PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Mervin Ruiz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Riley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ruiz comes to the cage accompanied by look at me now. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Ruiz
vs
Riley

170 cm
19
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
20
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mervin Ruiz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Chris Riley!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ruiz wants to clinch

and Riley counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Ruiz has one foot on Riley's thigh - he pushes off and manages to get back to his feet.
Ruiz wants to clinch

and Riley counters with a single leg into guard. Ruiz didn't expect that.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Riley stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ruiz swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Ruiz wants to stand and escape but Riley is having none of it.
Riley postures up in Ruiz's guard and throws a big left but Ruiz blocks it.
Riley trying to control but Ruiz is working from the bottom.
Ruiz wants to get back to his feet but Riley passes into half guard.
Riley throwing shots but Ruiz is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riley sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Ruiz defending well though.
Riley with the ground and pound but Ruiz uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Riley wants to control from the top but Ruiz keeps moving.
Riley slips nicely into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Riley not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Riley is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Ruiz!
Riley lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Riley lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riley controlling his opponent.
Riley looking to finish with strikes here!
Riley postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Ruiz looks a forlorn figure.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Riley working the ground and pound effectively.
Riley working the ground and pound effectively.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Riley is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Ruiz can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Ruiz tries to buck Riley off but he can't manage it.
Riley lands with some strikes.
Riley is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Ruiz can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Ruiz wants to try and get back to his feet.
Ruiz is breathing heavily.
Riley landing strikes, looking to finish!
Riley dominating with strikes here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riley lands a big elbow.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Riley tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Riley raining down hammerfists from mount.
Riley pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

Riley looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Riley landing strikes, looking to finish!
Ruiz on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Ruiz tries to get out of the position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Riley pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Riley dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Riley shoots and misses

and Ruiz counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Ruiz has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.

Riley uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Ruiz tries to clinch but Riley moves out of range.
Ruiz tries to clinch but Riley moves out of range.
Ruiz throws a sloppy head kick and Riley moves out of range easily.
Riley looks to land a left hand but Ruiz moved out of range nicely.
Ruiz is looking to clinch.
Riley shoots in but Ruiz avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Ruiz moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Riley fails with the takedown.
Mervin Ruiz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Riley.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Ruiz.
Ruiz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Riley paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mervin Ruiz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ruiz shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Ruiz showed some decent athleticism there.
Ruiz is taking a breather. Riley says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Ruiz trying to mount his opponent but Riley defends it.

Ruiz is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Riley defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riley is not content to let Ruiz control the position.
Ruiz throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Riley keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Riley is trying to stand.

Riley kicks Ruiz off and gets back to his feet.
Ruiz tries a head kick but it misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Riley. That did some damage!
Ruiz is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Riley takes a kick to the side of the head.
A head kick misses from Ruiz.

Riley scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Riley in side control, throwing shots but Ruiz defends.
Riley wants to control but Ruiz is keeping him busy.
Ruiz wants to get back to his feet but Riley drags him back down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riley works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Riley tries to score with some ground and pound. Ruiz controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Riley wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ruiz keeps working.
Riley prevents Ruiz from escaping the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Riley controlling the position from side mount.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Ruiz wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mervin Ruiz dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Ruiz tries to move into range but Riley moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Riley is defended easily by Ruiz.

Ruiz looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Chris Riley has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ruiz stopping the sweep attempt from Riley.
Ruiz sitting in guard here, content to control.
Riley takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Ruiz gets to his feet - Riley follows without any prompting.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruiz misses with a jab, cross combination.
Ruiz thuds his shin into the meat of Riley's side.

Riley looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Ruiz!
Ruiz is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.

Ruiz somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!

Riley rushes Ruiz and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Riley has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Ruiz is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Ruiz manages to break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riley fails with a takedown attempt.
Mervin Ruiz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Chris Riley.
Riley misses with the combination.
Ruiz tries to clinch but Riley is having none of it.
Ruiz lands with a good body shot.
Riley shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Ruiz defends it nicely.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Ruiz fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Riley, pushing him back against the cage.
Riley managing to block the knees to the body from Ruiz.
Ruiz is trying to break the clinch but Riley has him pressed against the cage.
Ruiz changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Riley fights it off and pushes away nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz tries to close the distance and clinch but Riley swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Riley misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.

Ruiz moves into range and clinches up with Riley.

Riley gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Ruiz is trying to stand.

Ruiz makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Ruiz throws a head kick that misses.

Riley clinches up against the cage.
Riley goes for a takedown in the clinch but Ruiz prevents it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruiz wants a takedown but no success here.
Riley stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Riley has hold of one of Ruiz's legs. Ruiz is fighting the takedown attempt but Riley gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ruiz is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Ruiz pushes Riley off and gets back to his feet.
Ruiz tries to clinch up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Riley connects with a nice looking jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Mervin Ruiz.
I think Ruiz 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 Andi Peters scores the fight 29:28
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Mervin Ruiz!
Post fight, an emotional Mervin Ruiz said 'i would like to thank my trainer and all that watch the fight..thank you..'.