PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Pedro Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Julio Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Silva has chosen Kanye West - Amazing as his entrance music. Pedro Rua has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Rua
vs
Silva

172 cm
36
165 lbs
22 - 11 - 1

175 cm
31
168 lbs
17 - 5 - 2

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

TWGC Champion
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 22 - 11 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Pedro Rua!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 5 - 2, fighting out of New York, Julio Silva!
The judges for this bout are Alec Ball, Yves DeLean and Robert Douchet.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rua counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Rua prevents Silva from standing back up.
Silva is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.
Silva trying to control here.

Rua stands up out of the half guard.
Silva misses with a double jab

so Rua counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua stopping the sweep attempt from Silva.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing Rua from standing up.
Rua preventing the sweep.

Rua stands up and waves to Silva to follow him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Silva.
Silva swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Silva misses with a combination

and Rua counters with a takedown into side control.
Silva is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Rua decides to stand up, so the ref orders Silva to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Silva throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Silva throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Rua dodges the punch combination from Silva.
Silva throws a hook to the side of Rua's head but Rua sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Silva throws a series of punches but Rua avoids them all with ease.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Rua defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Silva.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A punch combination from Silva misses.
Silva misses with a double jab

so Rua counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva wants to get back to his feet but Rua passes into half guard.

Rua stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Silva to get to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva looks to land a combination but Rua avoids it well.
Nice sprawl there from Rua as Silva shoots in.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pedro Rua dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Silva throws a left and a right that both miss

and Rua counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rua.

Silva is working an open guard so Rua takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Silva!
Rua slips a jab and a cross from Silva.
Silva goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rua circles away quickly and effectively.
Silva throws a head kick that misses

and Rua counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Silva looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Rua passes into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rua prevents Silva from improving his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua decides to return to a standing position.
Silva looks to land a combination but Rua avoids it well.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Rua swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Silva swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Silva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Rua counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Silva trying to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva trying to control the position here.
Silva wants to get back to his feet but Rua is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Julio Silva hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Silva scores with a nice strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a straight right.
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination

and Rua counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Silva tries to kick Rua off but Rua keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Pedro Rua overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Silva is positioning himself well to prevent Rua advancing to mount.
Silva is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Silva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Rua circles away quickly and effectively.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Rua swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Silva throws a body kick, spinning off balance

and Rua counters with a single leg into guard. Silva didn't expect that.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva wants to stand up but Rua is controlling him.

Silva looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Rua passes into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva is breathing heavily.
Silva is trying to stand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Pedro Rua will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Silva misses with a few strikes there.
Silva moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Silva lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Rua backs up against the cage.
Silva lands a glancing blow to the side of Rua's head.
Some wild striking there from Silva.
Silva looks to throw the jab but Rua is out of range.
Silva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Rua counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Silva!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Rua decides to stand back up.
Silva throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Rua counters with a single leg into guard. Silva didn't expect that.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
The fighters circling - Silva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Rua keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Silva.
Silva changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Rua tries to avoid it but Silva manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Rua to the ground. Rua escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Silva misses with a double jab

and Rua decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Silva's guard.
Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rua tries to stand but Silva is controlling from the bottom.
Silva wants to sweep but no luck.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to control but Rua passes easily into half guard.

Rua stands up out of the half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Rua uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Silva.
Silva throws a combination that misses

and Rua counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Silva's guard now.

Silva is working an open guard so Rua takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.
Silva swinging wildly here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva swings away with a body shot that misses

so Rua counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva wants to stand but Rua is controlling the position.

Silva has managed to wall walk up one of the corner posts to get back to his feet. Rua is pushing him up against the cage, looking to control the position.
Rua has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Silva is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Julio Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Rua looking for a takedown.
Silva has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Rua after a bit of a struggle.
Silva changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Rua fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Pedro Rua has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Julio Silva.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a double jab

and Rua counters with a nice double leg into guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Rua gets to his feet. Silva looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Silva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Rua counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.

Rua stands up out of the half guard.
Good exchange - Silva coming out on top.
Julio Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Silva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Silva swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pedro Rua showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Rua, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alec Ball scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Douchet scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pedro Rua!