PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Willis Malone (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jayden Lariviere (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Malone
vs
Lariviere

182 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

225 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Willis Malone!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Jayden Lariviere!
The judges for this bout are Sam Margolis, Andrew Berry and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Malone as Lariviere shoots in.
Malone throws a counter high kick but Lariviere was just alert enough to avoid it.
Lariviere swinging wildly here.
It looked like Malone wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Nice sprawl there from Lariviere as Malone shoots in.
Lariviere fails with the takedown
and Malone counters with a lovely shot to the body.

Lariviere closes the distance and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Malone with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Lariviere is looking to take this one to the mat.
Willis Malone has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jayden Lariviere.
A head punch on the inside from Malone fails to land.
Lariviere gets through Malone's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Lariviere is trying to force a seperation but Malone has the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malone wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Lariviere drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Malone gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Malone 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 is trying to pull guard but Malone has him pressed against the cage.
Malone gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Lariviere.
Malone with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Lariviere tries to break the clinch but Malone is controlling the position.
Lariviere goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Lariviere leaning his opponent against the cage.
Lariviere trying to land knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Lariviere goes for a takedown in the clinch but Malone prevents it.
Lariviere wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Lariviere prevents Malone from breaking the clinch.
Lariviere is trying to pull guard but Malone turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Lariviere tries to pull guard but Malone holds him up against the cage and eventually Lariviere drops back down to his feet.

Malone breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Malone fails with a takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lariviere fails with a takedown attempt.

Lariviere clinches with his opponent.

Malone escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Lariviere doesn't manage to clinch there - Malone circles away.
Malone is looking to counter with head kicks.
Lariviere will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Lariviere fails with a takedown attempt.
Lariviere looks winded!
Lariviere tries to clinch but Malone moves out of range.
Malone throws a counter high kick but Lariviere was just alert enough to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Malone shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Malone showed some decent athleticism there.

Lariviere kicks off Malone and gets to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Lariviere tries to keep at a distance but Malone has taken the fight into the clinch.
Malone lands with a light punch inside.
Malone jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Lariviere walks away with a smile on his face. Malone gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Lariviere moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Malone blocks a head kick by Lariviere.
Malone was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.

Malone shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Lariviere's guard.

Lariviere uses the cage to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Jayden Lariviere will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Lariviere throws a head kick that misses
and Malone counters with a three punch combo that has Lariviere backing up. Lariviere nods at Malone to acknowledge the strikes.
Lariviere throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Lariviere has a takedown stuffed.
Malone shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Lariviere tries to counter with a clinch but Malone shakes him off and moves away.
Lariviere is trying hard to land a takedown here. Malone sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
A quick step to the side and Malone tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Malone misses with a takedown
and Lariviere counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Malone leaves Lariviere with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Malone is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Willis Malone has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jayden Lariviere.
Lariviere is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malone shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Lariviere sprawls well. Lariviere wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Malone gets slowly back to his feet.
Malone stuffs the takedown attempt from Lariviere. Lariviere gets slowly back to his feet.
Malone tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Lariviere manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

Lariviere shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Malone looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lariviere stops Malone from standing up.

Lariviere drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Malone manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Lariviere has Malone in his guard.

The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Malone trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Malone throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Lariviere works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Lariviere preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Lariviere has Malone pulled in close to control his posture.
Lariviere's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Malone lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Malone avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Malone wants to stand but Lariviere has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Lariviere utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Malone postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Lariviere trying to control the position here.

Lariviere throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
A head kick misses from Malone.

Lariviere moves into range and clinches up with Malone.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Malone fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Malone tries to circle away but Lariviere has him pinned against the cage.
Malone is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Lariviere to keep the fight standing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Willis Malone will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Lariviere closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Malone tries to pull guard but Lariviere holds him up against the cage and eventually Malone drops back down to his feet.

Malone breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Malone closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Lariviere tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Lariviere tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Malone misses with a punch on the inside.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Malone's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Lariviere shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Malone sprawls well. Malone wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Lariviere gets slowly back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Malone throws a lazy uppercut
and Lariviere connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Malone shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Lariviere defends it nicely.
Lariviere lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Lariviere fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Malone avoids it really well and circles away.
Willis Malone has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Jayden Lariviere.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lariviere misses with a jab, cross combination.
Lariviere takes a swing at Malone's ribcage but misses.
Lariviere shoots in for a takedown but Malone shows good takedown defense.
An attempted straight right counter from Malone misses the target.
Lariviere takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Malone shoots for a takedown but Lariviere saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Lariviere steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Malone.
Lariviere darts in looking for a takedown but Malone gets double underhooks and turns Lariviere into the cage.
Lariviere shoots and misses
and Malone counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lariviere walks into a left hand.
Lariviere lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Malone circles away quickly and effectively.

Malone closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Lariviere parries the strikes from Malone easily there. Malone is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Lariviere to escape.
Sloppy strikes there by Malone.

Malone stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Lariviere tries for a takedown but Malone circles away easily
and Malone counters with a head kick. That will keep Lariviere thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!

Malone closes the distance and clinches.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lariviere taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Malone lands with a light punch inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Malone escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
No joy there for Lariviere, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Malone was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Lariviere doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Malone counters with a nice body shot.

Malone drives through and clinches with Lariviere against the cage.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Malone breaks from the clinch.
Lariviere shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Malone defends it nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
Willis Malone showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Malone has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 29:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Jayden Lariviere!