Dmitry Bivol dominated a very tough Lyndon Arthur en route to a unanimous decision win earlier today (Sat., Dec. 23, 2023) at “Day of Reckoning” live on DAZN PPV from inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Bivol opened the fight with heavy pressure, almost a complete disregard for his opponent’s offense. In the first round, Bivol was able to fully force his opponent on the defensive, landing stiff jabs and occasional left hooks while keeping Arthur hesitant with frequent feints. Arthur tried to jab back, but most of his shots were deflecting off the guard.
Bivol opened up further in the second and third, stringing together longer combinations of power shots to the head and body. In particular, that left hook kept finding a home through the guard. Arthur worked to establish his jab and find counters, but he just couldn’t scare Bivol off him. The WBA Light-Heavyweight champion continued to press behind his 1-2, routinely pushing his foe into the ropes and teeing off.
In the eighth round, Bivol started to really target the liver with his left hand. In perhaps his best moment of the fight, however, Arthur answered with a good right to the body, which began a good sequence for Arthur … though it didn’t last long before Bivol was swarming again.
Three rounds later, Bivol heated back up and put Arthur on the floor with another liver hook at the very end of the round. The commentators were demanding a knockout, and Bivol did his best to oblige with an increased burst of aggression in the final round. Arthur’s corner nearly threw in the towel, but the Englishman manage to survive to the bell.
Check out the video highlights below:
Bivol was hunting for his first knockout win since March 2018, which unfortunately didn’t materialize. Nevertheless, he utterly dominated the entire fight! Bivol clearly controlled most every round and did sit his opponent down late in the fight, so it’s hard to be overly critical of his performance even considering the wide betting odds.
For complete ‘Day of Reckoning’ results, coverage, and highlights, click HERE.
This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
