PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Brian Black (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Rios (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Black
vs
Rios

184 cm
18
175 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

182 cm
18
176 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

WIN! Nutritional Co. - RJ

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Brian Black!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Alex Rios!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rios fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Black looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
A head kick misses from Rios.

Rios shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Rios showed some decent athleticism there.
Rios tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Black.
Black tries to get to full guard but Rios has control of the leg.
Rios wants to stand up but Black has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Black flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rios tries to stand and escape but Black is controlling the position.
Black strikes from the bottom but Rios uses the opportunity to move to side control.
Rios wants to stand but Black is controlling his arm.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rios bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Black's head.
Black tries to bum rush Rios with a series of wild strikes but Rios uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Rios feints and as Black raises his hands in defense, Rios changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Rios wants to stand but Black is controlling his posture from full guard.

Rios gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
A punch combination from Rios misses.
Black connects with a nice looking jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Black fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rios lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Black swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rios tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Black feints and as Rios raises his hands in defense, Black changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Black thows a big elbow that misses.
Black throwing strikes from guard but Rios blocks nicely.
Black postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Black working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Rios's head.
Black postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Black throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Black postures up in Rios's guard and throws a big left but Rios blocks it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black throws and elbow that misses. Rios uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Black's guard. Nice move by Rios!
Black has a closed guard, preventing Rios from standing up.
Black trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Black doesn't do any damage with a couple of strikes from the bottom.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Black shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rios pinned against the cage. Rios gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rios throws a right and a left that both miss.
Black shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Rios as he avoids it easily.

Rios closes the distance and clinches.

Rios breaks the clinch.

Rios shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rios would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Black 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.
Black throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
Black trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Black tries to strike from the bottom.
Black throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Black striking off his back, scoring a few points.
Black throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Rios dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Black shoots in but no luck this time.
A punch combination from Rios misses.
Rios tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Rios fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Rios misses with a few strikes there.
Rios shoots in for a takedown but Black shows good takedown defense.

Rios moves into the clinch.
Rios drops down looking for an ankle pick but Black pulls his leg out and moves away.
Rios throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Black.
Rios throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Rios misses with a two punch combination.
A punch combination from Rios misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Black misses with a series of wild punches.

Black has managed to clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Rios wants a takedown but no success here.
Brian Black has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Alex Rios.
Rios prevents a takedown attempt there.
Rios can't break the clinch.
Rios goes for a takedown in the clinch but Black prevents it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Rios avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Rios wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Black has him pressed against the cage.
Rios can't get the takedown.
Black is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Rios pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Black goes for a takedown in the clinch but Rios prevents it.

Black is trying to trip Rios. He has hold of a leg but Rios is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Black persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Black lands a couple of digs.
Black trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rios preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Black postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Black trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Black missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rios is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Rios is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Black feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Black throwing strikes from guard but Rios blocks nicely.
Black working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Rios working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Black.
Black throws a strike but Rios rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Black throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Black trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Black trying to strike off his back.
Black throws some sloppy strikes off his back.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.

Black fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Rios sprawls well initially but Black persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Black throwing shots but Rios is blocking nicely.
Black missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Black throwing shots but Rios is blocking nicely.

Rios pushes Black off and gets back to his feet.

Rios rushes Black and presses him up against the cage.
Black prevents Rios from breaking the clinch.
Black misses with a short punch on the inside.
Black drops down looking for an ankle pick but Rios pulls his leg out and moves away.
Black tries to clinch up but Rios circles away and keeps his distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rios throws a nice looking combination but Black bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Black moves in looking to clinch but Rios pushes him off.

Rios shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Black's guard.
Black throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Black bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rios's guard.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Black's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Black throwing strikes but missing.
Black working some strikes from top position.
Rios wants to stand up but Black is controlling him.
Black throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brian Black dominated that second round.
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!

Rios takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Rios lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Rios.

Rios has closed the distance and engaged Black in a clinch.

Rios manages to pull guard.
Rios working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Black.
Rios wants to stand up but Black is controlling him.
Black content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Black content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Black is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Black working some strikes from top position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Black loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Black thows a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Black postures up in Rios's guard and throws a big left but Rios blocks it.
Black thows a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Black trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rios avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Rios fails to land with a series of punches.
Brian Black is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Black tries to clinch up but Rios circles away and keeps his distance.
Rios misses with a double jab.
Black tries to clinch but Rios is having none of it.
Rios scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Black wants to clinch.
Black tries to clinch there but Rios circles away.
Rios throws a series of punches but Black avoids them all with ease.
Black looks for a takedown but Rios sprawls well.
Nice takedown defense from Black. No joy for Rios on that attempt.

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.
Rios misses with a wild combination.
Rios displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Rios connects with the punch.
Black shoots for a takedown but Rios saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Nice body punch from Rios.
Black shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Rios pinned against the cage. Rios gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Brian Black. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A punch combination from Rios misses.
Rios showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Black.
Black is looking to clinch but Rios is avoiding it.
Rios throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Rios goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Black shoots in for a takedown but Rios shows good takedown defense.

Black shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Rios really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Black. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Rios pushes Black off looking to stand but Black dives back in and keeps control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rios keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Ground and pound from Black.
Rios wants to get back to his feet.
Black landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Black thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Rios regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Black.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Black thows a big elbow that misses.
Black prevents Rios from getting back to his feet.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Black gets a takedown into half guard.
Black stops Rios from getting back to his feet.
Black winds up and cracks Rios with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

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 Brian Black.
I think Black 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 29:29
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Brian Black!