Kicking off the main card of the UFC on FOX 25 is a bantamweight clash between Thomas Almeida and Jimmie Rivera. You can check out the play-by-play here below:
Round 1:
Almeida gets things started off with a leg kick but Rivera pushes his way in with a nice combo. Rivera pushes in with another combo as Almeida throws a leg kick as he keeps the pressure on. A stiff right hand lands for Almeida but Rivera pushes on with a combo. Rivera catches Almeida with a shot that drops him, but as per usual, the Brazilian rallies and shoots back up.
The clinch but Rivera’s fallen mouth piece breaks that up. They resume striking once again and rivera rips off another beautiful combination. A hard body kick lands fo rRivera and Almeida walks him down in response but doesn’t throw. The Brazilian lands a few shots inside the pocket and follows it up with a stiff jab.
Another knockdown for Rivera after he lands a stiff shot but Almeida again shoots back up to his feet. The round comes to an end with Almeida just missing a leg kick.
Round 2:
Rivera opens up the round with the pressure and rips off some more nice combinations. He eats a knee on his way into a takedown but isn’t able to finish. Almeida tries to land a flying knee on Rivera as he comes inside once again, but just misses. Both men get caught with some shots but Almeida is visibly stunned.
Almeida is favoring his right eye, which is red above the brow. Almeida catches Rivera with a right hand that stuns Rivera and takes him off balance but Rivera seems to have regained his composure. Almeida lands a nice high kick to Rivera’s head and begins to land some nice shots inside the pocket as the round comes to a close.
Round 3:
Right out the gate Rivera bulldozes in and takes Almeida to the ground, falling right into the Brazilian’s full guard. He passes to half guard as Almeida works to the side of the cage and stands. Rivera lands a few knees to Almeida’s head before they disengage. Almeida dodges a shot from Rivera and lands an uppercut before continuing to attack Rivera’s leg. Rivera rips off another nice combination and counters again to land another to the body.
Rivera clinches up and has Almeida against the cage, but the Brazilian fires back with knees to the body. Almeida breaks away and lands a nice left hook to Rivera’s chin. Rivera misses on a takedown and lands a nice right hook to Almeida’s chin. Rivera eats a flying knee to get a takedown but Almeida is right back up after a scramble. Almeida begins to time Rivera nicely as the round comes to a close and lands some nice shots.
The fight ends as both men go for shots inside the pocket and they embrace afterwards.
Official Result: Jimmie Rivera def. Thomas Almeida via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26, 30-27)
