CLEVELAND – This is the UFC 203 live blog for Urijah Faber vs. Jimmie Rivera, a bantamweight bout at Saturday night's UFC event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Faber, who has won three of his past five fights, will face Rivera, who has won 18 straight fights, on the main card.
Check out the UFC 203 live blog below.
More Coverage: UFC 203 Results | UFC news
Round 1: Big chance for Rivera here to make his name off of the longtime contender Faber. The pop for Faber as he walked out was (as expected) huge. Referee for this one Gary Copeland (Little Brock). No touch of gloves, as Rivera is quick to Faber, and delivers a kick. Faber returns fire, and as he does Rivera comes over top with a punch that sends Faber off balance momentarily. Quick clinch with Rivera hammering Faber with a nice uppercut. Faber deking the change of levels, and Rivera sturdy on outside. Faber looking for entrance point, and he lands a nice right hand. High kick from Faber off a feint, and Rivera still cooly biding his time. Faber waving the jab at him now, more for range. and they clinch. Frenetic action in there, knees colliding. Overhand right from Faber errant, and he follows with an inside leg kick. Ric Flair "woos" going on all over the Q. Faber narrowly avoids getting clipped with a left, and pivots with the circling Rivera. Sweet little left uppercut there from Faber, who then hammers it home again. Nice progression. Rivera circles the entire perimeter, and Faber hits him wit ha short right hand — and Rivera gave Faber back a parting shot that snapped his head back. Plenty of action here. But both guys being careful not to do anything stupid. Combo from Rivera ends with Faber literally shoving him in the chest with both hands. Nice exchange there, with Rivera landing a left hook flush. Crowd lets up a chorus of boos as the round ends. MMA Fighting scores R1 for Rivera, 10-9
Round 2: Faber might have to get rolling here. First round close, but Rivera might have got it. Faber quick to center, and now he rolls to the fence as Rivera tries to open up there. The moving target elusive, though. Now Faber hits Rivera with a groin shot, and New Jersey is wincing along with him. Rivera hopping trying to recover in a half of action, and the crowd lets out a groan as the replay is shown. He's alright, and the fight resumes. Leg kick from Faber, and he tries a high kick but misses. Rivera wins another exchange, landing a left. He's been a little quicker and crisper in direct exchanges. Faber moving and slaps Rivera's left hand out of the way. They come together on the fence, and unleash, with Rivera getting the better of it. Rivera now kicks Faber's legs out from under him, and the California Kid topples. Crowd wowwed by that. Faber back up, and Rivera avoids a high kick, catches Faber's foot and tries to take his head off with a right. Can't. Audible leg kick from Rivera, who is attacking that lead leg of Faber. He fakes a push kick and slams home a right. Nice right hand from Rivera, Faber eats it and rolls out Again Rivera with a quick combo on the fence. Inside of a minute to go in the round, and Rivera lands a right hand. Crowd antsy. Leg kick again from Rivera. Faber with decent shot near the end there. He might be in a hole here that he'll be forced to dig out of. MMA Fighting scores R2 for Rivera, 10-9 (20-18 overall)
Round 3: Faber needs to respond. See if he has some urgency. Leg kick from him, and he gets out — where he tries a push kick up top. Once again, not there. A lot of deking from both men, as they shadow each other. Faber with a nice right on an exchange, and that got the crowd's attention. They lock hands, and Rivera kicks Faber's leg out again. Faber down very briefly, and then another leg kick. Uh-oh, another exchange, and Rivera might have got poked in the eye. He's winning the fight, but his eye and groin are under siege. Referee Copeland having a look along with the cageside doctor to see if Rivera can fight on. She's doing an eye test, and shining the light into his pupil. Be a bad way to have it end, Rivera's good to go, and they resume. Two minutes into the round, and Faber trying to come to life. He throws a couple of wild rights, one that landed, and Rivera backs him up with a solid combo of his own. Rivera has been methodical, and he has had some answers. A couple of high kicks for Rivera, quick-snapping shots, but neither found Faber's famous chin. Faber wheels around, and he is pressuring. A minute and a half. Right hand from Faber, and he comes over top with it. Rivera been doing a good job and avoiding the counters. Body kick from Rivera, and Faber caught his leg, but too sweaty to hold. Rivera slips free and resets. Faber just can't get anything going, as the crowd lets out another chorus of boos. Nice left hand from Rivera staggered Faber back there on a counter, and Faber moves in for one more. Instead it's Rivera blasting him with a couple of shots, while a frustrated Faber hears the air horn. MMA Fighting scores R3 for Rivera, 10-9 (30-27 overall)
UFC 203 official results: Jimmie Rivera def. Urijah Faber via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)