PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Tomy Di Pietro (ranked 1081 p4p, 166 weight class) and Sam Rinaldi (ranked 1044 p4p, 159 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Di Pietro
vs
Rinaldi

188 cm
28
214 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

187 cm
27
195 lbs
7 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

KOMBAT KLOTHING

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Tomy Di Pietro!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Sam Rinaldi!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Igor Prikhodko and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rinaldi blocks a head kick by Di Pietro.

Rinaldi clinches up against the cage.
Rinaldi lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Rinaldi struggles to land a body shot inside as Di Pietro controls his hands.
Rinaldi stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Rinaldi stalling against the cage.
Di Pietro wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Di Pietro tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rinaldi's elbow.
Di Pietro lands a body punch.
Di Pietro misses with some punches.
Di Pietro scores with a shot to the side of Rinaldi's head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Di Pietro throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Rinaldis head.
Rinaldi blocks a body shot from Di Pietro.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Di Pietro.
Rinaldi prevents a body shot from Di Pietro.
Di Pietro has a couple of punches blocked by Rinaldi.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Di Pietro fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Di Pietro fails to land.
Di Pietro lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Di Pietro makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Rinaldi manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Rinaldi wants to sweep but no luck.

Rinaldi throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Di Pietro has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rinaldi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi keeps trying to improve his position.
Di Pietro trying to control the position from guard on top but Rinaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Di Pietro knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rinaldi on the ground.
Rinaldi looking to hit a scissor sweep but Di Pietro is one step ahead there.
Rinaldi is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Rinaldi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Di Pietro wants to control from the top but Rinaldi keeps moving.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Rinaldi gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Di Pietro.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A bone on bone clash there as Rinaldi blocks the leg kick.
Rinaldi avoids the head kick by Di Pietro.
Di Pietro lands a nice leg kick that just misses Rinaldi's sensitive parts.
Di Pietro is looking to score with low kicks.
Di Pietro lands a nice leg kick that just misses Rinaldi's sensitive parts.

Rinaldi clinches with his opponent.
Rinaldi gets through Di Pietro's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Di Pietro is trying to break the clinch but Rinaldi is controlling him.
Rinaldi is leaning against Di Pietro and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Rinaldi swings wildly with an uppercut but Di Pietro uses good head movement to avoid it.
Di Pietro misses with some punches.
Come on Rinaldi - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
A head punch on the inside from Di Pietro fails to land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi is leaning against Di Pietro and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Rinaldi blocks an uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Rinaldi.

Rinaldi ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Rinaldi no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Rinaldi tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rinaldi looking to control.
Di Pietro wants to stand but Rinaldi is controlling his posture from full guard.
Rinaldi has Di Pietro pulled in close to control his posture.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi is trying to keep Di Pietro in close.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Tomy Di Pietro will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rinaldi connects with a crisp jab.

It looks like Tomy Di Pietro has been cut.
A jab lands there for Rinaldi.
Rinaldi lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Rinaldi.
Rinaldi has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.
Di Pietro throws a nice outside leg kick.
Di Pietro throws a leg kick but Rinaldi sees it coming and moves out of range.
Di Pietro is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Di Pietro misses with a looping left.

Rinaldi instigates a clinch.

Rinaldi pulls guard effortlessly.
Di Pietro wants to stand but Rinaldi is controlling his posture from full guard.
Rinaldi looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Rinaldi being controlled here, momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Di Pietro trying to control the position from guard on top but Rinaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rinaldi will have to put a bit more behind his punches if he's going to do any damage from this position.
Di Pietro trying to control the position from guard on top but Rinaldi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rinaldi controls Di Pietro momentarily but Di Pietro frees himself.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Di Pietro scores with a head kick. Rinaldi tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.
Tomy Di Pietro seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Di Pietro pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Di Pietro pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Di Pietro throws the left hand but Rinaldi avoids the punch easily.
Di Pietro throws a head kick but Rinaldi moves out of range.

Rinaldi darts in and clinches Di Pietro up against the cage.

Rinaldi pulls guard successfully.
Di Pietro controlling from the top position.
Rinaldi manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Di Pietro manages to get himself to full guard.

Rinaldi postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Di Pietro is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Rinaldi, into his guard.

Rinaldi is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi can't keep his opponent in guard - Di Pietro advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Rinaldi trying to control but Di Pietro postures up.
Rinaldi is trying to get back to full guard.
Rinaldi gets back to full guard.
Rinaldi is looking to sweep but instead, Di Pietro has passed into half guard.
Rinaldi wants to control but Di Pietro is keeping busy.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are battling for position here. Rinaldi manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Rinaldi trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Sam Rinaldi has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rinaldi is trying to control the position but Di Pietro postures up.
Rinaldi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rinaldi is trying to control. Di Pietro wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rinaldi looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Di Pietro with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rinaldi keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Di Pietro is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Rinaldi showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Tomy Di Pietro's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Rinaldi throws a series of punches but Di Pietro moves out of range.
Rinaldi has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Di Pietro.
Donk. Di Pietro catches Rinaldi right on the button with a cross.
Rinaldi misses with a hook.
A good leg kick by Di Pietro.
Di Pietro tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Di Pietro tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
A nice leg kick lands there from Di Pietro.
Rinaldi connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
A jab from Di Pietro misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Di Pietro scores with a leg kick.
Rinaldi walks into a left hand.
Di Pietro looks to throw the jab but Rinaldi is out of range.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Rinaldi! But no joy.

Rinaldi gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A short body shot lands from Di Pietro as the two fighters clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Di Pietro tries a body shot but Rinaldi blocks it.

