PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Lindsey Hoover (ranked 23175 p4p, 0 weight class) and Riki Maru (ranked 3618 p4p, 0 weight class). I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Hoover
vs
Maru

171 cm
18
177 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

174 cm
25
169 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lindsey Hoover!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Riki Maru!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Daniel Cesar and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hoover fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Maru, pushing him back against the cage.
Maru is looking to break free of the clinch but Hoover has double underhooks.
Maru wants to break free but Hoover has control.
Maru looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Maru just leaning against Hoover, taking a breather.
Hoover tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Maru scores with a shoulder strike.
Maru is trying to force a seperation but Hoover has the dominant position.
Maru is pushing Hoover up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Maru is trying to break free.
Maru working hard to break the clinch.
Hoover tries to pull guard but Maru forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Maru breaks from the clinch.
Maru swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Danga de danga de dang - Maru scores with a four punch combination!
Hoover tries to clinch but Maru moves out of range.
Maru lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hoover circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No joy there for Maru, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Maru keeps the fight on the outside.
Hoover fails in his attempt to clinch.
Some wild striking there from Maru.
Jab by Maru.
Left hook, right uppercut from Maru.
Maru looks winded!

Hoover rushes Maru and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hoover jumps guard but Maru stands there with Hoover around his waist. Hoover gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lindsey Hoover. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hoover lands a nice elbow from the clinch.

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

Maru clinches with his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hoover is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Maru pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Maru pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Riki Maru seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice straight punches there by Maru. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Maru.
Maru throws a right and a left that both miss.
Hoover tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hoover tries to clinch up.
Maru throws a series of punches but Hoover moves out of range.
A nice combination there by Maru.
Maru fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hoover fails in his attempt to clinch.
Maru misses with a double jab

and Hoover counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Hoover 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hoover has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Hoover wants to control from the top but Maru keeps moving.

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.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Maru fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
A counter left hand to the body from Hoover misses its target.
Hoover tries to grapple but his opponent circles
letting Maru counter with a right hand.
Hoover fails in his attempt to clinch.
Hoover looks to clinch
and Maru counters with a three punch combo that has Hoover backing up. Hoover nods at Maru to acknowledge the strikes.
Hoover wants to clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riki Maru dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Maru throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hoover stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Hoover could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Left hook, right uppercut from Maru.
Hoover tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Maru misses with a wild combination.

Maru instigates a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maru working hard to break the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Hoover is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Maru to keep the fight standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hoover has Maru pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Maru manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Hoover tries to pull guard but Maru holds him up against the cage and eventually Hoover drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Lindsey Hoover. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Maru can't break the clinch.
Hoover drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Maru pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A left and a right from Maru both land. Nice combination.
Maru lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Hoover circles away quickly and effectively.
Maru lands a right hook to the body.
Maru is breathing heavily.
Hoover closes the distance looking to clinch
and Maru counters with a series of strikes. Hoover will be more careful next time no doubt.
Maru has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Hoover takes the fight into the clinch.
Maru has had enough of the clinch but Hoover keeps him there for the moment.
Maru is pressed up against the cage. Hoover has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Maru down to the mat. Maru avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Maru shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Hoover eats them both and turns towards Maru to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
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!
Maru swats away the attempt to clinch by Hoover.
Maru rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hoover moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Riki Maru seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Maru misses with a wild body shot.
Maru tries to bum rush Hoover with a series of wild strikes but Hoover uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Hoover pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lindsey Hoover is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Maru shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Hoover eats them both and turns towards Maru to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hoover tries to clinch up but Maru circles away and keeps his distance.
Maru works Hoover's body with a nice hook.
Hoover tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Hoover wants to clinch.
Maru scores with a shot to the body.
Maru looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Maru lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Maru.
Hoover is looking to clinch but Maru is avoiding it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hoover moves in looking to clinch but Maru pushes him off.
Maru scores with a nice head shot.
Hoover tries to clinch but Maru is having none of it.
Hoover doesn't manage to clinch there - Maru circles away.
Hoover takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Maru fails to land with a series of punches.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Maru keeps the fight on the outside.

Hoover rushes Maru and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Hoover fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Hoover jumps guard and drags Maru to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Hoover has control of Maru's left arm, preventing Maru from doing any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Hoover is working an open guard so Maru takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Riki Maru showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Maru misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Hoover misses with a low kick.
Maru throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Hoover sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Maru avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Maru unleashes a big counter combination but Hoover bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Hoover tries to clinch there but Maru circles away.
Some wild striking there from Maru.
Maru misses with a jab, cross combination.
Hoover showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Maru.
As Maru tries to get set, Hoover tries to push him back and clinch up but Maru manages to avoid the attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Maru throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Hoover uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Maru.
Hoover seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
Maru takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
A combination from Maru does no damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hoover wants to clinch up but Maru keeps it at a distance.
Hoover tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Maru paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hoover tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Maru paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Hoover moves in looking to clinch but Maru pushes him off.
Maru avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Hoover dodges the punch combination from Maru.
Maru avoids the head kick by Hoover.
Hoover is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Maru misses with a few strikes there.
A punch combination from Maru misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hoover wants to clinch.
Maru unleashes a big counter combination but Hoover bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hoover looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Maru throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hoover tries to clinch but Maru is having none of it.
Hoover tries to close the distance and clinch but Maru swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Maru will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Hoover closes the distance and clinches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hoover pulls Maru into guard.
Hoover manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Maru manages to get himself to full guard.

Hoover sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Maru wants to stand and escape but Hoover is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hoover wants to control from the top but Maru keeps moving.
Maru wants to get back to his feet but Hoover passes into half guard.
Riki Maru is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Maru is not content to let Hoover control the position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Riki Maru comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Maru winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Riki Maru!