PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Jimmy Baker (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick 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.

Baker
vs
Rivers

185 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
18
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Likes ground

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Jimmy Baker!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Nick Rivers!
The judges for this bout are Donald Grub, Paul Tew and William Gold.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Baker tries to score with a low kick but Rivers moves his leg out of the way.
Baker scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Baker is looking to clinch but Rivers is avoiding it.
Baker misses with a low kick.
Baker fails in his attempt to clinch.
Baker moves in looking to clinch but Rivers pushes him off.
Baker doesn't manage to clinch there - Rivers circles away.

Rivers clinches up against the cage.
Rivers tries for a takedown but Baker manages to get underhooks.
Baker wants to get back to striking at distance but Rivers won't allow it.
A knee to the head by Baker.
Baker stalling against the cage.
Rivers managing to block the knees to the body from Baker.
Rivers tries for a takedown. No joy.

Rivers has picked Baker up - he's going for a ride! Rivers dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Baker wants to get back to his feet.
Rivers is pressing down on Baker's thigh, looking to free his foot. Baker is holding on for now.
Rivers wants to lay and pray for a moment but Baker keeps working.
Baker knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rivers on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers wants to pass the guard but Baker is defending well.
Rivers looks gassed!
Baker is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Rivers's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Rivers's back!
Rivers is keeping busy.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Baker.
Rivers is trying to break free.
Baker struggling to land strikes to the head as Rivers covers up.
Rivers looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Baker scores with punches to the body.
Will Baker go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Rivers just trying to survive but Baker is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.

Baker is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Rivers is defending well though. Baker let's go of the attempt for now.
Rivers covering up well and avoiding damage.
Baker looking to soften up his opponent with punches.
Baker thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Baker not allowing Rivers to control his hands.
Baker doesn't have the hooks in and Rivers manages to turn into his guard.
Baker trying to keep a closed guard but Rivers is proving a slippery customer.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Baker has Rivers up against the cage in a clinch.

Baker breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivers tries to clinch up
and Baker counters with a left and a right that stings Rivers.
Baker fails with an attempt to clinch.

Baker has taken the fight to the clinch.
The referee calls for Baker to work.
Rivers has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Baker is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Jimmy Baker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Rivers.
Baker stalling in the clinch.
Baker missing with knees to the body.
Rivers managing to block the knees to the body from Baker.

Rivers breaks the clinch.
Rivers fails with a takedown attempt.

Rivers scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Rivers controls the position.

Rivers has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Rivers shoots and misses

and Baker counters by moving into the clinch.
Rivers wants a takedown but no success here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baker tries to break the clinch but Rivers is controlling the position.
Baker throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Rivers changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Baker fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Rivers shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rivers was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Baker has given up his back - I don’t know if this is a deliberate ploy to try and escape or if he is just struggling down there.
Baker manages to reverse the position and now he's in Rivers's guard. Nice work there by Baker.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Baker has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Rivers is proving hard to escape from.

Rivers pushes Baker off and scrambles back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Baker tries to clinch but Rivers moves out of range.
Baker throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Baker tries to clinch but Rivers is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Nick Rivers will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

A nice leg kick lands there from Baker.
Jimmy Baker is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rivers looks for a takedown but Baker sprawls well.
Baker wants to clinch

and Rivers counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Rivers passes the guard and advances to mount!
Rivers trying to control but Baker is having none of it.
Rivers controlling the pace for now.
Baker tries to reverse the position but Rivers maintains control.
Rivers controlling his opponent.

Rivers stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Rivers is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Baker moves into the clinch successfully.
Baker holding his opponent close, against the cage.

Rivers has hold of one of Baker's legs. Baker is fighting the takedown attempt but Rivers gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Rivers is looking to advance position but Baker has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!

Baker looking for an armbar but decides to keep the dominant position instead.

Baker working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.

