SAM ALVEY (19-4) VS. JOEY RIVERA (7-1)

Round 1 – Referee Herb Dean oversees the action. Joey starts out with a few early high kicks that find the mark, but Sam walks through them. Shortly after, Joey ducks in for a takedown and nails a double-leg that brings the action to the floor. As Sam tries to scramble up, Joey moves around to the back in a dangerous position. Sam does a good job of peeling him off against the cage, but Joey simply dives in with another takedown. Sam pops immediately up, and Joey tries for a standing arm-triangle. It’s not there, so he has to let go. As the pair battles in the clinch, Joey goes for a guillotine. It looks deep for a moment, but Sam remains calm and pulls his neck free. Still, he’s been on defense for the entire round. He does get top position with less than a minute remaining, but he has to defend a triangle before he can pull away. His coaches want him to let Joey up, but Sam instead dives in with his best punches of the round in the closing seconds. However, it’s a clear Joey round.

Round 2 – The pair trades jabs to open the second before Sam moves into the clinch and looks for a takedown. Joey counters by looking for a guillotine, but it’s a stalemate against the cage. Dean lets them work for quite some time before finally pulling them apart. Sam looks to throw bombs on the feet, but they wind up again in the clinch. Roy offers some visual coaching from the corner, demonstrating a guillotine attempt he wants to see from his fighter. unfortunately, Joey waits a little too long to try it, and Dean steps in for a restart just as he looks to set up the choke. As Sam tries to push the action again, Joey counters with another powerful high kick that lands flush. Sam is a bit wobbled, and Joey shoots in for a successful takedown. Sam climbs up to his feet in the final minute, and he scores his own takedown in the closing seconds. Still, it doesn’t appear to be enough for him to steal the round, and Joey should take the result.

Joey Rivera def. Sam Alvey via majority decision (19-19, 20-18 20-18).

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