
A right handed body shot lands from Sandoval.
Sandoval stalls.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sandoval pushes Rivera back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Sandoval dodges an elbow strike from Rivera.
Rivera tries to land a knee to the head but Sandoval blocks with his arms.
Sandoval lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
A knee to the head by Sandoval.
Sandoval lands with a light punch inside.

Sandoval breaks the clinch.
Rivera tries to clinch up
and Sandoval counters with a thumping low kick.
Sandoval keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Sandoval cracks the inside of Rivera's front leg.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Sandoval.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivera closes the distance but Sandoval moves to the side

and Sandoval counters by clinching up.
Rivera tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rivera misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Sandoval.
Rivera creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A body shot lands from Sandoval.

Sandoval breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
A slapping leg kick lands for Sandoval.
Barry Sandoval is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Rivera takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Rivera on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Sandoval throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Sandoval goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Sandoval sizes up Rivera with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Rivera looks to clinch

and Sandoval moves into the clinch.
Rivera tries a knee to the head but Sandoval blocks it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sandoval pushes Rivera back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rivera takes a knee right on the jaw!
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Sandoval takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Rivera is looking to control Sandoval's arms but Sandoval gets an underhook and turns him. Now Rivera has his back to the cage.
Sandoval avoiding damage as Rivera throws knees to the body.
Rivera looking to slow down the pace here.
A short left from Sandoval.
Sandoval softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
The referee calls for Sandoval to work.
Rivera's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

Sandoval drops Rivera with a big knee straight up the middle! Rivera is covering up against the cage but manages to escape and gets back to his feet!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sandoval lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rivera moves to clinch but Sandoval breaks away
and Sandoval counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Rivera is lucky that one didn't land flush.

And that's the end of the fight!
Barry Sandoval showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Sandoval has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:26
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:25
Judge Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Barry Sandoval!