PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Dominick Rivaldi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Holden Gracie (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rivaldi comes to the cage accompanied by Joker's Wild. Gracie has chosen Metallica Enter Sandman as his entrance music. The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Rivaldi
vs
Gracie

180 cm
30
178 lbs
16 - 4 - 0

190 cm
25
179 lbs
11 - 1 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

TFP Graphics - Pit Inc
Reaper Combatwear

Milwaukee's Best 160 SALE $150
Hellraiser Fightgear ($10-$20 clothing)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 16 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dominick Rivaldi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Helsinki, Holden Gracie!
The judges for this bout are Johanna Lukiainen, Anni Minnemäki and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gracie uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rivaldi.
Gracie connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Rivaldi scores with a jab to the body.
A swing and a miss from Gracie.
Gracie fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Gracie has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Gracie there as he acknowledges the shot.
Gracie throws a looping overhand right but Rivaldi ducks down to avoid it.
Rivaldi ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Rivaldi scoring well with a low kick there.
Gracie wants to slow Rivaldi down by chopping away at his legs.
Gracie missing with a left hand there. Rivaldi was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
A head kick from Gracie lands but Rivaldi takes it in his stride.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rivaldi throws an overhand right that lands on Gracie's shoulder, as Gracie tries to avoid the shot.
A slow jab from Rivaldi misses its intended target.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gracie. That's going to slow Rivaldi down.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivaldi thows a body shot but no joy.

Gracie rushes Rivaldi and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Come on Gracie - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Rivaldi pushes Gracie back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Rivaldi wants to stall.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Rivaldi working hard to break the clinch.
Gracie controlling the action here for a moment.
Still in the clinch, Rivaldi scores with a nice short uppercut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivaldi misses with a punch to the body.
Rivaldi wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Rivaldi misses with a punch to the body.

Rivaldi escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Gracie connects with a leg kick. Rivaldi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Gracie throws a looping overhand right but Rivaldi ducks down to avoid it.
Gracie wants to clinch.
Rivaldi throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Gracie on the side of the head.
Holden Gracie seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gracie tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rivaldi was well out of range. Poor timing from Gracie.
Gracie looks to throw the jab but Rivaldi is out of range.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Gracie lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivaldi ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Gracie motions for Rivaldi to come forward. Gracie throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rivaldi just misses with a punch to the body.
Gracie avoids the head kick by Rivaldi.
Gracie avoids the body shot from Rivaldi.
Rivaldi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gracie looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Rivaldi drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Rivaldi thows a body shot but no joy.
Rivaldi lands a lovely overhand right.
Gracie thows a left - swing and a miss!
Rivaldi tries to score with a low kick but Gracie moves his leg out of the way.
Gracie fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Rivaldi checks it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivaldi steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Gracie.
A big right from Rivaldi misses.
Gracie takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A jab from Gracie misses.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rivaldi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Some bone on bone action there as Gracie checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Rivaldi throws a right and a left that Gracie avoids nicely.
Rivaldi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gracie.
Rivaldi throws a right and a left that both miss.
Gracie fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rivaldi swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Rivaldi checks a leg kick.
Gracie buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Gracie looks to throw the jab but Rivaldi is out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Holden Gracie will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Gracie fails to land with a series of punches.
Rivaldi tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Rivaldi misses with the combination.
Rivaldi throws a hook but Gracie blocks it.
Rivaldi ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Gracie gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Rivaldi.
Gracie misses the shot to the body.
Gracie throws a body punch but Rivaldi moves out of range.
Gracie lands a slapping body shot.
Gracie connects with a good right hand that stumbles Rivaldi. Rivaldi circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Gracie fails to land with a series of punches.
Gracie throws a lazy right hand but Rivaldi sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Rivaldi wants to land a leg kick but Gracie is out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Rivaldi.
Rivaldi throws a hook but Gracie avoids it easily.
Gracie tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Rivaldi throws a lazy head kick
and Gracie cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rivaldi takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Gracie swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Gracie swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gracie lands the left hand.
Gracie lands a leg kick that knocks Rivaldi off balance momentarily.
Gracie ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rivaldi moves away.
Rivaldi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Gracie keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Jab from Gracie.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gracie with a nice cross.
Gracie misses with a hook
enabling Rivaldi to counter with a crisp jab.
Rivaldi misses with a wild combination.
Gracie misses with an attempted mid kick.
Rivaldi looks to score with a jab to the body but Gracie is just out of range.
Rivaldi misses the shot to the body.
Rivaldi turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Gracie throws a solid leg kick but Rivaldi takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Gracie.
Gracie scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Rivaldi doesn't seem bothered though.
A big right from Rivaldi misses.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Gracie 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.
Gracie does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Rivaldi takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gracie misses with an uppercut. Rivaldi saw that one coming.
Gracie throws a nice inside leg kick.
Rivaldi takes a swing at Gracie's ribcage but misses.
Rivaldi misses with a straight right.
Gracie misses with a straight left.
Gracie throws a leg kick but Rivaldi moved away.
Rivaldi lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Gracie misses with a straight right.
Rivaldi cracks Gracie with an open hand slap.
Gracie blocks the body kick.
Gracie throws an off balance right hand
and Rivaldi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rivaldi throws a series of punches but Gracie avoids them all with ease.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gracie gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Rivaldi has had enough of the clinch but Gracie keeps him there for the moment.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rivaldi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rivaldi scores with a hook to the body.
Gracie tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rivaldi keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Gracie's efforts to push away.
A shot in the inside from Rivaldi.
Rivaldi lands with a short punch from the clinch.

