CSN Washington's Dustin Green was in the press scrum following Constantinos Philippou's decision win over veteran Jorge Rivera at UFC 133. Philippou, a last minute replacement for the injured Alessio Sakara, picked up his first UFC win with the hard-fought three rounder.
Both men brought a considerable amount of striking skill to the fight. Costa nearly became a pro boxer before hooking up with Matt Serra and going all-in on Mixed Martial Arts. Rivera has a lot of professional Muay Thai and pro kickboxing experience. It showed in the fight as the two traded kicks, punches, knees and elbows as well as take downs, sprawls and submission attempts.
Costa talks about his second round omaplata attempt that nearly got the tap and held Rivera trapped for several minutes. The New York based Cypriot beat the Bostonian Rivera in a classic east coast rivalry. Philadelphia was a fitting neutral ground for the Yankees vs Red Sox bout.