PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ricky Alvarez (ranked 2368 p4p, 2829 weight class) and Kang Richards (ranked 311 p4p, 362 weight class). Ricky Alvarez had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 156.1lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Alvarez
vs
Richards

188 cm
20
170
2 - 3 - 0

173 cm
21
155
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Big right hand

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Powerful

Shadow Realm NYC

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Ricky Alvarez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kang Richards!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Jorge Garcia and Joseph Jones.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alvarez wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Alvarez works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
We can't be sure of the tactics at this early stage but we have heard that Richards has been working on his takedowns a lot in the buildup to the fight and we can only assume he's going to look to take this to the mat.
Alvarez wants to clinch up but Richards keeps it at a distance.
Richards gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Alvarez throws an off balance right hand

and Richards counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Richards.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Richards looking to pass the guard.
Alvarez wants to sweep here but Richards controlling him for the moment.
Richards is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Richards being controlled here momentarily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Alvarez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Richards controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Alvarez misses with a double jab.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Alvarez's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Alvarez duly obliges.
Alvarez tries to bum rush Richards with a series of wild strikes but Richards uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Alvarez clobbers Richards with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Alvarez misses with the combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Sloppy strikes from Alvarez. Those never looked like landing.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Alvarez defends it well.
A decent looking cross lands there for Alvarez.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Richards walks into a left hand.
Alvarez throws a big shot that misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Alvarez looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Alvarez scores with a one two! Richards had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Alvarez dips to his left and cracks Richards with an uppercut!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez lands an overhand right.
Alvarez works over Richards's head and body with a nice combination.

Richards is rocked!
Alvarez is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Alvarez throws a left and a right that both miss

and Richards counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Richards is still in real trouble! Can Alvarez finish him?
Richards is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Richards seems to have recovered his senses.
Richards's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez tries to kick Richards off but Richards keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Richards perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Alvarez is trying to control but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Richards content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nice shot lands for Alvarez.
Ricky Alvarez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Alvarez misses with a wild combination.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Alvarez dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Alvarez goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Richards ducks right into an uppercut from Alvarez.
Alvarez throws a hook but Richards avoids it easily.
Richards drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Alvarez defends it well.
No joy there for Alvarez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Richards with the counter takedown but Alvarez avoids it easily.
Alvarez swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Richards.
Alvarez wants to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Alvarez lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Richards feints the counter takedown.
Alvarez tests Richards's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nice defenses there by Richards.
Richards changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
Richards gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Alvarez.
Alvarez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Richards.
Richards tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Richards's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Alvarez connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Richards scrambles back to his feet.
Alvarez throws out a loose jab but Richards uses good head movement to avoid it.
And Richards tries to counter it with a takedown but Alvarez pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Alvarez seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Ricky Alvarez is winning the standup battle so far.
Alvarez tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Richards paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Alvarez throws a left and a right that both miss

and Richards counters with a single leg into guard. Alvarez didn't expect that.
Richards sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Alvarez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Richards can do to turn this around?
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Richards sitting in guard here, content to control.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Alvarez fails to land with a series of punches.
Richards changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Richards on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Alvarez feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Richardss jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Ricky Alvarez is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Alvarez scores with a jab to the jaw.
Richards takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Alvarez is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Alvarez throws a series of punches but Richards moves out of range.
Richards changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
A nice combination there by Alvarez.
Alvarez throws a sloppy body shot

and Richards counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Kang Richards has got the better of the ground game so far.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Alvarez being controlled here, momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Richards is continuing to stall.
Let's hope that Richards has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Ricky Alvarez dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Alvarez scores with a nice head shot.
Alvarez cracks a nice hook into Richards's ribs.
Alvarez lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Richards defending well as Alvarez loads up on a big left hand.
Alvarez lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Richards with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Alvarez to score with a decent uppercut.
Alvarez misses with a body shot

and Richards counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Alvarez!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Richards controls the position.
You can see the frustration on Alvarez's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Richards controls the position.
The adventures of Richards the control monster continue. Boring.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richards advances to mount.
Richards content just to control the position here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
We're seeing a lot of stalling here from Richards.
Yet more stalling tactics from Richards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richards avoids the attempt from Alvarez to control.
Richards controlling his opponent.
Alvarez is working to get back to half guard.

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.
Richards sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Kang Richards has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Richards swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Alvarez is now in Richards's guard. A big mistake from Richards there, giving up the dominant position!

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Kang Richards.
I think Alvarez 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jorge Garcia scores the fight 29:28
Judge Joseph Jones scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ricky Alvarez!