Rivaldi escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Rivaldi needs to keep his hands up - Gracie had a free shot at his head there.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rivaldi swinging wildly here.
Rivaldi lands with an overhand left.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Holden Gracie will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Rivaldi's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Gracie lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Holden Gracie seems to be getting the better of the standup.
A thudding body kick lands there by Gracie!
Gracie lands with a right hand.
Nice straight punches there by Gracie. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Gracie.
Gracie moves out of range of the strikes.
Good leg kick by Gracie there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rivaldi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gracie.
Rivaldi connects with a jab.
Rivaldi looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rivaldi misses with a head kick.
Rivaldi takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Rivaldi on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Gracie misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gracie uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rivaldi.
Rivaldi throws a chopping leg kick but Gracie manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Rivaldi. Gracie does a little dance to reset his feet.
Gracie misses with a lunging right hand
and Rivaldi counters with an inside leg kick.
A telegraphed right hand from Gracie misses the target.
Rivaldi throws the kick towards the body but Gracie avoids it.
Gracie lands a jab.
A head kick misses from Gracie.
Gracie tries to clinch up but Rivaldi circles away and keeps his distance.
Gracie is looking to score with low kicks.
Gracie sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rivaldi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Dominick Rivaldi has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Gracie. That's going to slow Rivaldi down.
Rivaldi with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rivaldi fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Gracie is out of range.
Gracie's jab looks to have found its range, popping Rivaldi under the eye.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rivaldi throws a body punch but Gracie moves out of range.
Gracie throws a jab but it's blocked by Rivaldi.
Gracie moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
A combination from Rivaldi does no damage.
Rivaldi is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Rivaldi takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rivaldi just misses with a punch to the body.
Gracie misses with a low kick as Rivaldi jumps back.
Rivaldi throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivaldi takes a swing at Gracie's ribcage but misses.
Rivaldi is looking to wear down Gracie with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Good exchange - Gracie coming out on top.
Gracie feints a jab promting Rivaldi to slip. Gracie then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Rivaldi slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Rivaldi takes a jab right on the kisser.
Rivaldi does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Rivaldi throws a looping overhand right but Gracie ducks down to avoid it.
Gracie misses with a wild body shot.
Gracie thows a body shot but no joy.
Gracie takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
A chopping leg kick lands by Rivaldi.
Rivaldi shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Gracie throws a shot from downtown. Rivaldi moves away and avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gracie fails to land with a series of punches.
Rivaldi misses with a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rivaldi will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rivaldi misses with a low kick as Gracie jumps back.
Rivaldi misses with a wild body shot.
A head kick misses from Gracie.
Gracie lands with a nice body kick.
Rivaldi tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Holden Gracie is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gracie moves out of range as Rivaldi strikes.
Rivaldi throws a jab but it's blocked by Gracie.
Rivaldi looks to land a right hand but Gracie moved out of range.

And that's the end of the fight!
Holden Gracie comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Gracie winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 28:29
Judge Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Holden Gracie!
A very excited looking Holden Gracie made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.