PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gabriel Rhababer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tim Alvarez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tim Alvarez has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Rhababer
vs
Alvarez

190 cm
25
204 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

180 cm
20
215 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
Experienced

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gabriel Rhababer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Tim Alvarez!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Micheangelo Fripello and Roger Salmon.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Alvarez turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

Alvarez gets caught napping as Rhababer dives in and scores a takedown. Alvarez manages to retain guard.

Rhababer got a little sloppy there for a moment and Alvarez has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Rhababer has managed to get both his arms back between Alvarez's legs - danger averted.
Rhababer is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Alvarez looking to control.
Rhababer postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Rhababer won't allow Alvarez to sweep him here.
Alvarez wants to stand and escape but Rhababer is having none of it.
Rhababer trying to control but Alvarez is working from the bottom.
Rhababer is fighting to break Alvarez's control of his arms but Alvarez is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Alvarez is looking to stand up but Rhababer isn't so interested in that idea.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez is trying to keep Rhababer in close.

Tim Alvarez has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Alvarez misses with a takedown attempt

and Rhababer counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Alvarez just misses with a elbow thrown towards Rhababer's brow.
Rhababer fails to pull guard.

Alvarez breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Rhababer connects with a right hand. Alvarez shakes it off.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Rhababer.

Alvarez shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Alvarez is keen to just control but Rhababer is a slippery customer.
Rhababer is trying to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez winds up and cracks Rhababer with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Alvarez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Rhababer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Rhababer is trying to stand.
Alvarez trying to control the action but Rhababer is working from the bottom.
Alvarez content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Alvarez is just content to waste time from the top position. Rhababer takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Rhababer pulls Alvarez in to control the position.
Alvarez is looking to work some ground and pound but Rhababer has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rhababer is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Alvarez tries to stand but Rhababer is controlling from the bottom.
Alvarez missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Alvarez wants to stand but Rhababer has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Rhababer bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Alvarez's guard.
Alvarez wants to sweep here but Rhababer controlling him for the moment.
Rhababer won't allow Alvarez to get back to his feet.
Alvarez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rhababer tries to free his leg and advance position but Alvarez is retaining full guard.
Alvarez looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Rhababer puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.

Alvarez kicks off Rhababer and gets to his feet.

Rhababer shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Alvarez's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rhababer trying to control the position from guard on top but Alvarez is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rhababer controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Rhababer preventing the sweep.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rhababer sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Alvarez's guard.
Alvarez tries to roll over but Rhababer keeps him under control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Tim Alvarez will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Alvarez shoots and misses

and Rhababer counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Rhababer won't allow Alvarez to get back to his feet.

Rhababer stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Alvarez shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Rhababer sprawls well. Rhababer wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Alvarez gets slowly back to his feet.
Rhababer stuffs the takedown attempt from Alvarez. Alvarez gets slowly back to his feet.
Gabriel Rhababer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Alvarez.
Alvarez gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Rhababer counters with a left and a right that stings Alvarez.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rhababer punishes Alvarez's body with a nice straight punch.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Alvarez enables Rhababer to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Alvarez manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Rhababer slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Alvarez is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Alvarez pushes Rhababer off and gets back to his feet.
Alvarez fails with the takedown

and Rhababer counters with a single leg into guard. Alvarez didn't expect that.
Rhababer is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Rhababer slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Alvarez keeping moving, preventing Rhababer from controlling successfully.
Rhababer sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Alvarez's guard.
Alvarez pushes Rhababer off looking to stand but Rhababer dives back in and keeps control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rhababer wants to pass the guard but Alvarez is defending well.
Alvarez tries to strike from the bottom but it doesn't land.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Rhababer stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Alvarez to get to his feet.
A punch combination from Alvarez misses.

Rhababer shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Alvarez manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Alvarez wants to stand but Rhababer is controlling the position.
Rhababer wants to control from the top but Alvarez keeps moving.
Alvarez trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Alvarez raining down hammerfists from mount.
Alvarez looking to control but Rhababer is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Rhababer on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Rhababer tries to get out of the position.
Rhababer tries to hold on but Alvarez postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rhababer tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rhababer is squirming around, avoiding Alvarez's attempts to control the action.
Rhababer wants to hold on but Alvarez pushes him away.
A nice elbow there by Alvarez.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A nice elbow there by Alvarez.

It looks like Gabriel Rhababer has been cut.
Rhababer really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Alvarez cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Alvarez scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Rhababer?

Rhababer is rocked!
Rhababer is wriggling around trying to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Gabriel Rhababer will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Gabriel Rhababer's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Rhababer clinches up with Alvarez and pushes him back against the cage.
Rhababer drops down looking for an ankle pick but Alvarez pulls his leg out and moves away.

Alvarez gets the takedown into side control.
Alvarez wants to control but Rhababer is keeping him busy.

Alvarez stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Rhababer leaves Alvarez with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Rhababer shoots in for a double leg but Alvarez sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Alvarez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Alvarez moves out of range of the body kick.
Alvarez fails with a takedown attempt.
Gabriel Rhababer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tim Alvarez.
Alvarez shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Alvarez doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Rhababer counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Rhababer decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.
Alvarez tries for a takedown but Rhababer sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rhababer throws the kick towards the body but Alvarez avoids it.
Alvarez uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rhababer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Rhababer circles away.
Rhababer throws a head kick that misses.
Gabriel Rhababer is winning the standup battle so far.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Alvarez fails with the takedown

and Rhababer counters with a shoot takedown. Alvarez fights it but they end up in guard.
Alvarez is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Alvarez thows some rabbit punches from the bottom but they don't do any damage.
Alvarez wants to sweep but no luck.
Rhababer slips nicely into half guard, despite the strikes coming from Alvarez.
Rhababer stalling.
Alvarez is not content to let Rhababer control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Alvarez tries to kick Rhababer off in order to stand up. Rhababer Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.
Alvarez tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Alvarez is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Rhababer is controlling him well.
Rhababer in side control lands a decent elbow.
Alvarez is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
You can see the frustration on Alvarez's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rhababer is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Alvarez is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Alvarez is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Rhababer has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Rhababer is chipping away with strikes.
Alvarez is trying to escape the position but Rhababer is controlling the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Rhababer decides to stand up, so the ref orders Alvarez to his feet.
Rhababer displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Alvarez.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gabriel Rhababer showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rhababer 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight 29:28
Judge Roger Salmon scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gabriel Rhababer!
Gabriel Rhababer got down on his knees post fight and begged the management for a title shot. 'Please, I want that title shot so bad! Give it to me!'