PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Hector Rivera (ranked 24773 p4p, 0 weight class) and Oleksii Kyryliuk (ranked 5066 p4p, 0 weight class). Oleksii Kyryliuk has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Hector Rivera's chin.

Rivera
vs
Kyryliuk

188 cm
21
140 lbs
1 - 3 - 0

190 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Hector Rivera!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Oleksii Kyryliuk!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Alan Glass and Cecil Peabody.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Kyryliuk forces Rivera back against the cage and clinches.

Kyryliuk jumps guard and drags Rivera to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Kyryliuk not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Rivera won't allow Kyryliuk to sweep him here.
Rivera postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Rivera throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kyryliuk works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Kyryliuk is looking for a triangle but Rivera pushes his legs off easily.
Kyryliuk avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rivera postures up.

Kyryliuk is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Rivera stands up over Kyryliuk, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kyryliuk working a defensive guard here.
Rivera missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rivera with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Rivera throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Rivera content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Kyryliuk trying to control the position here.
Rivera controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Rivera throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kyryliuk works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Kyryliuk looking to control.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Kyryliuk shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Kyryliuk was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!

Rivera throws Kyryliuk to one side and escapes!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Kyryliuk clinches.
Rivera goes for a takedown in the clinch but Kyryliuk prevents it.
Kyryliuk can't break the clinch.
Rivera drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rivera wants to break the clinch but can't.

Kyryliuk's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rivera tries to land a body kick
and Kyryliuk counters with a solid body kick.
Rivera with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kyryliuk counters with a big head kick but Rivera shrugs it off.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hector Rivera. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kyryliuk misses with a body kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rivera gets a takedown into half guard.

Kyryliuk has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Rivera is on him like a limpet, forcing Kyryliuk back against the cage.
Rivera really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Rivera keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Kyryliuk's efforts to push away.

Kyryliuk is trying to trip Rivera. He has hold of a leg but Rivera is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Kyryliuk persists though and gets the takedown into guard.

Rivera uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Kyryliuk looks winded!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Rivera checks a leg kick.

Rivera gets tackled into the cage by Kyryliuk. Kyryliuk maintains the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rivera is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Kyryliuk can't fight it off and eventually Rivera manages to take the fight to the floor. Kyryliuk looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Rivera trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Rivera trying to control the position from guard on top but Kyryliuk is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Kyryliuk being controlled here, momentarily.
Kyryliuk avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Rivera trying to control but Kyryliuk is working from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rivera loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kyryliuk controls Rivera momentarily but Rivera frees himself.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Oleksii Kyryliuk will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Rivera wants to take the fight to the mat but Kyryliuk manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Kyryliuk taking a breather.

Kyryliuk pulls guard successfully.
Kyryliuk preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Rivera's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Kyryliuk looking to control.
Rivera throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kyryliuk works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rivera throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kyryliuk works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rivera wants to control from the top but Kyryliuk keeps moving.
Kyryliuk working a defensive guard here.
Kyryliuk keeping moving, preventing Rivera from controlling successfully.
Rivera throwing strikes from guard but Kyryliuk blocks nicely.
Rivera stopping the sweep attempt from Kyryliuk.
Rivera throws a big right hand that misses.
Rivera chips away with some ground and pound.
Rivera scoring with some ground and pound.
Rivera loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Kyryliuk keeping moving, preventing Rivera from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Rivera preventing the sweep.
Kyryliuk working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rivera.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

Kyryliuk gets in close and instigates a clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rivera.

Kyryliuk has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Rivera clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Kyryliuk is breathing heavily.
Kyryliuk is not going to allow Rivera to sit and survive in this position.

Kyryliuk is working really hard to secure the rear naked choke. Rivera defends successfully for a significant amount of time. Both fighters are looking very determined.
Rivera wants to control his opponent's hands but Kyryliuk gets his hands free.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivera is in a bad position, trying to hold on for dear life but he is really struggling to maintain any sort of control.
Kyryliuk has the hooks in. Rivera is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Kyryliuk wants to control but Rivera is keeping busy.
Rivera tries to escape the position.
Hector Rivera overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rivera covering up well and avoiding damage.
Kyryliuk missing with punches from the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Kyryliuk tightening his grip on Rivera, looking for the choke.
Kyryliuk is looking cool and calm here, just waiting for a good opportunity to attack and finish the fight from this dominant position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Rivera trying to control the hands but Kyryliuk breaks the grip.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Oleksii Kyryliuk showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Rivera's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Kyryliuk keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
No luck for Rivera with that takedown attempt.
Rivera shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kyryliuk pinned against the cage. Kyryliuk gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hector Rivera. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kyryliuk closes the distance and clinches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kyryliuk prevents a takedown attempt there.

Kyryliuk pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Kyryliuk drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Rivera manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Kyryliuk is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Kyryliuk lands an elbow that stopped Rivera in his tracks for a moment.

Kyryliuk's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Kyryliuk rushes Rivera and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Rivera changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Kyryliuk fights it off and pushes away nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rivera checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
As Kyryliuk backs away, Rivera returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.

Kyryliuk shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Rivera napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Rivera is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Rivera sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Kyryliuk is trying to control the action in half guard but Rivera is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Kyryliuk tries to pass the half guard into mount. Rivera knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Rivera keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Kyryliuk seems to be looking for submissions.
Kyryliuk prevents Rivera from improving his position.
Kyryliuk misses with a head shot. Rivera uses the momentum to regain guard.

Rivera is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Kyryliuk defends well.

Kyryliuk stands up from Rivera's guard - Kyryliuk perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's four 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.
Rivera shoots in looking for a takedown. Kyryliuk tries to sprawl out of it but Rivera keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Kyryliuk manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Kyryliuk feints the counter takedown.
Kyryliuk misses with a head kick.
Rivera feinted with a counter takedown.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Kyryliuk dives in and scores a takedown into Rivera's guard.
Hector Rivera has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Oleksii Kyryliuk is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Rivera working for a triangle but Kyryliuk defends it easily.

And that's the end of the fight!
Oleksii Kyryliuk comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Kyryliuk 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 George Francis scores the fight 28:30
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 27:30
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Oleksii Kyryliuk!