A bantamweight scrap between Urijah Faber (33-10 MMA) and Jimmie Rivera (20-1 MMA) took place on tonight’s UFC 203 main card in Cleveland, Ohio.
Round one begins and Faber starts things off with a leg kick. He comes in with another but Rivera catches it. Urijah shoots in but Jimmie defends the takedown attempt. Rivera with a nice low kick. Faber is very light on his feet. He lands a front kick to the body of Rivera. Jimmie replies with a leg kick. Faber comes forward and lands a knee. He moves away as Jimmie misses with a wild right. Faber lands a leg kick. Jimmie looks like he is waiting to unload with something. He circles away from Urijah. Faber comes inside and both men connects with short punches. Faber misses with a high kick and Jimmie lands a nice leg kick. Rivera with a left hand that connects. He lands another solid leg kick and then another. Faber presses forward but round one comes to an end before he can connect with any more strikes.
Round two begins and Faber misses with a high kick. Jimmie fires back and lands a powerful leg kick. Faber with an inside leg kick but he catches Jimmie in the groin. The referee steps in and gives Jimmie some time to recover. Faber receives a warning for the kick. We restart and Rivera lands a nice left hand. Faber fires back with a nice leg kick. Rivera lands a nice combination but Faber catches him with a good body shot. Another counter left hand scores for Rivera. Jimmie lands a hard leg kick that drops Faber to one knee. Rivera with a crisp right hand that lands flush on Faber’s chin. He lands another hard leg kick. Faber is limping now. Another brutal leg kick from Rivera. Faber presses forward but misses with his punches. Another powerful leg kick connects for Jimmie. Faber pushes forward and lands a kick to the body of Jimmie. Rivera scores with a counter left hand. He is catching Urijah coming in now. Jimmie lands another brutal leg kick. Faber winced after that one. Round two comes to an end.
Round three begins and Faber charges forward but misses with some wild punches. He lands a front kick to the body of Rivera. Jimmie lands a nice leg kick. Rivera lands a nice combination. He has taken the center of the octagon and is countering Faber whenever Urijah presses forward to attack. Another beautiful leg kick scores for Rivera. Faber comes forward and accidently pokes Jimmie in the eye. Rivera is hurt. The referee steps in and puts a hault to the action. The doctor is taking a long look at Jimmie here. Rivera says he is ok and the fight continues. The fighters trade leg kicks upon restart. Jimmie lands a counter left hand and then another leg kick. Urijah presses forward but misses with his attempted strikes. Urijah again presses forward and this time lands a nice right hand. Jimmie comes in and lands a counter left hand. He scores with a follow up body kick. Jimmie circles and lands a nice leg kick. The crowd is getting restless as they begin to boo. Jimmie lands a nice combination. Faber comes forward but cannot land and significant blows. The horn sounds to end round three.