PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Santiago Riasco (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ross Peerson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Riasco might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to The Mexakinz ft. Xzibit - The Wake Up Show. Peerson has chosen Good Feeling as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Riasco
vs
Peerson

162 cm
22
155 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

170 cm
28
150 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

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 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Santiago Riasco!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Ross Peerson!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Columbo Gatti and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Riasco shoots in and bounces Peerson off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Riasco passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Riasco looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.

Riasco tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Riasco working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Riasco is trying to get an arm triangle but Peerson is defending well.

Riasco looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Peerson is trying to control Riasco's posture but Riasco avoids it.

That's two 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.

Riasco goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Peerson has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Riasco but great work by Peerson.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Riasco is looking for a sweep.

Peerson decides to stand up, so the ref orders Riasco to his feet.
Peerson stuffs the takedown attempt from Riasco. Riasco gets slowly back to his feet.
Riasco shoots in but Peerson avoids the takedown attempt easily.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Peerson enables Riasco to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Peerson manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

Riasco drops back, looking for a kneebar! Peerson looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Peerson looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Peerson!

Riasco is trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Peerson just content to control the position.
Riasco is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Peerson off and has taken his back!

Riasco looking for the choke but no joy.

Peerson preventing the rear naked choke attempt from Riasco.
Peerson looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Riasco is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Peerson just trying to survive but Riasco is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

Riasco is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Peerson has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Peerson is trying to get back to his feet but Riasco has full control of the position and if anything, Peerson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Riasco is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Peerson knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Peerson for a finish.
Peerson is really stuck here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Santiago Riasco dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Peerson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Riasco closes the distance and clinches up with Peerson, looking for a takedown. Riasco pushes Peerson against the cage but Peerson circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Peerson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Riasco looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Peerson is fending him off so far but Riasco persists. Nope, Peerson circles away and we're back to standing.
Peerson keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Santiago Riasco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A combination from Peerson does no damage.
Peerson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Riasco.
Peerson misses with a double jab.
Santiago Riasco is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Riasco.
Riasco shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Peerson misses with a few strikes there.
No luck for Riasco with that takedown attempt.
Riasco has his takedown stuffed
and Peerson counters with a two punch combo.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Peerson misses with the combination.
Peerson misses with a series of wild punches.
Riasco seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Peerson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Some wild striking there from Peerson.
Riasco shoots in for a takedown but Peerson shows good takedown defense.
Peerson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Riasco dives in for a single leg takedown but Peerson sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Riasco is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Peerson can't fight it off and eventually Riasco manages to take the fight to the floor. Peerson looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Riasco stops Peerson from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riasco trying to control the position from guard on top but Peerson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Riasco drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Peerson manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Riasco has Peerson in his guard.

Peerson trying to control the position from guard on top but Riasco is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Peerson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Riasco avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Riasco working for a triangle but Peerson defends it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Riasco throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Santiago Riasco overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

Riasco has an active guard here but Peerson has managed to pass into half guard.
Peerson is looking to stall here but Riasco recovers full guard.

Riasco is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Peerson defends well.
Peerson scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Riasco throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Peerson escapes and throws Riasco's legs to the side, diving into side control!
Peerson trying to control the position but Riasco is working away.
Peerson wants to stand but Riasco is controlling his arm.

Peerson stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Peerson misses with a few strikes there.
A punch combination from Peerson misses.
Ross Peerson seems to be getting the better of the standup.

Riasco decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.

Riasco is looking for a kimura but Peerson is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Riasco to get the leverage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ross Peerson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Peerson slaps away a takedown attempt from Riasco, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Riasco changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Peerson tries to avoid it but Riasco manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Peerson to the ground. Peerson escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Horrible takedown attempt by Riasco or perhaps it was just good defense by Peerson, which made it look bad.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Santiago Riasco. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Riasco misses with a takedown attempt - Peerson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Riasco slips a jab and a cross from Peerson.
Peerson feints a jab promting Riasco to slip. Peerson then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Riasco slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Peerson throws a combination that misses

and Riasco counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Peerson!

Riasco is trying to get an arm triangle but Peerson is defending well.

Riasco is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Peerson knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Peerson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Riasco. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riasco wants to control for a moment but Peerson uses the opportunity to move back to half guard.

Riasco is looking for a kimura here.

Riasco is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Peerson sees it coming and defends easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

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

Riasco 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.
Riasco prevents Peerson from improving his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Peerson won't allow Riasco to pass to mount.

Riasco is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

Riasco is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Riasco wants to lay and pray for a moment but Peerson keeps working.

That's four 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.

Riasco is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Peerson tries to kick Riasco off but Riasco keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

Riasco is trying to work for a kimura but Peerson is defending well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Riasco is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Peerson has managed to free his arm - good work.

And that's the end of the fight!
Santiago Riasco showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Riasco 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28
Judge Alyssa Summers scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Santiago Riasco!
A very excited looking Santiago Riasco made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.