PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Robert Van Winkle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Wanderlei Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Van Winkle comes to the ring accompanied by Ice Ice Baby. The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Van Winkle
vs
Silva

189 cm
27
215 lbs
13 - 6 - 0

180 cm
24
215 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

Great wrestler
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

TFP Graphics - Pit Inc
Conviction

[CBK] LEGAL HIGHS « SFL ↑ 5x160Q

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 6 - 0, fighting out of New York, Robert Van Winkle!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Wanderlei Silva!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Shimada, Hirohito Nitta and Kenichi Hosakawa.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva misses with a kick to the body.
Silva throws a leg kick
and Van Winkle counters with a slapping leg kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Silva.
Silva fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Van Winkle.
Van Winkle on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Silva. Silva obviously looking to wear him down.
Van Winkle is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Silva rushes Van Winkle and presses him up against the ropes.
Van Winkle lands with a right to the head.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Van Winkle.
Silva misses with a hook to the ribs.
Van Winkle throws an elbow but it misses.
Silva trying to land knees to the body.
Silva using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Van Winkle has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Van Winkle blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Silva with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Silva throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Van Winkle blocks it with crossed arms.

Van Winkle tightens his grip and picks Silva up, before dumping him to the ground. Silva manages to land in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Silva is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Van Winkle is controlling him.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Van Winkle passes into half guard.
Van Winkle stops Silva from getting back to his feet.

Van Winkle is trying to work for a kimura but Silva is defending well.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Silva looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Van Winkle not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Silva wants to control but Van Winkle is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Van Winkle thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Silva tries to roll over but Van Winkle keeps him under control.
Van Winkle thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.
Van Winkle trying to control the pace.
Van Winkle thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle is controlling the pace.
Silva has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Van Winkle is working away from the top position though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Wanderlei Silva wasn't active enough on the ground.
Silva is looking to score with low kicks.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Van Winkle swats him away and circles back towards the center.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wanderlei Silva dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Silva moves to clinch but Van Winkle breaks away
and Van Winkle counters with a nice uppercut.
Wanderlei Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A nice leg kick lands there from Van Winkle.
Van Winkle avoids a kick to the body.
Van Winkle fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Silva checks it well.
Silva motions for Van Winkle to come forward. Silva throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
A head kick misses from Silva.
Silva misses with a leg kick
and Van Winkle counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Silva looks for the body kick but Van Winkle saw that one coming.
Van Winkle fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Silva thows a leg kick but Van Winkle checks it
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
and Van Winkle counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's one minute gone in the round.
A decent looking cross lands there for Van Winkle.
Van Winkle takes a swing at Silva's ribcage but misses.
Silva feints and then cracks Van Winkle's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Van Winkle down.
Van Winkle tries a low kick but Silva avoids it.
Van Winkle fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Silva looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Silva throws a leg kick
and Van Winkle counters with a low kick, right behind Silva 's knee.

Van Winkle closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Silva quickly recovers to half guard.
Van Winkle not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Silva is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Van Winkle scores with a couple of nice shots.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Van Winkle prevents Silva from improving his position.
Van Winkle is keen to just control but Silva is a slippery customer.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Van Winkle passes the guard and advances to mount!
Van Winkle landing strikes, looking to finish!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle looking to ground and pound but Silva is blocking nicely.
Silva takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Van Winkle punishing his opponent with strikes.
Van Winkle is in the full mount, landing strikes.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Van Winkle controlling the pace for now.
Van Winkle's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The referee warns Silva that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Silva really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Van Winkle. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Van Winkle content just to control the position here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Van Winkle throwing strikes here but Silva is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Van Winkle dominated that second round.
That's time! Van Winkle's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Silva throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Van Winkle ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Van Winkle is looking to wear down Silva with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Van Winkle lands a jab.
Van Winkle tries to move into range but Silva moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Silva takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Wanderlei Silva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Van Winkle takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Van Winkle has a takedown stuffed.
Silva checks a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva throws a leg kick but Van Winkle checks it.
Van Winkle just misses with a punch to the body.
Silva throws a leg kick
and Van Winkle counters with a nice low kick that buckles Silva's knee momentarily.
Silva is looking to score with low kicks.
Van Winkle is looking to slow Silva down with leg kicks.
Silva throws a chopping leg kick but Van Winkle manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Silva takes a kick to the side of the head.
Silva misses with a leg kick.
Van Winkle throws a leg kick that misses.
Silva fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Van Winkle checks it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Silva tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Van Winkle ducks under a wild hook from Silva.
Silva thumps Van Winkle with a low kick.
Silva misses with a low kick.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Van Winkle connects with a body shot.
A low kick from Silva misses
enabling Van Winkle to counter with a crisp jab.
Silva with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Silva throws a low kick but it's checked well by Van Winkle.
Silva tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a looping left.
A low kick from Silva misses
enabling Van Winkle to counter with a crisp jab.
Van Winkle is looking to chop away at Silva's legs.
Van Winkle fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Silva avoids it really well and circles away.
Silva scores with a head kick. Van Winkle tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

