PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Yushin Yamamoto (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stan Rivers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Yamamoto's entrance music is Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg - On The Boulevard. A fine choice. Rivers is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Cyco Vision. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Yamamoto
vs
Rivers

162 cm
23
140 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

182 cm
30
135 lbs
20 - 12 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Beaver Jooce!

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Yushin Yamamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 12 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Stan Rivers!
The judges for this bout are Steve Smith, Trevor Gratis and Elvis Blanc.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Yamamoto bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
The strikes coming from Yamamoto are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
We've been hearing that Yamamoto has been drilling a lot of ground and pound in training, so let's see if he get the finish.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivers wants to get back to his feet but Yamamoto drags him back down.
Yamamoto sitting in side control, looking to soften his opponent up with elbows and hammerfists but Rivers is avoiding damage well and looking to escape the position.

Yamamoto swings around for an armbar but Rivers sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Yamamoto's guard.
Yamamoto might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Rivers preventing the sweep.
Rivers has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Yamamoto is proving hard to escape from.
Rivers stopping the sweep attempt from Yamamoto.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamamoto trying to keep a closed guard but Rivers is proving a slippery customer.
Rivers won't allow Yamamoto to sweep him here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto has Rivers pulled in close to control his posture.

Yamamoto throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rivers has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Yamamoto is proving hard to escape from.
Yamamoto trying to keep a closed guard but Rivers is proving a slippery customer.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Yamamoto working a defensive guard but Rivers manages to pass into side control anyway.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Yamamoto holds on tight, trying to prevent any damage.
Yamamoto tries to buck Rivers off but Rivers is having none of it.

Rivers decides to stand back up. Rivers steps back and let's Yamamoto get back to his feet.

Yamamoto shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Yamamoto showed some decent athleticism there.
Yamamoto is taking a breather. Rivers 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.
Yamamoto thows a huge punch but Rivers dodges it nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Yamamoto.

Yamamoto looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

Rivers has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Yamamoto is on him like a limpet, forcing Rivers back against the cage.

Rivers breaks the clinch.
Yushin Yamamoto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rivers swings widly with a right hand
and Yamamoto cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Rivers moves out of range of the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Rivers. Those never looked like landing.
Yamamoto closes the distance and clinches up with Rivers, looking for a takedown. Yamamoto pushes Rivers against the cage but Rivers circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A jab from Rivers misses.
Rivers misses with an attempted mid kick.
Yamamoto 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 Yamamoto off to one side.
Stan Rivers is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rivers misses with a kick to the body.
Yamamoto ducks right into an uppercut from Rivers.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Stan Rivers will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Yamamoto fails with a takedown attempt.
A chopping leg kick lands by Yamamoto.
Yamamoto shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Rivers as he jumps to the side.
Rivers throws a head kick that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamamoto takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Yamamoto is trying hard to land a takedown here. Rivers sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yushin Yamamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto throws a series of punches but Rivers avoids them all with ease.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Yamamoto fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rivers avoids it really well and circles away.

Yamamoto is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Rivers's half guard.

Yamamoto looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto is trying to control the action in half guard but Rivers is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Yamamoto is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Rivers sees it coming and defends easily.
Rivers on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Yamamoto throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Yamamoto is looking for a kimura here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rivers defending well though.
Yamamoto wants to take a breather but Rivers is having none of it.
Yamamoto tries to pass the half guard into mount. Rivers knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rivers is looking to escape.
Yamamoto has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Yamamoto not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Rivers is trying to stand back up but Yamamoto is controlling him

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.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Rivers waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Yamamoto.
Rivers scores with a jab.
Rivers is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

Yamamoto gets a takedown into half guard.
Yamamoto sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rivers defending well though.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Yamamoto thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Rivers's head.
Nice strikes from Yamamoto there.
Yamamoto is just content to waste time from the top position. Rivers takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Yushin Yamamoto dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. And we move into the final round!

Yamamoto shoots in but no luck this time.
Nice sprawl there from Rivers as Yamamoto shoots in.
Rivers throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.

Yamamoto feints and as Rivers raises his hands in defense, Yamamoto changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Yamamoto throws a big elbow that misses.
Rivers is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Yamamoto throws a strike but Rivers rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yamamoto wants to improve his position but instead Rivers has moved into half guard.
Yamamoto is looking to control Rivers's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Yamamoto avoid being mounted?
Rivers wants to stand but Yamamoto has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Yushin Yamamoto overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rivers prevents Yamamoto from improving his position.
Yamamoto is looking to control Rivers's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Yamamoto avoid being mounted?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Yamamoto is trying to get back to full guard.

Rivers stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Yamamoto blocks the body kick.
Yamamoto tries to land a leg kick but Rivers saw it coming and moves away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yamamoto on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Yamamoto moves forwards but Rivers connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Rivers leaves Yamamoto with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Yushin Yamamoto. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yamamoto dives in and grabs Rivers's left leg, looking for a takedown. Rivers pushes down on Yamamoto's head and hops out.
Yamamoto shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rivers sprawls well. Rivers wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Yamamoto gets slowly back to his feet.

Yamamoto bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers is trying to get back to his feet.
Rivers felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Yamamoto throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Yamamoto tries to score with some ground and pound. Rivers controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Yamamoto thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Yamamoto advances nicely into full mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Stan Rivers.
I think Rivers 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Steve Smith scores the fight 29:29
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 28:29
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!