PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jeanmarc LaRiviere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Steve Raboatta (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

LaRiviere
vs
Raboatta

220 cm
20
230 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

200 cm
21
265 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jeanmarc LaRiviere!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Steve Raboatta!
The judges for this bout are Yves DeLean, Ian Loll and William Peck.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Raboatta misses with a straight right.
Raboatta looks to land a left hand but LaRiviere moved out of range nicely.
Raboatta fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

LaRiviere takes the fight into the clinch.

LaRiviere lands a takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Raboatta wants to stand and escape but LaRiviere is having none of it.
LaRiviere is stalling in the full guard.
Raboatta is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Raboatta keeping full guard, as LaRiviere tries to pass.
LaRiviere with a nice head shot there.
LaRiviere wants to pass the guard but Raboatta is keeping the position.
Raboatta keeping moving, preventing LaRiviere from controlling successfully.
LaRiviere stops Raboatta from standing up.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Raboatta throws a right and a left that both miss.
LaRiviere throws a head kick that half lands.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raboatta throws a series of punches but LaRiviere moves out of range.
A combination from Raboatta does no damage.
Raboatta throws a series of punches but LaRiviere avoids them all with ease.

LaRiviere fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Raboatta sprawls well initially but LaRiviere persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Ground and pound from LaRiviere.
Raboatta pushes LaRiviere off but LaRiviere dives into side control.
LaRiviere prevents Raboatta from escaping the position.
Raboatta looks gassed!
LaRiviere advances to mount.
LaRiviere has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Raboatta's face.
LaRiviere lands a big elbow.
LaRiviere will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
LaRiviere cracks Raboatta with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Raboatta is desperately trying to improve his position but LaRiviere has a good base and remains in mount.
LaRiviere really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

LaRiviere get's back to his feet.
Raboatta tries to clinch up

and LaRiviere counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raboatta misses with some punches.

LaRiviere escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

LaRiviere darts in and clinches Raboatta up against the cage.

LaRiviere breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Raboatta throws a left and a right that both miss

and LaRiviere counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Raboatta tries to push off, looking to stand up, but LaRiviere manages to move to mount!
LaRiviere won't let Raboatta get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
LaRiviere in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Raboatta squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
LaRiviere controlling from the full mount.
Raboatta is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Raboatta keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
LaRiviere with a couple of short strikes.
Raboatta is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
LaRiviere postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Raboatta looks a forlorn figure.
LaRiviere takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Raboatta is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Raboatta is looking to improve his position but LaRiviere isn't that keen on the idea.
Raboatta wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
LaRiviere breaks from Raboatta's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Raboatta squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.
LaRiviere working the ground and pound effectively.
Raboatta is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Raboatta is wriggling around trying to escape.
LaRiviere controlling the position easily from mount.
LaRiviere prevents Raboatta from getting the reversal.
Raboatta's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
LaRiviere controlling the pace for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeanmarc LaRiviere dominated that 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.

Raboatta throws a head kick but LaRiviere moves out of range.
LaRiviere throws a combination. Raboatta tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Steve Raboatta seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Raboatta has had enough of the clinch but LaRiviere keeps him there for the moment.
Raboatta with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.

LaRiviere gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Raboatta regains guard.
LaRiviere controls from within his opponent's guard.
LaRiviere won't allow Raboatta to get back to his feet.
LaRiviere slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
LaRiviere wants to control from the top but Raboatta keeps moving.
LaRiviere stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Raboatta swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Raboatta wants to stand up but LaRiviere is controlling him.
LaRiviere in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
LaRiviere prevents Raboatta from getting back to his feet.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Raboatta throws a left and a right that both miss

and LaRiviere counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
LaRiviere works his way into full mount!
Raboatta squirming around on the bottom, looking to escape.

LaRiviere stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
LaRiviere avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Raboatta tries to clinch up.
Some wild striking there from Raboatta.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Raboatta will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Raboatta takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
A swing and a miss from Raboatta.
Raboatta throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and LaRiviere counters with a single leg into guard. Raboatta didn't expect that.
Jeanmarc LaRiviere overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Raboatta is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
LaRiviere slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

LaRiviere has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Raboatta to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! LaRiviere is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Raboatta pulls down on the head and he's put LaRiviere to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Steve Raboatta!