Baker is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Rivers can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Rivers bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Rivers stopping the sweep attempt from Baker.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Baker uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Jimmy Baker is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Rivers circles away from the clinch attempt.
Baker darts in trying to clinch

and Rivers counters with a single leg into guard. Baker didn't expect that.
Baker wants to sweep but no luck.
Rivers trying to control but Baker is working from the bottom.
Rivers is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Baker keeping full guard, as Rivers tries to pass.

Rivers decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Baker, up you get!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baker tries to clinch there but Rivers circles away.
Rivers tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Baker swivels and escapes.

Rivers 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.
Rivers won't allow Baker to get back to his feet.

Rivers gets to his feet - Baker follows without any prompting.
Rivers throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Baker's waist but Baker gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Rivers off to one side.
Jimmy Baker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Rivers.
Rivers circles away from the clinch attempt.
Rivers closes the distance and clinches up with Baker, looking for a takedown. Rivers pushes Baker against the cage but Baker circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Rivers closes the distance and clinches up with Baker, looking for a takedown. Rivers pushes Baker against the cage but Baker circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Rivers fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Baker sprawls well initially but Rivers persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

Rivers wants to work for an arm triangle but Baker is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Baker wants to control but Rivers is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Rivers wants to stand up but Baker has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Baker is holding on to half guard well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baker tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
Baker is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Rivers's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Rivers's back!
Rivers trying to control the hands but Baker won't let him.
Baker misses with an elbow to the head.
Rivers breaks Baker's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Rivers forces his way into half guard.
Baker is looking to improve his position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Rivers is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Baker doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Rivers.
Baker tries to roll over but Rivers keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Rivers showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Baker tries to clinch but Rivers moves away

and Rivers counters with a single leg into guard. Baker didn't expect that.

Rivers gets to his feet. Baker looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Baker tries to clinch

and Rivers counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Rivers in particular looking to stall.
Rivers is tying to control. Baker wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Rivers is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

Rivers decides to stand up.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!

Rivers shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Rivers was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Rivers content just to control the position here.

Rivers stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Rivers shoots in but Baker avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivers dodges the punch combination from Baker.
Rivers closes this distance looking for a takedown but Baker circles away.
Baker tries to clinch up.
Rivers swats away the attempt to clinch by Baker.
Rivers shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Baker as he avoids it easily.
Jimmy Baker has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Rivers.
Rivers takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Baker looks to clinch

and Rivers counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Baker's guard now.
Rivers postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rivers trying to control the position from guard on top but Baker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Baker is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Rivers stands and steps away. Baker gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Baker tries to clinch but Rivers moves out of range.
Rivers looks frusrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baker looks to clinch

so Rivers counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rivers trying to control the position from guard on top but Baker is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rivers scoring with some ground and pound.
Rivers passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Rivers decides to stand up, so the ref orders Baker to his feet.

Rivers darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Rivers controlling the action here.
Baker is looking to escape.
Rivers is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baker is trying to stand back up but Rivers is controlling him
Rivers wants to stand but Baker has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.
Rivers prevents Baker from standing back up.
Baker won't allow Rivers to pass to mount.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Baker wants to clinch but Rivers slips to the side

and Rivers counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Rivers perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

Rivers decides to stand and escape the position.
Rivers throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Baker.
Rivers throws a body kick that sends a sickening thudding noise reverberating around the arena.
Baker stuffs the takedown attempt from Rivers. Rivers gets slowly back to his feet.
Baker takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivers shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Baker pinned against the cage. Baker gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Rivers avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Baker wants to clinch up but Rivers keeps it at a distance.
Rivers throws a leg kick which misses Baker's front leg but catches the back leg as Baker tries to avoid it.
Baker wants to clinch up but Rivers keeps it at a distance.
Baker clinches but Rivers breaks the clinch

and Rivers counters by moving into the clinch.
Rivers has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Baker avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Baker lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!
Baker gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Rivers.

Rivers breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rivers gets a takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!
Rivers has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nick Rivers comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Rivers winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Donald Grub scores the fight 26:30
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 26:30
Judge William Gold scores the fight 26:30

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