Rinaldi successfully pulls guard.
Rinaldi is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Rinaldi is trying to keep Di Pietro in close.
Rinaldi pulls Di Pietro in close to prevent any damage.
Di Pietro tries to free his leg and advance position but Rinaldi is retaining full guard.
Rinaldi looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Rinaldi lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Rinaldi trying to control the position from guard on top but Di Pietro is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi distracts Di Pietro with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Rinaldi keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Di Pietro's head.
Rinaldi throwing strikes but missing.
Rinaldi is in close to Di Pietro's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Di Pietro keeping moving, preventing Rinaldi from controlling successfully.
Di Pietro is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Rinaldi trying to control but Di Pietro is working from the bottom.
Rinaldi makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Di Pietro's head.
Rinaldi postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rinaldi trying to control but Di Pietro is working from the bottom.
Di Pietro is pulling down on Rinaldi's head to control his posture.
Di Pietro keeping moving, preventing Rinaldi from controlling successfully.
Di Pietro tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rinaldi postures up in Di Pietro's guard and throws a big left but Di Pietro blocks it.
Rinaldi wants to control from the top but Di Pietro keeps moving.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rinaldi's corner. There ya go! There ya go!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Rinaldi postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Rinaldi passes Di Pietro's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Rinaldi trying to control the action but Di Pietro is working from the bottom.
Di Pietro is in trouble now - Rinaldi has advanced to mount!
Rinaldi has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rinaldi is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi scoring with strikes but Di Pietro is staying in there.
Rinaldi trying to control but Di Pietro is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Rinaldi really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Tomy Di Pietro'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.

Di Pietro misses with a hook
and Rinaldi cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

Tomy Di Pietro's cut is getting worse.
A swing and a miss from Di Pietro.

Rinaldi closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Rinaldi thows a huge punch but Di Pietro dodges it nicely.
Rinaldi working Di Pietro over with strikes.
Rinaldi throwing shots but Di Pietro is blocking nicely.
Rinaldi seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Rinaldi missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Rinaldi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Di Pietro defending well though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rinaldi scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Rinaldi lands a nice short elbow.
Rinaldi is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Rinaldi sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Di Pietro defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rinaldi working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Rinaldi lands strikes from half guard.
Ground and pound from Rinaldi.

Tomy Di Pietro's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.

Rinaldi wants to work for an arm triangle but Di Pietro is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Di Pietro on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Rinaldi controlling the action here.
Rinaldi lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Ground and pound from Rinaldi.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Di Pietro keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Di Pietro is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Di Pietro on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rinaldi wants to control but Di Pietro is keeping him busy.
Rinaldi is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Rinaldi not doing much here.
Di Pietro is not content to let Rinaldi control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Rinaldi has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Rinaldi trying to control from half guard but Di Pietro is working away.
Di Pietro is looking to improve his position.
Di Pietro wants to control but Rinaldi is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Rinaldi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Rinaldi in particular looking to stall.
Di Pietro has hold of Rinaldi's hands but Rinaldi slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.

Rinaldi is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Di Pietro wants to control but Rinaldi is keeping busy.
Rinaldi performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Di Pietro tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Di Pietro connects with a leg kick. Rinaldi looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

Rinaldi drives through with a takedown into Di Pietro's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Rinaldi scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rinaldi trying to control but Di Pietro is working from the bottom.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi distracts Di Pietro with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Rinaldi. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Rinaldi lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Rinaldi dominated that fourth round.
The cut man is working on Tomy Di Pietro's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Di Pietro works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Rinaldi staying out of range there.
A good leg kick by Di Pietro.
An inside leg kick lands from Di Pietro.
Di Pietro lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Di Pietro throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rinaldi feints the counter takedown.

Rinaldi moves into range and clinches up with Di Pietro.
Di Pietro misses with the head strike.
Rinaldi blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Di Pietro tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Rinaldi's elbow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Di Pietro misses with a punch to the body.
Di Pietro can't find room to land a body shot as Rinaldi controls the action.

Rinaldi wants the takedown. Di Pietro is fighting it off but Rinaldi persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Di Pietro's guard against the cage.
Di Pietro keeping moving, preventing Rinaldi from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rinaldi is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rinaldi postures up in Di Pietro's guard and throws a big left but Di Pietro blocks it.
Rinaldi tries to free his leg and advance position but Di Pietro is retaining full guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rinaldi's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Rinaldi throws an elbow that misses. Di Pietro uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Rinaldi's guard. Nice move by Di Pietro!

Rinaldi is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Rinaldi working over Di Pietro with some ground and pound. Di Pietro looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Rinaldi lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Di Pietro blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rinaldi.
Tomy Di Pietro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Di Pietro is not content to let Rinaldi control the position.
Di Pietro wants to control but Rinaldi is keeping busy.
Rinaldi trying to control the pace.

Rinaldi is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Rinaldi not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rinaldi lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Nice strikes from Rinaldi there.
Di Pietro blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rinaldi.
Rinaldi wants to take a breather but Di Pietro is having none of it.
Di Pietro blocking the ground and pound attempt from Rinaldi.
Rinaldi is looking to take a break and control but Di Pietro is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Rinaldi is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Rinaldi controlling the pace.
Rinaldi takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Sam Rinaldi is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Di Pietro wants to improve his position but Rinaldi is controlling well.
Rinaldi is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Di Pietro is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rinaldi uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Di Pietro.
Rinaldi checks a leg kick.
Di Pietro throws a hook to the side of Rinaldi's head but Rinaldi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sam Rinaldi comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Rinaldi has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 45:49
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 45:49
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 46:49

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sam Rinaldi!
In his post fight interview, Sam Rinaldi started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.