PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lion Takanori (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Geraldo Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Takanori comes into the arena with Scary blaring out of the sound system. Rivera has chosen Sucker Punch - Sweet Dreams as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Geraldo Rivera is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Takanori
vs
Rivera

166 cm
32
151 lbs
25 - 19 - 0

190 cm
31
215 lbs
20 - 11 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 25 - 19 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lion Takanori!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 11 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Geraldo Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Matti Vanhoillinen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rivera throws out a powerful jab.
Geraldo Rivera seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Takanori keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rivera.
Takanori slips under a jab from Rivera.
Takanori looks to land a left hand but Rivera moved out of range nicely.
Rivera will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rivera lands the left hand.

It looks like Lion Takanori has been cut.
Takanori lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rivera throws the left hand but Takanori avoids the punch easily.
Takanori misses with a body kick.
Takanori throws a body punch but Rivera moves out of range.
Rivera looks to land a right hand but Takanori moved out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera works the jab nicely.
Rivera scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Rivera swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Takanori keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rivera.
Takanori fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Rivera looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Rivera lands a jab.
Rivera throws an off balance right hand
and Takanori counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Takanori keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Rivera stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Takanori.
Takanori throws a jab when Rivera was well out of range.
Rivera throws a lazy right hand but Takanori sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Rivera is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Takanori slips a straight right by Rivera.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rivera throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Takanori on the side of the head.
A big right from Rivera misses.
Takanori is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Rivera lands a nice shot that snaps Takanori's head back.
Rivera throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Rivera misses with a hook.
Rivera misses with a few strikes there.
Rivera throws a jab but it's blocked by Takanori.
Rivera fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Takanori manages to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takanori swinging wildly here.
Rivera blocks a low kick nicely.
Takanori keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Rivera.
Rivera slips a jab and a cross from Takanori.
Rivera lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Takanori at a distance.
Rivera might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Takanori ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Takanori lands a glancing blow to the side of Rivera's head.
Rivera steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Takanori.
Rivera swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takanori takes a swing at Rivera's ribcage but misses.
Rivera swings for the body but Takanori moves out of range.
Rivera looks to land a right hand but Takanori moved out of range.
Rivera punishes Takanori's body with a nice straight punch.
Rivera is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Takanori.
Rivera misses with a body shot.
Takanori moves out of range as Rivera strikes.
Rivera is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Takanori had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Takanori just misses with a punch to the body.
Takanori connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivera throws a big shot that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Geraldo Rivera dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Lion Takanori's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Takanori swats away the attempt to clinch by Rivera.
Rivera misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Takanori.
Rivera misses with a lunging right hand
and Takanori counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Rivera thows a left - swing and a miss!
Rivera slips a straight right by Takanori.
Takanori throws a nice looking combination but Rivera bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
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.
Takanori is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Rivera listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Takanori looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Takanori throws a right hand that misses
and Rivera counters with a straight right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takanori jabs Rivera to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Rivera throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Takanori thows a body shot but no joy.
Takanori avoids the body shot from Rivera.
Takanori throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Rivera.
Takanori rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Rivera counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rivera fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Takanori manages to avoid it.
Rivera lands a nice shot to the body.
Rivera lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Rivera lands with a cross.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good exchange - Rivera coming out on top.
Takanori throws a sloppy body shot
and Rivera counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

Takanori is rocked!
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Takanori just misses with a punch to the body.
Takanori looks to land a left hand but Rivera moved out of range nicely.
Rivera tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Takanori makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Rivera lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Takanori misses with a low kick.
Nice body punch from Rivera.
Takanori doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivera throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Takanori stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Takanori showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rivera.
Takanori digs a good body shot into Rivera's ribs.
Rivera blocks a jab.
Rivera throws an overhand right that lands on Takanori's shoulder, as Takanori tries to avoid the shot.
Takanori lands with a shot to the body.
Rivera misses with a left hand
and Takanori connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Rivera is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Takanori.
Sloppy strikes from Rivera. Those never looked like landing.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takanori avoids a punch combination nicely.
Takanori connects with a body shot that sends Rivera's belly button to the back.
Takanori bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Rivera lands with a cross.
Rivera thows a body shot but no joy.
A looping hook to the body misses from Takanori. Rivera does a little dance to reset his feet.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivera misses with a hook. Takanori ducked under it nicely.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Takanori throws out a loose jab but Rivera uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rivera works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Geraldo Rivera showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Lion Takanori's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Takanori bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Rivera's head backwards.
Rivera checks a low kick from Takanori.
Takanori misses with a looping left.
Rivera scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Rivera throws a jab when Takanori was well out of range.
A jab from Rivera misses.
Rivera connects with a nice looking jab.
Rivera misses with a body shot.
Takanori will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Rivera jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Takanori throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rivera takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Takanori throws a chopping leg kick but Rivera manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Takanori thows a body shot but no joy.
Rivera misses with a looping right.
Takanori misses with a body shot.
Rivera throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Rivera swings for the body but Takanori moves out of range.
A slow jab from Rivera misses its intended target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Rivera.
Takanori uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rivera.
Rivera lands a jab.
Takanori fails to land with a series of punches.
Good shot there by Rivera.
Takanori uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rivera.
Rivera connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Rivera throws a poor cross that misses
and Takanori counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Takanori scores with a body shot.
Rivera digs a good body shot into Takanori's ribs.
Takanori misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rivera throws an off balance right hand
and Takanori counters with a straight right hand.
Rivera keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Takanori feints and then cracks Rivera's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Rivera down.
Takanori slips under a jab from Rivera.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Takanori, right into the meat.
Rivera throws a hook but Takanori blocks it.
Takanori throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Takanori lands the left hand.
Takanori takes a swing at Rivera's ribcage but misses.
Rivera misses with a right hand
and Takanori counters with a nice uppercut.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Rivera showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Takanori.
Takanori misses with a body shot.
Takanori misses with a straight right.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Rivera keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Takanori throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Lion Takanori.
Well Rivera has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight for Geraldo Rivera!
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight for Geraldo Rivera!
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight for Geraldo Rivera!

Geraldo Rivera wins by unanimous decision!