Jimmie Rivera was largely the aggressor on the feet in his fight with Iuri Alcantara at UFC On FOX 18 this evening and also landed some key takedowns en-route to a unanimous decision victory.
Round One:
Nicely timed knee upstairs from Alcantara to start. He goes for a kick to the midsection now. Rivera with a leg kick and then a spinning backfist attempt.
Both men narrowly missing with strikes in close. Right and a left land for Rivera. A lull then Rivera with another one-two. Alcantara with a knee to the midsection and another left and right from Rivera close to the cage.
Rivera with a side kick attempt that misses and he almost eats a counter in return. Kick to the body from Rivera which Alcantara tried to catch.
Alcantara misses with a punch and Rivera comes over the top with one of his own. Another lull then Alcantara tries to go upstairs with a kick. Rivera throws a flurry of winging strikes and Alcantara backs away. Rivera’s definitely been the more aggressive of the two so far.
Rivera with a punch to the body. body kick from Alcantara and a left hand too. Eye poke catches Rivera and forces a quick stoppage, but he’s ready to continue almost immediately.
Leg kick and a right hand for Alcantara in the final 10 seconds of the round, but Rivera responds by closing the distance and landing a solid takedown.
Round Two:
Both men come up a little short with punches. Body kick for Alcantara and a punch in return from Rivera. Rivera backing Alcantara up to the cage and then unloads a couple of hard punches.
He backs up to the center of the cage again. Right hand for Rivera. Light body kick from Alcantara. Side kick attempt from Rivera.
Good right hand connects for Rivera. He presses Alcantara against the cage and starts to land a few knees to his opponents legs. Shot punches to the head now. He’s looking to set up a takedown attempt, but nothing doing so far.
90 seconds to go in the round and they get seperated by the ref. Another looping right hand lands for Rivera. Alcantara with a body kick and then one to the leg. Rivera trying for a takedown, but it doesn’t pay off though he lands a punch as he exits.
Straight left hand for Alcantara and that sends Rivera staggering backwards and he loses his footing, but pops right back up. He presses forward again and is able to take Alcantara down. He’s pressing his opponent against the cage as Alcantara tries to stand. Alcantara up with just a couple of second of the round remaining.
Round Three:
Head kick from Alcantara and it appeared to graze the top of Rivera’s head. Body kick attempt from Alcantara but he’s a bit off balance on that one.
Rivera looking to wade in with a couple of punches, but Alcantara lands a nice counter. Leg kick from Alcantara. Body punch from Rivera. Low leg kick from Alcantara and tries to land a punch behind it. More powerful body kick from him now.
Rivera catches a kick and dumps Alcantara to the mat, but he’s right back up on his feet. Left hand from Rivera, then another.
Alcantara just misses with a head kick. Right hand for him. Couple of punches to the body from Rivera. Body kick for Alcantara. He goes there again.
Now a body kick from Rivera. Now he goes downstairs to the lower leg. Front kick to the midsection from Alcantara. Exchange of punches in close from both men.
Low leg kick from Rivera. Straight punch from Alcantara with a trip puts Rivera on the mat but he’s right back up and is looking for a takedown. He marches Alcantara to the cage still trying to work the takedown. It’s not happening though and with just seconds remaining he starts unleashing a quick barrage of punches which are mostly blocked by Alcantara in his defensive shell.
Decision:
The judges decision is in and they’ve awarded the fight by unanimous decision to Rivera (29-28 x3).
