PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Ronnie Riley (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Danza Kuduro (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Riley comes to the cage accompanied by Queen - It's A Hard Life. Kuduro is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Don Omar - Danza Kuduro. I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Riley
vs
Kuduro

184 cm
28
184 lbs
21 - 6 - 1

180 cm
30
190 lbs
20 - 5 - 1

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Reaper Combatwear
KAISER Nutrition (160!)

Brute
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Ronnie Riley!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 5 - 1, fighting out of New York, Danza Kuduro!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Don Winkell and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Riley throws a leg kick
letting Kuduro counter with a right hand.
Riley tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Kuduro manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Kuduro throws a body kick that misses

and Riley counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
We could do with one of the fighters taking the initiative a bit more on the ground - they're both waiting to capitalize on a mistake.
Riley is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Kuduro!
Kuduro keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Riley wants to control the pace but Kuduro is squirming around nicely.
Riley avoids the attempt from Kuduro to control.
Riley pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riley takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

Riley wants to finish this one by submission but Kuduro is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Riley.
Riley content just to control the position here.
Kuduro wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Riley has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Kuduro just trying to survive but Riley is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro tries to break free.
Kuduro staying busy and making it hard for Riley to control.
Riley is riding his opponent, not letting Kuduro buck him off.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Ronnie Riley wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Kuduro getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Riley lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riley moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Kuduro misses with a body kick.
Riley throws an overhand right that lands on Kuduro's shoulder, as Kuduro tries to avoid the shot.
Riley blocks a leg kick.
Kuduro blocks a head kick by Riley.
A slow jab from Kuduro misses its intended target.
Riley throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Kuduro counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Riley's guard now.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuduro throws a big right hand that misses.
Riley looking for a sweep. Not yet Riley, not yet.
Kuduro throws a big right hand that misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Riley is looking for a triangle but Kuduro pushes his legs off easily.

Riley looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ronnie Riley dominated that 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.

Riley has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kuduro.
Riley throws a shot to the body.
Kuduro slips a jab from Riley.
Riley thows a body shot but no joy.
The crowd cheers as Riley lands an impressive looking overhand right. Kuduro doesn't seem phased though.
Riley pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
A bone on bone clash there as Riley blocks the leg kick.
Kuduro takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
A nice leg kick lands there from Riley.
Ronnie Riley seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Kuduro lands a nice shot that snaps Riley's head back.
Kuduro blocks a head kick by Riley.
Kuduro takes a jab right on the kisser.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riley lands with a hook. Kuduro tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Kuduro throws a body punch but Riley moves out of range.
Kuduro displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Riley throws a front kick aimed at Kuduro's knee but Kuduro avoids it well.
Kuduro takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
A lazy left from Riley finds it's target.
A low kick from Kuduro misses
and Riley counters with a leg kick.
Kuduro has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Riley.
Kuduro goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Riley misses the shot to the body.
Kuduro stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Riley.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Kuduro scores with a nice strike.
Riley fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Riley throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Kuduro checks a leg kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Riley.
Kuduro bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Kuduro ducks under a wild hook from Riley.
Riley misses the jab.
Riley throws out a loose jab but Kuduro uses good head movement to avoid it.
Riley connects with a leg kick. Kuduro looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Riley pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Riley with a lazy takedown attempt

and Kuduro counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro landing some decent shots from guard.
Kuduro controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Riley controls Kuduro momentarily but Kuduro frees himself.