It looks like Robert Van Winkle has been cut.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Silva.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Van Winkle is looking to land body kicks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle slips a jab and a cross from Silva.
Silva misses with a low kick.
A solid body kick from Van Winkle.
Silva lands a leg kick that knocks Van Winkle off balance momentarily.
Silva wants to clinch.
Van Winkle throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Van Winkle throws a leg kick that misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wanderlei Silva really dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Robert Van Winkle's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Silva feints and then cracks Van Winkle's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Van Winkle down.
Silva on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Van Winkle.
Van Winkle cracks Silva with a big elbow.
Van Winkle is trying to ground and pound but Silva uses the momentary lack of control by Van Winkle to regain half guard.
Van Winkle is just content to waste time from the top position. Silva takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Van Winkle trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Van Winkle throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.
Van Winkle sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Van Winkle loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Van Winkle from controlling successfully.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Robert Van Winkle has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Van Winkle misses with a low kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Van Winkle. Silva does a little dance to reset his feet.
Van Winkle thows a body kick. Silva tries to catch it but that hurt him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Van Winkle.
Van Winkle swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Silva counters with a solid body kick.
Van Winkle scores with a nice right hand.
Silva throws a leg kick
and Van Winkle counters with an outside leg kick.
Van Winkle throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Van Winkle delivers a nice body kick.
Van Winkle throws a series of punches but Silva avoids them all with ease.
A low kick from Silva misses
and Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Silva gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Silva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Van Winkle circles away quickly and effectively.
Van Winkle lands with a hook. Silva tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Silva getting the better of the striking in that exchange.

Van Winkle looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Van Winkle.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Winkle throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Robert Van Winkle had his way with Wanderlei Silva in that round.
The cut man is working on Robert Van Winkle's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Silva wants to slow Van Winkle down by chopping away at his legs.
Van Winkle shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Silva pinned against the ropes. Silva gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Silva throws a lazy head kick
and Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Van Winkle on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Nice cross by Van Winkle.
Van Winkle is looking to slow Silva down with leg kicks.
Silva throws a front kick aimed at Van Winkle's knee but Van Winkle avoids it well.
Van Winkle catches Silva with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Van Winkle lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva checks the leg kick.
Silva dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Van Winkle. That did some damage!
Wanderlei Silva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
A jab from Silva misses.
Silva wants to land a leg kick but Van Winkle is out of range.
Van Winkle fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Silva looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
A jab from Van Winkle does it's job there.
A clash of legs there as Van Winkle blocks the low kick.
Silva lands a head kick. Van Winkle smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Silva shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Silva gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Van Winkle to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Van Winkle throws a strike but Silva rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Silva preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Van Winkle wants to sweep here but Silva controlling him for the moment.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Silva preventing the sweep.
Van Winkle is working hard here to advance position.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Wanderlei Silva.
A leg kick checked by Van Winkle.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Van Winkle will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Silva takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Van Winkle throws a leg kick that misses.
Van Winkle throws a good cross that connects.
A telegraphed right hand from Silva misses the target.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Van Winkle uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Silva.
A low kick from Silva is predictable there
and Van Winkle counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Robert Van Winkle.
I think Van Winkle has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 48:47
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 48:47
Judge Kenichi Hosakawa scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Robert Van Winkle!
Robert Van Winkle retains his light heavyweight title!
Our winner, Robert Van Winkle, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.