PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Giro Inhanamoto (ranked 410 p4p, 396 weight class) and Malcolm Rivera (ranked 48 p4p, 45 weight class). Rivera has chosen BAD COMPANY as his entrance music. Malcolm Rivera has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Giro Inhanamoto's chin.

Inhanamoto
vs
Rivera

192 cm
27
263
18 - 6 - 0

194 cm
34
268
27 - 17 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Brooklyn Apothecary
Brooklyn Threads

Conquer
Conviction

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 18 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Giro Inhanamoto!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 27 - 17 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Malcolm Rivera!
The judges for this bout are Matheus Silva, Felipe Paraventi and Thiago Cunha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Inhanamoto takes a swing at Rivera's ribcage but misses.
Inhanamoto cracks Rivera with a right hand to the side of the head.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.
Rivera swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Inhanamoto lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Inhanamoto lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rivera circles away quickly and effectively.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Inhanamoto swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rivera replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Inhanamoto blocks it well.
Inhanamoto connects with a single shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ooooh, nice body kick lands from Inhanamoto. Rivera shrugs it off though.
A big left from Inhanamoto misses.
Rivera shapes to counter with a head kick.
Inhanamoto looks to land a left hand but Rivera moved out of range nicely.
Inhanamoto throws a big shot that misses.
A low kick from Inhanamoto misses
and Rivera counters with an outside leg kick.
Inhanamoto scores with a punch to the head.
Giro Inhanamoto seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rivera missing with a left hand there. Inhanamoto was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Inhanamoto throws a poor cross that misses
and Rivera counters with a right hand to the body.

Inhanamoto closes the distance and clinches.
Inhanamoto lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Inhanamoto doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rivera working Inhanamoto over with knees to the body.
I was talking to Inhanamoto's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Inhanamoto.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rivera scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Rivera blocks a body shot from Inhanamoto.
Inhanamoto can't find room to land a body shot as Rivera controls the action.
Inhanamoto tries to throw a body punch but Rivera avoids it by throwing Inhanamoto back against the cage.
Rivera blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Rivera lands with a short shot to the head.

It looks like Giro Inhanamoto has been cut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rivera tries to land knees in the clinch but Inhanamoto avoids the damage to the body.
Rivera misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Inhanamoto.
Inhanamoto misses with a short punch on the inside.

Rivera breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Inhanamoto throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Rivera counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Inhanamoto swings for the body but Rivera moves out of range.
Rivera appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Inhanamoto throws a sloppy body shot

and Rivera counters with a nice right hand that sends Inhanamoto toppling to the canvas! Inhanamoto scrambles and gets back to his feet - can Rivera finish him?!

Inhanamoto is rocked!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Inhanamoto swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Rivera.
Rivera moves out of range as Inhanamoto throws a body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rivera throws a lazy body kick
and Rivera takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Inhanamoto fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Inhanamoto throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Rivera sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A head kick misses from Rivera.
Inhanamoto fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rivera manages to avoid it.
Rivera looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Inhanamoto cracks a nice hook into Rivera's ribs.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Giro Inhanamoto will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Giro Inhanamoto's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Inhanamoto lands with a cross.
Inhanamoto digs a good hook to Rivera's body.
Rivera drops his hands momentarily and Inhanamoto takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Inhanamoto.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Inhanamoto lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Rivera has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Rivera and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Inhanamoto misses with a double jab
and Rivera counters with a stiff right hand.
Giro Inhanamoto is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Inhanamoto lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Inhanamoto steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Rivera.
Inhanamoto swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Rivera uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Inhanamoto.
And Rivera responds with a good body kick, but Inhanamoto manages to step out the way in time.
Rivera throws a right hand that misses
enabling Inhanamoto to counter with a crisp jab.
Inhanamoto scores with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Inhanamoto dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Rivera. That did some damage!
Inhanamoto wants to land a leg kick but Rivera is out of range.
Rivera is looking for the big counter here.
Inhanamoto connects with an inside leg kick.
Rivera throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Rivera cracks Inhanamoto with a big right hand that sends him to the floor! Inhanamoto looks wobbly but he's sprung back up to his feet straight away… can Rivera finish him?
Oh Inhanamoto is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Inhanamoto throws a right hand that misses
and Rivera counters with a nice body shot.
Inhanamoto is wiping some vaseline out of his eye. Rivera doesn't give a rats ass about fair play and cracks him with a massive hook to the side of the head! Inhanamoto crumples to the floor out cold! The cornerman is going to be in Inhanamoto's bad books for that mishap!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Malcolm Rivera!
During a confident post fight interview, Malcolm Rivera thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.