PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ben Richards (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Toni Saavedra (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Saavedra is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Cant be touched. Saavedra has a niggling injury. He would have liked to come in 100% fit but that's not always possible. Toni Saavedra has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Richards
vs
Saavedra

192 cm
18
255 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
22
250 lbs
1 - 5 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Inexperienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

GummIberry Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ben Richards!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Toni Saavedra!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Edson Gomes and Emerson Jorge.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Saavedra takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.

It looks like Toni Saavedra has been cut.
A right-left combo lands from Richards.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Richards lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Saavedra looks gassed!
Saavedra has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Saavedra there as he acknowledges the shot.
Richards misses with a series of wild punches.
Richards throws a combination. Saavedra tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Richards scores with a three punch combo!
Saavedra shoots in for a double leg but Richards sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Richards lands a jab to the head.
A left and a right from Richards both land. Nice combination.
Richards drops Saavedra with a left right combo! Richards follows him down to the ground into side control.

Saavedra is rocked!

Richards stands up.

Richards moves into the clinch successfully.
Richards wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Richards breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Richards misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Richards lands a two punch combo.
A nice combination there by Richards.

That has opened up Toni Saavedra's cut even more.
Richards lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Saavedra backs up against the cage.
Ben Richards seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Richards works over Saavedra's head and body with a nice combination.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
A left and a right from Richards both land. Nice combination.
Richards throws a combination. Saavedra tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Saavedra fails with a takedown attempt.
No joy there for Richards, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Richards has closed the distance and engaged Saavedra in a clinch.
Richards wants to get back to striking at distance but Saavedra won't allow it.
Saavedra looking for a takedown.
Ben Richards has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Toni Saavedra.
Saavedra keeps control of Richards as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Saavedra prevents Richards from breaking the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Richards wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Saavedra prevents Richards from breaking the clinch.
Richards could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Richards wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.

Richards gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Richards seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Richards perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Richards wants to stand up but Saavedra is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Saavedra is looking to sinch up a gullotine here but Richards pulls his head out easily.

Saavedra looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Richards with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Saavedra looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Richards pushes past his half guard into mount!
Saavedra is desperately trying to improve his position but Richards has a good base and remains in mount.

Richards stands up from mount. Strange move.

Richards shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Richards takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Saavedra tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Saavedra is working to get back to half guard.
Richards content just to control the position here.
Richards prevents Saavedra from getting the reversal.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Richards is standing up, even though he is in mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Richards dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Toni Saavedra's cut.
That's time! Richards's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Richards lands with a nice combination. Saavedra backs away looking to recover.
Some wild striking there from Richards.
Richards works over Saavedra's head and body with a nice combination.
Richards scores with a shot to the body.
Saavedra showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Richards.
Richards connects with a crisp jab.
Richards lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Richards misses with a series of wild punches.
Saavedra slips a jab and a cross from Richards.
Richards misses with a double jab.
A combination from Richards does no damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Saavedra is breathing heavily.
A right-left combo lands from Richards.
Richards throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Ben Richards is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Saavedra dodges the punch combination from Richards.
A nice combination there by Richards.
Saavedra checks a low kick from Richards.
Richards throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Richards throws a right hand that Saavedra ducks under and follows up with a left that Saavedra also avoids with ease.
Richards misses with a jab, cross combination.
Saavedra has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
No joy there for Richards, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Danga de danga de dang - Richards scores with a four punch combination!
Saavedra showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Richards.
Richards lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Richards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saavedra misses with a takedown attempt
and Richards connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Richards scores with a takedown into Saavedra's guard.
Richards is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Saavedra can do to turn this around?

Saavedra looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Richards wants to stand but Saavedra is controlling his posture from full guard.

Richards stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Richards scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Richards scores with a jab to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards digs a good hook to Saavedra's body.
Richards throws a series of strikes that have Saavedra backpedaling.
Richards stalks Saavedra and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Saavedra's face. Saavedra staggers backwards, shaken.
Richards throws a right hand that Saavedra ducks under and follows up with a left that Saavedra also avoids with ease.
Richards misses with a two punch combination.
Richards ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Richards connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Saavedra's hands.
Richards misses with a series of wild punches.
Richards closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Richards connects with a jab.
Richards scores with a three punch combo!
A right-left combo lands from Richards.
Danga de danga de dang - Richards scores with a four punch combination!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards misses with a series of wild punches.
Richards throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Richards pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Saavedra blocks a leg kick.
Richards works Saavedra's body with a nice hook.
Richards looks to land a combination. Saavedra sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Richards throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Saavedra is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Richards.

Richards drives through and clinches with Saavedra against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Richards is trying to break the clinch but Saavedra has him pressed against the cage.
Saavedra goes for a takedown attempt but Richards pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Richards misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben Richards dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Toni Saavedra's cut.
That's time! Richards's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Saavedra takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Richards looks to land a combination but Saavedra avoids it well.
Richards tries to bum rush Saavedra with a series of wild strikes but Saavedra uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A left and a right from Richards both land. Nice combination.
Richards displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.

Richards shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Richards was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Richards takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Richards's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Richards is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!

Richards forces Saavedra back against the cage and clinches.
Richards controlling the action here for a moment.
Saavedra jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Richards walks away with a smile on his face. Saavedra gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saavedra has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Richards moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Saavedra doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Richards lands a jab to the nose.
Ben Richards is winning the standup battle so far.
Richards goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Richards throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Saavedra.
Richards lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Saavedra backs up against the cage.
Richards stuns Saavedra with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Richards misses with the combination.
Richards looks to land a combination. Saavedra sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saavedra takes a punch to the jaw and another one to the bread basket.
Richards displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Richards scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Richards scores with a three punch combo!

Richards looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Richards wants to stand up but Saavedra has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Toni Saavedra has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Richards stands up and beckons Saavedra to join him on the feet.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Richards!
Richards lands a right hook to the body.
Richards throws a right and a left that both miss.
Ben Richards is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saavedra has his takedown stuffed
and Richards counters with a right hand to the body.
Saavedra fails with the takedown
and Richards counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Ben Richards has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Toni Saavedra.
Richards throws out a leg kick but Saavedra moves out of range and Richards only half commits.
Richards looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Richards misses with a few strikes there.
Richards dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Richards throws and low kick but Saavedra moves out of range easily.
Richards works over Saavedra's head and body with a nice combination.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Richards throws a right and a left that Saavedra avoids nicely.
Richards lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Richards.
Richards misses with a two punch combination.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Richards showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Richards has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:24
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:24
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ben Richards!