Constantinos Philippou wasn't happy with the performance against Jorge Rivera at UFC 133 in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but it was good enough for 2/3 judges to give him the win.
The middleweights, both known for their striking games, spent most of the first round clinching against the fence. They also clinched on the ground a little bit. Pilippou landed several shots to the face as Rivera fought to stand up. With about a minute and a half left they separated and began to strike. Rivera hurt Philippou with a combination. Philippou hurt Rivera with an uppercut.
Rivera scored first with a pair of hooks to open the second. bot hmen missed until Philippou dropped Rivera with about 4:30 left. Rivera survived a blitz and managed to sweep Philppou with four minutes left. Rivera landed a combination as Philippou tried to stand. Rivera worked for a front choke but Philippou stood up. They separated and traded shots. The ref Mario Yamasaki had to restart it with about 2 minutes left but they quickly clinched again. Rivera got a beautiful trip. Philippou quickly latched on an omaplata but he took a long time to sit up for the sweep. Announcer Joe Rogan screamed with frustration as Philippou failed to finish the submission. Philippou rolled him finally and got in Rivera's half-guard.
Philippou hurt Rivera with a pair of uppercuts but Rivera answered with a hard knee as the final round opened. Rivera hurt him with a right hand and Philippou answered in kind. They clinched up. Break. Big swinging misses from both men before Philippou took Rivera down. Rivera got guard. Rivera tried for a triangle but Philippou postured up. Rivera stood wit 3 minutes left. Philippou landed a knee. Yamasaki separated them with 2:20 left. Philippou with anothe knee. Rivera locked on a front headlock to pull Philippou down. Landed a knee to the body of a downed Philippou. Rivera landed to the face of Philippou. Philippou's leg got trapped in the seam of the cage which prevented Rivera from taking him down. They were in the center of the cage in the final seconds trading blows before Rivera pulled Philippou down on top of him to end the fight.