PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Diego Rivera (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Freddy OCallahan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rivera comes to the cage accompanied by Mortal Kombat. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Rivera
vs
OCallahan

177 cm
18
165 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
18
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Diego Rivera!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Freddy OCallahan!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Aleksandr Martynov and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rivera throws out a leg kick but OCallahan moves out of range and Rivera only half commits.
OCallahan tries a head kick but it misses.
OCallahan bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

OCallahan pushes Rivera up against the cage in a clinch.
OCallahan pushes off an throws an elbow but Rivera leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.

OCallahan manages to break the clinch.
OCallahan throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rivera sees it coming and avoids it easily.

OCallahan is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Rivera's half guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Rivera is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

OCallahan is looking for a kimura but Rivera is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for OCallahan to get the leverage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
OCallahan is trying to control. Rivera wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
OCallahan is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
OCallahan is stalling here. Rivera is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! OCallahan seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Rivera has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
OCallahan is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on OCallahan's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera happy to just control the position for now.
OCallahan manages to work his way to half guard, despite Rivera's best efforts.
OCallahan trying to control but Rivera postures up.
Rivera perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
OCallahan is trying to escape back to his feet but Rivera uses the scramble to pass into side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on OCallahan's face as Rivera controls the position.
OCallahan struggling a bit here.
OCallahan looks gassed!
Rivera slows the pace down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Diego Rivera has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Rivera fails with a takedown attempt.

Rivera closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
OCallahan can't do much from the bottom here.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
OCallahan tries to get back to half guard but can't.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
OCallahan is trying to escape the position but Rivera is controlling the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Diego Rivera will probably get the nod.
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.

Sloppy strikes from OCallahan. Those never looked like landing.
OCallahan closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rivera circles away.
Rivera takes a swing at OCallahan's ribcage but misses.

Rivera shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Rivera working some strikes from top position.
Rivera not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
OCallahan is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
OCallahan is breathing heavily.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.

Rivera manages to get an easy takedown there - catching OCallahan on his heels. He'll look to pass OCallahan's guard now, I'm sure.
OCallahan wants to sweep here but Rivera controlling him for the moment.
OCallahan can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Rivera controls the pace.
OCallahan looking to hit a scissor sweep but Rivera is one step ahead there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Rivera advances position into side control!
OCallahan is being controlled here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
OCallahan on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
You can see the frustration on OCallahan's face as Rivera controls the position.
Rivera landing a few strikes.
A lull in the action here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if OCallahan can do anything to dispel that myth.
Rivera has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Diego Rivera just wasn't active enough.
OCallahan stuffs the takedown attempt from Rivera. Rivera gets slowly back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Diego Rivera dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

OCallahan moves in looking to clinch but Rivera pushes him off.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Rivera.
OCallahan closes the distance and clinches up with Rivera, looking for a takedown. OCallahan pushes Rivera against the cage but Rivera circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Rivera tries to sprawl but OCallahan drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Rivera controlling the position well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Diego Rivera.
Rivera fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
OCallahan shoots for a takedown but Rivera saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
OCallahan misses with a head kick.
OCallahan takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Rivera shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in OCallahan's guard.
Diego Rivera is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rivera postures up.
Rivera controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Diego Rivera.

Rivera shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rivera was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rivera with good strikes from the mount here!
Rivera sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
OCallahan keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
OCallahan is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivera takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
OCallahan is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Rivera sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Freddy OCallahan has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diego Rivera showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rivera, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Diego Rivera!