PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Renan Melo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Geralt Of Rivia (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Melo comes to the cage accompanied by Fireball - Pitbull. Geralt Of Rivia will no doubt be looking to use his reach advantage to good effect.

Melo
vs
Of Rivia

159 cm
20
137 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

171 cm
20
143 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Good kicks
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160 (85% laundry)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Renan Melo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Geralt Of Rivia!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Chris Edwards and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Of Rivia misses with an uppercut.
A swing and a miss from Melo.
Of Rivia tries a quick counter leg kick but Melo is wise to it.
Melo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Of Rivia uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Of Rivia uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Melo.
Melo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Of Rivia throws a leg kick but Melo sees it coming and moves out of range.
Of Rivia loads up on a big right hand but Melo slips the punch.
Melo takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Of Rivia buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Melo takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Of Rivia fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Melo.
Of Rivia with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Of Rivia ducks under a wild hook from Melo.
Of Rivia leaves Melo with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Melo misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Melo has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Of Rivia misses with a straight right.
Of Rivia lands a nice leg kick that just misses Melo's sensitive parts.
Melo misses with a hook
and Of Rivia counters with a straight right hand.
Of Rivia connects with a solid leg kick.
Geralt Of Rivia is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Of Rivia dodges the punch combination from Melo.
Of Rivia misses with a straight right.
Melo takes one to the chin there.
Geralt Of Rivia seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Melo has a takedown stuffed.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Of Rivia lunges at Melo with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Melo's hand.
Of Rivia connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
That kick from Of Rivia tenderised Melo's leg. Melo is trying to keep his angry face on.
Of Rivia lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Melo 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.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Of Rivia.
Of Rivia scoring well with a low kick there.
A nice inside leg kick there by Of Rivia. That's going to slow Melo down.
Of Rivia uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Melo.
Melo loads up on a big right hand but Of Rivia slips the punch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Melo bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Of Rivia can't do much from the bottom here.

Melo tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Melo has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
I wouldn't like to be where Of Rivia is right now.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Of Rivia knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Of Rivia felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.

Melo tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Of Rivia knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Melo working away.

Melo is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Of Rivia knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Of Rivia is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Melo off and has taken his back!
Melo rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Melo is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Geralt Of Rivia dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Of Rivia bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Geralt Of Rivia seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Melo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Of Rivia.
Of Rivia throws the left hand but Melo avoids the punch easily.
Melo appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Of Rivia has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Of Rivia throws a hook to the side of Melo's head but Melo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Melo tries to counter with a takedown but Of Rivia is quick to defend against it.
Melo throws a predictable looking body shot
and Of Rivia counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A thudding body kick lands there by Of Rivia!
Melo ducks under a wild hook from Of Rivia.
Of Rivia lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Of Rivia listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Of Rivia tries to clinch but Melo moves out of range.
Melo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Of Rivia.
Of Rivia fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Melo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Melo tries to score a power double leg takedown but Of Rivia sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Melo somewhat.
Of Rivia looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Melo gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Melo is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Melo misses with a right hand
and Of Rivia counters with a low kick, right behind Melo 's knee.
Of Rivia smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Of Rivia scores with the left hand. Melo knows he should have avoided that one.
Of Rivia shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Melo misses with an uppercut.
Melo is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Of Rivia's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Of Rivia throws a lazy right hand but Melo sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Melo misses the jab.
Of Rivia throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Of Rivia throws a leg kick which misses Melo's front leg but catches the back leg as Melo tries to avoid it.
Of Rivia bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Melo misses with a body shot
and Of Rivia counters with a body kick that stops Melo in his tracks momentarily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Melo blocks a jab.
Of Rivia swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Melo.
Of Rivia uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Melo.
Nice uppercut lands for Of Rivia. That snapped Melo's head back.
Of Rivia throws a low kick but Melo avoids it.
Melo gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Of Rivia.
Melo fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Of Rivia manages to avoid it.
Of Rivia flicks out a counter leg kick but Melo steps away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Melo has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Melo there as he acknowledges the shot.
Melo ducks under a wild hook from Of Rivia.
Melo uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Of Rivia.
Melo feinted with a counter takedown.
Of Rivia uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Melo throws a right hand that misses
and Of Rivia counters with a leg kick.
A nice leg kick lands there from Of Rivia.
Melo looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Melo avoids a kick to the body.
Melo half commits to a counter takedown before pushing away, out of range.

Melo throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Of Rivia tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Melo is in Of Rivia's guard.
Of Rivia keeping full guard, as Melo tries to pass.
Of Rivia really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Melo. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Of Rivia is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Melo tries to free his leg and advance position but Of Rivia is retaining full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Melo prevents Of Rivia from getting back to his feet.
Of Rivia pulls Melo in to control the position.
Melo tries to free his leg and advance position but Of Rivia is retaining full guard.

Melo drops back looking for a leg! Of Rivia is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Of Rivia manages to kick Melo off! Melo jumps back into Of Rivia's guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Of Rivia throws a hook to the side of Melo's head but Melo sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Melo takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Of Rivia throws out a powerful jab.
Melo walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Geralt Of Rivia showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Melo's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Melo throws the left hand but Of Rivia avoids the punch easily.
Of Rivia moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Melo swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Of Rivia is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Of Rivia's jab looks to have found its range, popping Melo under the eye.
Melo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Melo looks to land a left hand but Of Rivia moved out of range nicely.
A nice inside leg kick there by Of Rivia. That's going to slow Melo down.
Of Rivia looks to throw the jab but Melo is out of range.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Of Rivia swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Of Rivia throws a good cross that connects.
Melo on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.

Melo is rocked!
Of Rivia drops Melo with a straight left! Oh this is bad for Melo! Of Rivia dives in and starts dropping bombs - the referee has no choice but to step in and save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Geralt Of Rivia!
Geralt Of Rivia was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.