PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nathan Bowman (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dru Rivers (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Bowman
vs
Rivers

182 cm
38
193 lbs
21 - 15 - 0

188 cm
37
195 lbs
26 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

Tab out

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 21 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Nathan Bowman!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dru Rivers!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Nard Betker and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bowman misses with a takedown
and Rivers counters with a nice leg kick.
Bowman goes for a double leg but Rivers avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Rivers continues to drive forward.
Bowman jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Rivers walks away with a smile on his face. Bowman gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nathan Bowman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bowman scores with a nice head shot.
Bowman shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Rivers lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Bowman tries to clinch but Rivers moves away
and Rivers makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Bowman really felt that one!
Bowman will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
A good leg kick by Rivers.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rivers scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Bowman seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Bowman throws out a powerful jab.

Bowman moves into range and clinches up with Rivers.
Rivers tries a body shot but Bowman blocks it.
Rivers tries to throw a body punch but Bowman avoids it by throwing Rivers back against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bowman lands with a light punch inside.
Rivers scores with a shoulder strike.

Bowman breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nathan Bowman seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bowman shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rivers sprawls well. Rivers wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Bowman gets slowly back to his feet.
Rivers cracks a nice hook into Bowman's ribs.
Bowman shoots in looking for a takedown. Rivers tries to sprawl out of it but Bowman keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rivers manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Bowman tries to clinch but Rivers moves away
and Rivers counters with a thumping low kick.
Bowman takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Rivers thumps Bowman with a low kick.

Bowman has Rivers up against the cage in a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rivers lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Bowman or not.
Bowman is breathing heavily.
Bowman tries to pull guard but Rivers won't allow it.
Rivers lands a shot to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivers struggles to land a body shot inside as Bowman controls his hands.
A short left from Rivers.
Rivers lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Rivers tries to throw a body punch but Bowman avoids it by throwing Rivers back against the cage.
Rivers tries a body shot but Bowman blocks it.
Rivers struggles to land a body shot inside as Bowman controls his hands.
Rivers prevents a takedown attempt there.

Bowman gets control of Rivers's arms and successfully pulls guard. Bowman will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Bowman throws his legs up looking for a submission but Rivers uses it to pass to side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rivers just content to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bowman tries to strike but it doesn't land.
Bowman is trying to improve his position.
Bowman throws a couple of punches but he's in a bad position and they don't land.
Rivers happy to just control the position for now.
Bowman 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.

Rivers decides to stand back up.
Bowman tries to close the distance and clinch but Rivers swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bowman shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Rivers defends it nicely.
Bowman tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Rivers swivels and escapes.
Bowman tries for a takedown but Rivers sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
A lazy left from Rivers finds it's target.
Bowman fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Rivers avoids it really well and circles away.
A left lands for Rivers.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bowman doesn't manage to clinch there - Rivers circles away.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Rivers.
Bowman shoots in for a takedown but Rivers shows good takedown defense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dru Rivers 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.

Bowman drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Rivers has Bowman pulled in close to control his posture.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Bowman tries to free his leg and advance position but Rivers is retaining full guard.
Bowman missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Bowman loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bowman throws an elbow that misses. Rivers uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Bowman's guard. Nice move by Rivers!

Bowman looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Rivers passes into side control.
Bowman tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Rivers wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bowman is working hard here to advance position.
A lull in the action here.
Bowman is looking for a sweep.
Bowman tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Rivers easily slips into full mount!
Bowman is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bowman tries to hold on but Rivers pushes him away.
Bowman has given up his back here.
Rivers biding his time, looking for the opening.
Bowman looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Bowman rolls, trying to escape but Rivers keeps control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivers controls the position.
Bowman rolls, trying to escape but Rivers keeps control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers controls the action.
Nathan Bowman overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Bowman trying to control but not successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Bowman dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Bowman misses with a takedown attempt - Rivers sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Bowman closes the distance and clinches up with Rivers, looking for a takedown. Bowman pushes Rivers against the cage but Rivers circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Nathan Bowman is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bowman tries to clinch up but Rivers circles away and keeps his distance.
Rivers throws out a leg kick but Bowman moves out of range and Rivers only half commits.
Rivers fakes the leg kick and cracks Bowman in the body.
A good leg kick by Rivers.
A good leg kick by Rivers.
Bowman takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rivers lands a nice looking kick to the body. Bowman takes a step back to recover.
Bowman chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Rivers can pounce on him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Bowman.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
A jab lands there for Rivers.
Bowman takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Dru Rivers is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rivers throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Bowman on the side of the head.

It looks like Nathan Bowman has been cut.
Rivers is looking to chop away at Bowman's legs.
A chopping leg kick lands by Rivers.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Rivers scores with a shot to the body.
Bowman avoids a low kick by using good footwork.

Bowman has managed to clinch.
Rivers softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Rivers.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Rivers creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Rivers tries to work over Bowman's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Rivers misses with a punch on the inside.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bowman is trying to stall.
Rivers lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Rivers lands a body punch in the clinch.
Bowman fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nathan Bowman. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rivers tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Rivers is pressed up against the cage. Bowman has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Rivers down to the mat. Rivers avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Bowman closes the distance and clinches up with Rivers, looking for a takedown. Bowman pushes Rivers against the cage but Rivers circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rivers connects with the punch.
Dru Rivers seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Nice sprawl there from Rivers as Bowman shoots in.
Rivers connects with an inside leg kick.
Rivers thuds his shin into the meat of Bowman's side.
Rivers dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Bowman. That did some damage!
Bowman is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Rivers. Bowman shrugs it off though.
Rivers scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bowman stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Rivers.
Bowman sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Rivers feints and then cracks Bowman's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Bowman down.
Rivers takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.

Bowman is rocked!
Bowman looks to throw a body kick
and Rivers counters with a nice leg kick.
Oh Bowman is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Bowman tries to clinch but Rivers moves out of range.
Bowman seems to have got his legs back now.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Good leg kick by Rivers there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rivers thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Bowman if he has to take too many more of those.
Bowman takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Bowman takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.
Rivers fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
An inside leg kick lands from Rivers.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Rivers with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Bowman closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rivers circles away.
Rivers misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Bowman misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rivers.

Rivers lands a big head kick that sends Bowman tumbling to the mat! Rivers takes a step backwards and waves Bowman back to his feet - he wants the finish!
Bowman closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rivers circles away.
Rivers scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Bowman darts in trying to clinch
and Rivers counters with a low kick, right behind Bowman 's knee.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rivers connects with a solid leg kick.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dru Rivers comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
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 Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 27:29
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 27:29
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 27:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dru Rivers!