PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight kickboxing rules bout between Mike Rivers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Eric Perry (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Rivers
vs
Perry

192 cm
26
190 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

188 cm
20
190 lbs
1 - 2 - 1

Excellent boxer
Very quick

Excellent MT
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Mike Rivers!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 1, fighting out of New York, Eric Perry!
The judges for this bout are Radbod Blank, Saam Ante and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A bone on bone clash there as Rivers blocks the leg kick.
Rivers avoids the body shot from Perry.
Rivers wants to clinch.
Rivers staying out of range there.

Rivers clinches.
Perry working Rivers over with knees to the body.
Perry misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rivers.
Perry blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Perry's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Rivers softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rivers throws a head punch that misses.
Perry told us before the fight that he's been working on his elbows. An under utilised technique these days - let's see if it can sway the outcome of the fight.
Perry misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Rivers using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Perry has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Rivers avoiding damage as Perry throws knees to the body.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Perry just misses with a elbow thrown towards Rivers's brow.
Rivers lands a right hand.
Knees in the clinch landing for Perry.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Perry works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Rivers tries a knee to the head but Perry blocks it.
A shot in the inside from Perry.
Rivers on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Perry missing with knees to the body.
Perry landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Rivers misses with a hook from the clinch.
Rivers swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Rivers misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Perry.
Perry misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rivers.
Perry lands a nice elbow.
Perry blocking some punches.
Rivers working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Perry connects with a nasty looking knee right to Rivers's face.
Rivers managing to block the knees to the body from Perry.
Rivers swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Perry throws a head punch that misses.
Rivers misses with a shot to the kidneys.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Rivers swings wildly with an uppercut but Perry uses good head movement to avoid it.
Rivers avoiding damage as Perry throws knees to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Perry.
Perry on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Perry lands a knee to the body.
Rivers lands a nice uppercut.
Perry using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rivers has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Knees to the body from Perry.
Rivers blocks the elbow strike.
Perry landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Perry lands an elbow inside that Rivers shrugs off.
Perry unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Perry is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rivers is defending well for now.
Perry lands a knee to the body.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rivers.
Rivers avoiding damage as Perry throws knees to the body.
Rivers fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Perry 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.

Perry connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Perry misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Perry connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Rivers avoids the head kick by Perry.
Perry scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Rivers doesn't seem bothered though.
Rivers avoids a kick to the body.
Perry keeps the fight on the outside.
Perry lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Rivers tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Perry manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Perry showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rivers.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rivers chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Perry can pounce on him.
Perry fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rivers.

Perry gets a clinch.
Rivers is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Perry is defending well for now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers tries a body shot but Perry blocks it.
Rivers missing with knees to the body.
Rivers lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Perry crunches a lovely knee into Rivers's ribcage.
Rivers lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Perry backwards.
Rivers throws a head punch that misses.
Perry lands an elbow inside that Rivers shrugs off.
Rivers throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Perry blocks it with crossed arms.
Rivers fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rivers blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Rivers avoiding damage as Perry throws knees to the body.
Perry lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
Perry landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Perry tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rivers avoids it.
Rivers misses with a punch on the inside.
Rivers looking to throw knees to the head but Perry is blocking nicely.
Perry lands an elbow inside that Rivers shrugs off.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rivers tries to work over Perry's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivers lands a body shot in the clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Rivers.
Rivers swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Eric Perry seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Perry blocks a body shot from Rivers.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Rivers tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Perry misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rivers.
Perry unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rivers lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
Perry landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Perry blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Rivers throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Perry blocks it with crossed arms.
Rivers blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Perry digs a right hand into Rivers's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Rivers's gas tank.
Perry is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rivers misses with a short punch on the inside.
Perry is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Rivers on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Rivers tries to land a knee to the head but Perry blocks with his arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Perry showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A slapping leg kick lands for Perry.
Rivers tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Perry wants to counter the offense by Rivers and move into the clinch position.

Rivers scores with a jab and follows up with an uppercut that drops Perry to his knees! He bounces straight back to his feet but is forced to take the mandatory standing 8 count before he's allowed to continue. We're back under way and the fighters meet in the middle of the canvas to re-engage.

It looks like Eric Perry has been cut.
A head kick misses from Perry.
Rivers tries to clinch up.
Perry wants to slow Rivers down by chopping away at his legs.
Rivers tries to clinch but Perry moves away
and Perry counters with a nice low kick that buckles Rivers's knee momentarily.
Perry lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Perry closes the distance and pushes Rivers back into the ropes.
Rivers avoids the elbow strike from Perry, against the ropes.
Rivers pushes Perry back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Perry landing some nice looking knees to the body.
Perry unloads a knee to the mid-section. Rivers lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.
A head punch on the inside from Rivers fails to land.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Perry just misses with a elbow thrown towards Rivers's brow.
Rivers misses with a punch on the inside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers avoiding damage as Perry throws knees to the body.
Knees in the clinch landing for Perry.
Perry lands a body punch in the clinch.
Perry lands an elbow just above Rivers 's eye.
Perry tries to throw a body punch but Rivers avoids it by throwing Perry back against the ropes.
Perry has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Perry blocks a body shot from Rivers.
Rivers throws a head punch that misses.