Riley is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Kuduro throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Riley works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Riley is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Riley keeping moving, preventing Kuduro from controlling successfully.
Kuduro postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riley avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Ronnie Riley overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Riley working a defensive guard but Kuduro passes into half guard.
Riley blocking the ground and pound attempt from Kuduro.
Kuduro throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kuduro prevents Riley from improving his position.
Kuduro throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Kuduro looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Riley with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Riley is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Kuduro missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Riley trying to control but Kuduro postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Ronnie Riley will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Kuduro is looking to score with low kicks.
Kuduro looks to land a body kick but Riley moved away.
Kuduro on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Riley with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Riley listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Riley throws an overhand right that lands on Kuduro's shoulder, as Kuduro tries to avoid the shot.
Riley scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Riley fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Kuduro has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Riley lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Riley misses with a low kick.
Jab, jab by Riley - just one landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riley catches Kuduro with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Riley's corner calls for a 1-2. Riley obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Kuduro scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Kuduro's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Some wild striking there from Riley.
A nice leg kick lands there from Riley.
Riley lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Riley tries to clinch up but Kuduro circles away and keeps his distance.
Nice jab there from Riley.
Riley loads up on a big right hand but Kuduro slips the punch.
Kuduro connects with a solid leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riley takes one on the chin but seems OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Riley changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kuduro tries to avoid it but Riley manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kuduro to the ground. Kuduro escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Riley blocks the body kick.
Riley tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
An inside leg kick from Riley misses.
Riley throws a leg kick
and Kuduro counters with a nice leg kick.
Kuduro misses with a body kick.
Kuduro connects with a jab.
Riley moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Riley is looking to slow Kuduro down with leg kicks.
Kuduro takes one to the chin there.
Riley lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riley tries to work over Kuduro's front leg with a kick but Kuduro checks it.
Riley thows a left - swing and a miss!
Kuduro jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A jab from Riley does it's job there.
Riley throws a front kick aimed at Kuduro's knee but Kuduro avoids it well.
Riley feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Kuduros jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Riley will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Kuduro lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Riley throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Riley thows a left - swing and a miss!
Riley lands a head kick. Kuduro smiles back at him and beckons him forward.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro lands a nice shot to the body.
Riley does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Kuduro cracks Riley with a good jab.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Good leg kick by Kuduro there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nice sprawl there from Riley as Kuduro shoots in.
Kuduro throws a right and a left that Riley avoids nicely.
Riley throws a big shot that misses.
Riley moves into range and connects with a jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Riley throws a leg kick but Kuduro sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Riley lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Riley jabbing away but nothing is landing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ronnie Riley clearly takes that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Kuduro lets loose with a powerful body kick. Riley will feel that in the morning.
Kuduro takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Riley misses with a double jab
and Kuduro counters with a good, hard body kick but Riley shrugs it off.
Riley misses with a head kick.
Kuduro 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.
Riley throws a low kick but it's checked well by Kuduro.
Riley throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Kuduro lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Kuduro lunges at Riley with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Riley's hand.
Kuduro misses with a double jab.
Kuduro checks a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Riley throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Kuduro.
Kuduro uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Riley.
Riley lands a nice looking kick to the body. Kuduro takes a step back to recover.
Nice body kick there by Kuduro.
Riley pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Riley moves to clinch but Kuduro breaks away
and Kuduro counters with a low kick, right behind Riley 's knee.
Ronnie Riley is winning the standup battle so far.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Kuduro checks a leg kick.
Kuduro misses with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Riley.
Riley throws out a loose jab but Kuduro uses good head movement to avoid it.
Riley feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Kuduro's calf.

Riley has managed to clinch.
Kuduro lands a body shot in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A bit of stalling here from Kuduro.
Riley putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Kuduro in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Kuduro lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Riley.
It's got to the stage where if one of these guys blows hard enough, the other might fall over.
Kuduro tries to stall but Riley uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Kuduro's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kuduro checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Riley pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Riley fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Kuduro is out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro loads up on a big right hand but Riley slips the punch.
Kuduro uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Riley.
A leg kick checked by Kuduro.
Kuduro takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Riley doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Riley throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Riley motions for Kuduro to come forward. Riley throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Riley takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Kuduro goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Riley swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Riley looks to land a combination but Kuduro avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Riley ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Kuduro moves away.
Kuduro fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Riley throws a leg kick but Kuduro sees it coming and moves out of range.
Riley misses with the body kick
and Riley takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Kuduro slips under a jab from Riley.
Riley misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kuduro.
Kuduro connects with an inside leg kick.
Riley has a takedown stuffed.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Riley throws a push kick but Kuduro slaps the foot to one side.
Kuduro fails with a takedown attempt.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Danza Kuduro dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Kuduro thows a body shot but no joy.
Riley takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Riley throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Kuduro takes a body kick right on the floating rib. Ouchie.
A punch combination from Riley misses.
Riley misses with a low kick.
Riley throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Riley throws a jab when Kuduro was well out of range.
Riley scores with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kuduro avoids a kick to the body.
Riley misses with an uppercut.
Kuduro digs a good hook to Riley's body.
Riley throws a solid leg kick but Kuduro takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Riley.
Kuduro throws a shot from downtown. Riley moves away and avoids it.
Kuduro misses with a leg kick.
Riley missing with a left hand there. Kuduro was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Riley lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Riley.
Kuduro blocks a jab.
Riley throws a chopping leg kick but Kuduro manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Riley throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Kuduro sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Danza Kuduro has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Riley looks to throw a body kick
and Kuduro counters with an inside leg kick.
Good work by Kuduro as he checks the leg kick.
Riley avoids a kick to the body.
Jab from Kuduro.
Riley scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kuduro fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Riley misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Riley is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Riley misses with a kick to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Riley fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Kuduro on the side of the head.
Riley throws a low kick, looking for Kuduro's leg but Kuduro calmly moves out of range.
Kuduro swings for the body but Riley moves out of range.
Riley looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Kuduro.
Riley connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
A telegraphed right hand from Kuduro misses the target.
Kuduro looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
A jab lands there for Riley.
Riley misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Kuduro cracks Riley with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kuduro checks a leg kick.
Kuduro jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Riley lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Kuduro takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Riley avoids the body shot from Kuduro.
Riley connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ronnie Riley is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Riley shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Kuduro but Kuduro pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Kuduro takes a swing at Riley's ribcage but misses.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Riley connects with a solid leg kick.

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 Ronnie Riley.
I think Riley 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 49:47
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 47:48
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 48:48

The fight is ruled a draw!