PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Anderson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Karem Fathy (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Silva
vs
Fathy

185 cm
18
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

150 cm
18
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Anderson Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, Karem Fathy!
The judges for this bout are James Glass, Phil Schofield and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Fathy as he jumps to the side.
Fathy throws a push kick but Silva slaps the foot to one side.
Fathy leaves Silva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Silva is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Fathy should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.

Fathy closes the distance and clinches.
Fathy tries to pull guard but Silva forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Fathy wants to break free but Silva has control.
Fathy slows down the pace here.
Silva misses with a body punch.
Silva has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Fathy avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anderson Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Fathy stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Fathy wants it to stay on the feet.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Fathy shows good takedown defense.
Fathy shoots in for a takedown but Silva shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Silva throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Fathy was covering up waiting for the punch and Silva finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Fathy manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Silva is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fathy sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Fathy has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Fathy thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!

Fathy is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Silva has managed to escape the submission attempt.
Fathy prevents Silva from getting the reversal.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Fathy avoids the attempt from Silva to control.
Fathy thowing shots but they're missing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fathy controlling from the full mount.

Fathy working for a submission but Silva is keeping him at bay.
Fathy controlling from mount.
Fathy throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Silva is squirming around, avoiding Fathy's attempts to control the action.
Fathy punching from mount but Silva doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Fathy punching from mount but Silva doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Fathy looking to control but Silva is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva has given up his back here.
Silva staying busy and making it hard for Fathy to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karem Fathy dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Fathy pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Silva slaps away a takedown attempt from Fathy, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Fathy, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Fathy against the cage but Fathy circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Silva shoots in but no luck this time.

Fathy instigates a clinch.
Silva is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Fathy to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anderson Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Fathy manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Fathy tries to strike from the bottom.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Fathy holds on and takes a little breather.

Silva got a little sloppy there for a moment and Fathy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Silva has managed to get both his arms back between Fathy's legs - danger averted.
Silva will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Fathy is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fathy has momentary wrist control but Silva slips an elbow through the middle.
Fathy not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Fathy throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.
Silva trying to control but Fathy is working from the bottom.

Fathy has his foot on Silva's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Silva works his way back into a safe position though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Fathy not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Fathy swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Fathy is trying to keep Silva in close.
Fathy is breathing heavily.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Karem Fathy.
Fathy fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Silva avoids it really well and circles away.
No joy there for Silva, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Silva shoots in but Fathy avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Fathy as he jumps to the side.
Silva dives in and grabs Fathy's left leg, looking for a takedown. Fathy pushes down on Silva's head and hops out.
Fathy shoots in but no luck this time.
Nice takedown defense from Silva. No joy for Fathy on that attempt.

Fathy drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Fathy trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Fathy has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Fathy stuffs the takedown.
Fathy fails with a takedown attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Silva closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Fathy did well to prevent Silva getting side control.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Karem Fathy showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Silva's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Horrible takedown by Fathy or perhaps it was just good defense by Silva which made him look bad.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Fathy shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Fathy as he jumps to the side.
Fathy shoots in but no luck this time.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Fathy.
Anderson Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Karem Fathy.
Silva moves in looking to clinch but Fathy pushes him off.

Silva feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Fathy looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Silva is working Fathy over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Fathy is pulling down on Silva's head to control his posture.
Silva pushes down on Fathy's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Silva stands up and beckons Fathy to join him on the feet.
That kick from Silva tenderised Fathy's leg. Fathy is trying to keep his angry face on.
Silva tries to clinch but Fathy is having none of it.
Fathy misses with a series of wild punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fathy slaps away a takedown attempt from Silva, before circling back to the center of the mat.
A jab from Silva finds it's way through Fathy's defenses.
Silva leaves Fathy with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
A left and a right from Silva both land. Nice combination.

Fathy clinches up with Silva and pushes him back against the cage.
Silva is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Fathy is defending well.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Fathy looking for a takedown.
Silva jumps guard but Fathy turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Fathy tries to circle away but Silva has him pinned against the cage.
Silva tries to pull guard but Fathy forces him back to his feet, against the cage.

Fathy manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

Fathy escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Silva gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Fathy working a defensive guard here.

Silva avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Fathy is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

Silva got a little sloppy there for a moment and Fathy has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Silva has managed to get both his arms back between Fathy's legs - danger averted.
Silva passes Fathy's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva is trying to control. Fathy wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Fathy is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Silva decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anderson Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Fathy has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge James Glass scores the fight for Karem Fathy!
Judge Phil Schofield scores the fight for Karem Fathy!
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Karem Fathy!

Karem Fathy wins by unanimous decision!