PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Clint Rivers (ranked 470 p4p, 441 weight class) and Lou Valentine (ranked 65 p4p, 61 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Rivers
vs
Valentine

172 cm
30
170
21 - 11 - 1

174 cm
35
172
21 - 17 - 2

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Conviction

Bondi MMA 🏝️

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 21 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Clint Rivers!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 17 - 2, fighting out of Amsterdam, Lou Valentine!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Daniel Bishop and Phil Schofield.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Valentine throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Rivers was covering up waiting for the punch and Valentine finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Valentine tries to free his leg and advance position but Rivers is retaining full guard.
Rivers trying to keep a closed guard but Valentine is proving a slippery customer.
Valentine stopping the sweep attempt from Rivers.
Rivers has his hands on Valentine's head, controlling the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rivers bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Valentine's guard.

Valentine doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

Valentine is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Rivers connects with a couple of short punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Valentine is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Rivers preventing the sweep.
Rivers works over Valentine with some ground and pound from guard.
Valentine keeping moving, preventing Rivers from controlling successfully.
Rivers postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Valentine wants to sweep here but Rivers controlling him for the moment.
Rivers is looking to advance position but Valentine has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

Valentine thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Valentine prevents Rivers from getting the reversal.
Valentine sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Valentine has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Rivers is working to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Valentine goes for an armbar but Rivers turns quickly into his guard - lovely anticipation from Rivers.
Rivers postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Valentine not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rivers chips away with some ground and pound.
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 stays in close to Valentine's body and controls the position.
Rivers is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Rivers lands a couple of elbows.

Valentine looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Rivers wants to control from the top but Valentine keeps moving.
Rivers engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Rivers connects with a couple of short punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivers with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Valentine controls Rivers momentarily but Rivers frees himself.
Valentine keeping moving, preventing Rivers from controlling successfully.
Rivers lands a couple of digs.
Rivers with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Rivers trying to control the position from guard on top but Valentine is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rivers trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rivers is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.

Valentine is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rivers is aware though and is defending well.
Rivers cracks Valentine with a solid left hand.
Rivers stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Valentine swivels though and keeps the full guard.

Valentine is looking for a triangle but Rivers pushes his legs off easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers working some strikes from top position.
Valentine trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

Valentine is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

Valentine escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rivers gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Rivers is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rivers stopping the sweep attempt from Valentine.
Rivers postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rivers is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rivers trying to control but Valentine is working from the bottom.
Rivers scoring with punches to the head and body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Rivers swings for the body but Valentine moves out of range.
Rivers feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Valentines jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Rivers misses with an uppercut.
Valentine displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Rivers throws out the jab.
Valentine tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Rivers cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Valentine.
Rivers sizes up Valentine with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Nice jab there from Rivers.
Rivers fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Valentine throws a jab when Rivers was well out of range.
Rivers steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Valentine. That one must have hurt.
Valentine dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Valentine with a poor takedown
and Rivers counters with a stiff right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Valentine lands a jab to the nose.
Valentine misses with a combination
and Rivers counters with a right hand to the body.
Rivers ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Valentine moves away.
Rivers tries to clinch but Valentine moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Valentine. Rivers does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rivers ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Valentine moves away.
Valentine cracks Rivers with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Valentine misses with a wild body shot.
A clash of legs there as Valentine blocks the low kick.
Rivers takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
A nice combination there by Valentine.
Valentine throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rivers sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Rivers is looking to slow Valentine down with leg kicks.

Rivers clinches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rivers tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Valentine smiles and moves away.
Valentine throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rivers's waist but Rivers gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Valentine off to one side.
Clint Rivers has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lou Valentine.
Valentine tests Rivers's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Rivers looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Valentine works over Rivers's head and body with a nice combination.
Valentine connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Valentine scores with a jab. Rivers acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Valentine connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rivers's hands.
Rivers takes a kick to the side of the head.
Valentine tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rivers swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Valentine closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivers is looking to improve his position.
Valentine is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Valentine uses his free foot to push down on Rivers's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Rivers.
Rivers is in all sorts of trouble here.
Rivers is working hard here to advance position.
Valentine throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Rivers tries to reverse the position but Valentine maintains control.
Rivers bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Valentine is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rivers is aware though and is defending well.

