PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Derrick Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chad Mendes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Silva might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to Like a Boss. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Silva
vs
Mendes

190 cm
27
155 lbs
4 - 5 - 0

172 cm
19
157 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Experienced

Good wrestler
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Derrick Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Chad Mendes!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, Jack Bonds and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A head kick from Silva lands but Mendes takes it in his stride.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Mendes.
Mendes scores with punches from side control.
Mendes remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Silva tries to buck Mendes off but Mendes is having none of it.
Mendes controlling from side mount.
Silva manages to get back to half guard.
Silva is looking for a sweep. Mendes is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Silva looking for submissions off his back.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mendes is taking a breather. Silva says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Mendes is taking a breather. Silva says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Mendes tries to pass to full mount but Silva defends it.
Mendes stalling.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Chad Mendes was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Mendes bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Mendes controlling from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to get back to half guard.
Mendes is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Silva will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

The ref stands the fighters back up. Chad Mendes was stalling too much, according to the referee.

Mendes looking to score a takedown here. Silva is defending well but Mendes drives through and ends up in Silva's guard.
Mendes stays in close to Silva's body and controls the position.

Silva working for a triangle but Mendes defends it easily.

Silva is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Silva escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Mendes gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Mendes is stalling in the full guard.
Mendes must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Silva is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mendes is aware though and is defending well.
Silva will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Mendes seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chad Mendes hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
A head kick from Silva lands but Mendes takes it in his stride.

Mendes shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Silva manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mendes slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Silva working for a triangle but Mendes defends it easily.
Mendes slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Silva looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chad Mendes dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Silva swinging wildly here.

Mendes shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Mendes tries to pass the half guard into mount. Silva knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mendes in particular looking to stall.

Silva is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Mendes pulls his head out easily.

Silva looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Mendes content to control rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Silva is trying to get back to full guard.
Mendes controlling the action here.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Mendes keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Let's hope that Mendes has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Mendes is pressing down on Silva's thigh, looking to free his foot. Silva is holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Chad Mendes has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Mendes drives through with a takedown into Silva's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Mendes controlling from the top position.

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

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mendes can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mendes wants to pass the guard but Silva is keeping the position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mendes is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

Silva looking for a guillotine here but Mendes defends easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Silva swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Mendes looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Silva keeping full guard, as Mendes tries to pass.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Mendes can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Mendes seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Mendes tries to stand but Silva is controlling from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendes not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Chad Mendes has got the better of the ground game so far.

Chad Mendes has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Silva tries a head kick but it misses.

Mendes shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Silva manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Mendes is stalling in the full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Silva escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Mendes gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Silva escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Mendes gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chad Mendes showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Mendes decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Mendes perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Mendes is nestled in close to Silva, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mendes in particular looking to stall.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Chad Mendes.

Mendes drives through with a takedown into Silva's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Mendes wants to get up but he can't break Silva's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Silva is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Silva working for a triangle but Mendes defends it easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mendes trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Mendes not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Silva looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Mendes stays in close to Silva's body and controls the position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chad Mendes hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Mendes scores a takedown into full mount!
Mendes looking to control and managing it successfully.
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Mendes sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Silva gets back to half guard.
Mendes controlling the action here.

Silva is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Mendes pulls his head out easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mendes is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Ground and pound from Mendes.
Mendes trying to control the pace.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chad Mendes hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Mendes shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Silva is trying to defend but Mendes finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Still in half guard, Mendes seems content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Mendes prevents Silva from improving his position.
Mendes tries to pass the half guard into mount. Silva knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Mendes really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Silva. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Mendes stalling.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Chad Mendes hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Mendes dodges the punch combination from Silva.
Derrick Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Chad Mendes is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Mendes shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chad Mendes comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Mendes winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Chad Mendes!