PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between William Riker (ranked 2564 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Smith (ranked 24736 p4p, 0 weight class). Smith has chosen Panini as his entrance music. John Smith will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Riker
vs
Smith

190 cm
18
265 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

189 cm
26
225 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, William Riker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, John Smith!
The judges for this bout are Wesley Smith, Cecil Peabody and George Francis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Riker scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Smith is trying to maintain the position but Riker is very close to passing his half guard.
Riker lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Riker content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Riker working the head and body with strikes.
Riker slips a nice elbow through Smith's hands, connecting with Smith's forehead.
Riker looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Smith with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Riker is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Riker in particular looking to stall.
Riker lands with a punch from half guard.
Smith is trying to get back to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Riker lands a nice short elbow.
Riker looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Smith with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Riker controlling the action here.
Smith is trying to stand back up but Riker is controlling him
Riker scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Riker drops an elbow to the side of Smith's head.
Riker wants to free his trapped foot but Smith is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Riker controlling the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riker takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Riker perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Riker working over Smith with some ground and pound. Smith looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Riker scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Riker slows the pace down in half guard.
Riker lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Riker keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith wants to control but Riker is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Riker winds up and cracks Smith with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Riker seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Smith has hold of Riker's hands but Riker slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Still in half guard, Riker seems content to control.
Smith trying to control but Riker postures up.
Riker working the head and body with strikes.
Riker lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Riker controlling the action here.
Riker is pressing down on Smith's thigh, looking to free his foot. Smith is holding on for now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Smith is trying to get back to full guard.
Riker winds up and cracks Smith with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Riker working over Smith with some ground and pound. Smith looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Riker is nestled in close to Smith, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Riker not doing much here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Riker working over Smith with some ground and pound. Smith looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Riker dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Riker shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Smith is trying to defend but Riker finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Riker trying to control the pace.
Smith slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Riker with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Riker's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Smith controls Riker momentarily but Riker frees himself.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Riker's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riker working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Riker content to stall in guard here.

Smith has scooted to the edge of the canvas and used the cage to get back to his feet. Riker has stuck on his opponent and is forcing him back against the cage.
Riker looking for a takedown.
Riker looking for a takedown.
Riker is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Smith pulls him back up using the underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for William Riker. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Riker gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Riker seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Smith does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Riker is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smith can do to turn this around?
Riker content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Riker throwing shots but Smith is blocking nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Smith kicks Riker off and gets back to his feet.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Smith tries to clinch there but Riker circles away.
Riker tries for a takedown but Smith circles away easily
and Smith counters with a two punch combo.
Smith is trying hard to land a takedown here. Riker sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Smith stalks Riker and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Riker's face. Riker staggers backwards, shaken.
Riker fails to land the takedown.

Smith dives in and scores a takedown into Riker's guard.
Smith trying to control but Riker is working from the bottom.
Smith is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Riker haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Riker is pulling down on Smith's head. It's preventing any offense from Smith, at least for the moment.
Smith won't allow Riker to sweep him here.
Riker is adopting a defensive guard.
Smith throws a big right hand that misses.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Smith throwing strikes from guard but Riker blocks nicely.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Nice takedown defense from Smith. No joy for Riker on that attempt.
Smith defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Riker.
Smith shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Smith misses with a takedown attempt - Riker sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Riker has a takedown stuffed.
William Riker seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Smith fails with a takedown attempt.
Riker fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Smith avoids it really well and circles away.
Smith drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Riker defends it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

John Smith showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Riker misses with a takedown attempt
and Smith counters with a nice uppercut.

Smith gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Smith not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Riker trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Riker in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
William Riker overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Riker scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Riker is in close to Smith's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Riker scoring with punches to the head and body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Riker lands a couple of digs.
Riker is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Riker is in close to Smith's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Riker has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Riker trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith being controlled here, momentarily.
Smith keeping full guard, as Riker tries to pass.
Riker is working Smith over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Riker is in close to Smith's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Riker not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Riker stopping the sweep attempt from Smith.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Riker keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Smith's head.
Riker landing with the ground and pound.
Riker content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Riker is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Riker is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Riker is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riker works over Smith with some ground and pound from guard.
Smith wants to stand up but Riker is controlling him.
Riker lands a couple of elbows.
Riker landing with the ground and pound.
Riker controlling from the top position.
Riker seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Smith for as long as he can get away with.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

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.

Riker changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Smith looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

Smith throws Riker to one side and escapes!
Smith shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Riker as he jumps to the side.

Riker closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Smith quickly recovers to half guard.
Riker perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Riker drops an elbow to the side of Smith's head.
Riker working the head and body with strikes.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Riker lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Riker is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

And that's the end of the fight!
William Riker showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Riker 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 Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:27
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 29:28
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... William Riker!
John Smith was interviewed post fight and said 'he did a great job'.