Valentine looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Valentine looking for a sweep. Not yet Valentine, not yet.
Clint Rivers overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rivers scoring with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers trying to control but Valentine is working from the bottom.
Rivers pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Valentine is keeping the position for now.
Valentine working a defensive guard here.
Valentine keeping moving, preventing Rivers from controlling successfully.
Rivers is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rivers working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Valentine's head.
Valentine looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rivers is one step ahead there.
Rivers passes Valentine's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rivers prevents Valentine from improving his position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Lou Valentine will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Rivers misses with a hook. Valentine ducked under it nicely.
Rivers misses with a body kick.
Rivers dives in and grabs Valentine's left leg, looking for a takedown. Valentine pushes down on Rivers's head and hops out.
Rivers moves out of range of the body kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Rivers looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rivers swats away the attempt to clinch by Valentine.
Rivers moves away from the strike by Valentine.
The crowd cheers as Valentine lands an impressive looking overhand right. Rivers doesn't seem phased though.
Valentine tries to clinch but Rivers is having none of it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A punch lands to the side of Valentine 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Rivers lands with a straight right. Valentine didn't see that one coming.

Rivers gets tackled into the cage by Valentine. Valentine maintains the clinch.
Valentine prevents a takedown attempt there.
Valentine misses with some punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers tries to work over Valentine's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Valentine.
Rivers can't find room to land a body shot as Valentine controls the action.
Rivers blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Valentine misses with a body punch.
Valentine scores with a shot to the side of Rivers's head.
Valentine struggles to land a body shot inside as Rivers controls his hands.
Valentine lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Rivers backwards.
Rivers misses with a hook to the ribs.
Valentine tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rivers struggles to land a body shot inside as Valentine controls his hands.
Rivers struggles to land a body shot inside as Valentine controls his hands.
Valentine scores with a nice hook to the head.
Valentine prevents a body shot from Rivers.
A short right from Valentine on the inside.
Valentine managing to block the knees to the body from Rivers.
Rivers misses with a body punch.
Valentine softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

Valentine breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Valentine throws a leg kick that misses.
Rivers jinks towards his opponent looking like he wants to counter with a mid kick but doesn't commit.
Lou Valentine seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rivers avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Valentine avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Valentine blocks a jab.
Valentine tries a quick counter leg kick but Rivers is wise to it.
Valentine ducks under a wild hook from Rivers.
Valentine closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rivers circles away.
Rivers throws a low kick but Valentine moves out of range easily.
Rivers thows a left - swing and a miss!
Valentine is looking to clinch.
Valentine slips under a jab.
A slow jab from Valentine misses its intended target.
Rivers uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Valentine.
Rivers throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Valentine on the side of the head.
Rivers digs a good hook to Valentine's body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivers takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Valentine loads up on a big right hand but Rivers slips the punch.
Rivers was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
Valentine is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Rivers.

Rivers closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Valentine quickly recovers to half guard.
Valentine taking some punishment here, with Rivers in his half guard.
Valentine works his way to full guard. Good work.
Rivers lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Valentine has momentary wrist control but Rivers slips an elbow through the middle.
Rivers scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Rivers chips away with some ground and pound.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rivers is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.

Valentine is rocked!
Rivers working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Valentine is still in real trouble! Can Rivers finish him?
Rivers working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Rivers scoring with punches to the head and body.
Valentine looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rivers is one step ahead there.
Rivers chips away with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Valentine tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Rivers landing with the ground and pound.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rivers not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Rivers trying to control but Valentine is working from the bottom.
Rivers scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rivers keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Valentine's head.

Valentine working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Rivers has passed into half guard!
Valentine takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rivers is figuring out what he wants to do next.

Valentine is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Rivers pulls his head out easily.
Rivers wants to take a breather but Valentine is having none of it.
Rivers 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.
Valentine is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Rivers scores with a couple of nice shots.
Rivers lands a big elbow - Valentine is out of it! He's waving his arms around but his eyes are closed and he's not intelligently defending himself - the ref has no choice but to jump in and stop the fight! This one is in the books! A TKO win for Rivers!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Clint Rivers!
Clint Rivers gave a mention to Conviction in his post fight interview. That will please them (and hopefully generate some sales).