Perry breaks the clinch.
Rivers doesn't manage to clinch there - Perry circles away.
Perry throws a fast counter high kick but Rivers manages to duck under it in time.
Perry feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Riverss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Rivers is looking to land body kicks.
A chopping leg kick lands by Perry.
Perry ducks under a wild hook from Rivers.
Rivers wants to clinch up but Perry keeps it at a distance.

Perry instigates a clinch.
Perry is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Perry struggles to land a body shot inside as Rivers controls his hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Perry works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Nice elbow from Perry.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Perry tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rivers tries to land a knee to the head but misses.

Perry pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Perry throws a sloppy head kick and Rivers moves out of range easily.
Rivers is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Perry chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Rivers tries to clinch up
and Perry counters with a leg kick.
Rivers lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A slapping leg kick lands for Perry.
Perry dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Rivers. That did some damage!
Mike Rivers is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Perry fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Rivers has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Eric Perry seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Perry drives through and clinches with Rivers against the ropes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Rivers takes that one, having scored the knockdown.
The cut man is working on Eric Perry's cut.
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.

Perry scores with a leg kick.
Rivers moves out of range of the leg kick from Perry.
Rivers seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Perry lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Rivers tries to clinch there but Perry circles away.
Perry swats away the attempt to clinch by Rivers.
Perry is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Rivers with a body shot.
Rivers tries to bum rush Perry with a series of wild strikes but Perry uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Rivers tries to close the distance and clinch up but Perry swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Perry tries a quick counter leg kick but Rivers is wise to it.
Perry pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Rivers back to the ropes. Perry follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Perry darts in and clinches Rivers up against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Perry breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Perry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Rivers was well out of range. Poor timing from Perry.
Rivers takes a kick to the side of the head.
Perry tries a head kick but it misses.
Rivers doesn't manage to clinch there - Perry circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers doesn't manage to clinch there - Perry circles away.
Rivers throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.

Perry clinches up with Rivers and pushes him back against the ropes.
Perry lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.

Perry's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Perry misses with a head kick.
Perry throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Perry misses with a head kick.
Sloppy strikes from Rivers. Those never looked like landing.

Perry pushes Rivers up against the ropes in a clinch.
Rivers fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Rivers misses with a punch on the inside.
Perry tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rivers avoids it.
Rivers tries to land a knee to the head but Perry blocks with his arms.
Rivers managing to block the knees to the body from Perry.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Perry blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Perry misses with a knee to the head.
Rivers throws a head punch that misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Perry utilising his Muay Thai to score with a knee to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the ropes, Rivers creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Rivers misses with some punches.
Perry trying to land knees to the body.
Perry is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Rivers is defending well for now.

Perry's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rivers on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Perry. Perry obviously looking to wear him down.
Perry with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Rivers has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Perry.
Perry scores with a leg kick.
Rivers tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Perry paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Perry showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Rivers.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Eric Perry dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Eric Perry's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Mike Rivers has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Perry misses with a body punch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Perry.

Perry pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Rivers moves in looking to clinch but Perry pushes him off.

Perry moves into the clinch successfully.
Rivers tries a body shot but Perry blocks it.

Perry escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Perry lands a head kick!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Perry scores with a kick to the body.
Rivers is looking to clinch but Perry is avoiding it.
Perry looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Rivers motions for Perry to come forward. Rivers throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rivers tries to clinch but Perry moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers tries to clinch but Perry moves out of range.
Perry flicks out a counter leg kick but Rivers steps away.
Rivers wants to clinch.
Despite the aggression on Perry's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Rivers takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.
Perry slips a jab and a cross from Rivers.
Perry feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Rivers's calf.
Perry lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Rivers throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Rivers tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in to close the distance. Perry manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Rivers looks to land a combination but Perry avoids it well.
Perry misses with a hook. Rivers ducked under it nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivers is looking to clinch.
Perry uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Rivers.
Perry throws a nice inside leg kick.
Rivers tries to clinch but Perry moves away
and Perry counters with a slapping leg kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivers wants to clinch
and Perry counters with a thumping low kick.
Perry throws a head kick but Rivers moves out of range.
Rivers misses with a double jab.
Rivers backing away here, and Perry unleashes a leg kick that just misses.
Both of our modern day gladiators look out of it here - a gruelling 5 rounds of action taking it's toll on them, no doubt.
Rivers takes a kick to the side of the head.
Perry is looking to slow Rivers down with leg kicks.
Perry throws a hook to the side of Rivers's head but Rivers sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Perry comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Perry misses with a head kick.
Eric Perry is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Perry lands with a slapping head kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Eric Perry comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Perry 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 46:48
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 46:48
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 46:48

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Eric Perry!