PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Carlos Meira (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zesbis Silva (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.

Meira
vs
Silva

178 cm
20
166 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
19
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Carlos Meira!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Zesbis Silva!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Seu Braga and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva misses with a double jab.

Silva gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Meira to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Meira sitting in guard here, content to control.

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Meira can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Meira is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Silva working a defensive guard here.
Meira is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Meira'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.

Carlos Meira has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Meira shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Meira works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Silva has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Meira is working away from the top position though.
Silva is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Meira is staying active.
Meira keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Silva trying to control here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Zesbis Silva was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Meira shoots and misses
and Silva counters with a lovely straight right hand!

Meira gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Silva tries to clinch but Meira is having none of it.

Meira looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Meira advances to half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Silva wants to improve his position but Meira is controlling well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Meira with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Silva is looking for a sweep. Meira is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Carlos Meira wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Meira shoots and misses
and Silva counters with a left and a right that stings Meira.
Meira tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Silva counters with an inside leg kick.
Meira has his takedown stuffed
and Silva counters with a big head kick but Meira shrugs it off.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carlos Meira. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silva shoots for a double leg takedown but Meira sprawls well. He's pushed Silva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Meira tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Silva defends well and Meira ends up having to push Silva into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Meira prevents Silva from breaking the clinch.

Silva manages to break the clinch.
Meira shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Silva sprawls well. Silva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Meira gets slowly back to his feet.
Meira doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Meira takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Meira is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Meira fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Meira clinches with his opponent.
Silva wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Silva working hard to break the clinch.
Silva wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Meira drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to push Meira away but Meira has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Silva is defending well against a takedown attempt.

Meira is trying to trip Silva. He has hold of a leg but Silva is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Meira persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Silva looking to hit a scissor sweep but Meira is one step ahead there.
Silva is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Meira controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carlos Meira dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Meira shoots in but Silva avoids the takedown attempt easily.

Meira clinches with his opponent.
Silva tries to circle away but Meira has him pinned against the cage.
Meira drops down looking for an ankle pick but Silva pulls his leg out and moves away.
Meira fails with an attempt to clinch.
Meira has his takedown stuffed
and Silva counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Carlos Meira. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Meira shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Silva defends it nicely.
Danga de danga de dang - Silva scores with a four punch combination!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Meira looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Silva wants to control but Meira is keeping him busy.
Meira tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Silva easily slips into full mount!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Meira can't escape the position.
Silva working Meira over with strikes here.
Meira tries to lock up and control but Silva gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Silva can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Meira is looking to escape.
Meira tries to lock up and control but Silva gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Meira is hanging on here. He's in a desperate position.
Meira is wriggling around trying to escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Silva wants to control the pace but Meira is squirming around nicely.
Silva takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Meira regains half guard.
Silva wants to lay and pray for a moment but Meira keeps working.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Zesbis Silva wasn't active enough on the ground.

Meira looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Silva!
Meira controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to escape but Meira is in control.
Silva tries to buck Meira off but Meira is having none of it.
Meira trying to control the position but Silva is working away.
Meira slows the pace down.
Silva wants to control but Meira postures up.
Meira controls the position from side control.
Meira has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Silva tries to hold on but Meira postures up.
Silva is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to hold on but Meira pushes him away.
Meira controlling his opponent.
Meira can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Silva is looking to escape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Meira content just to control the position here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Meira trying to control but Silva is having none of it.
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 Carlos Meira will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Meira fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Silva to the ground. Meira is now in Silva's guard.
Silva controls Meira momentarily but Meira frees himself.
Silva being controlled here, momentarily.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Carlos Meira.
Meira avoids the head kick by Silva.

Silva closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Meira quickly recovers to half guard.
Meira moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Silva tries to stand but Meira is controlling from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Meira throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Silva escapes and throws Meira's legs to the side, diving into side control!

Silva is trying to get an arm triangle but Meira is defending well.
Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Silva postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Meira manages to get back to half guard.
Meira is pressing down on Silva's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Silva tries to free his leg and advance position but Meira is retaining full guard.
Meira looking for a sweep. Not yet Meira, not yet.
Meira not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Meira pulls Silva in close to his closed guard and prevents Silva from doing any damage or advancing position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Meira bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Silva's guard.
Meira 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.

We're going to have a standup here because Carlos Meira wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Meira closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva tries to buck Meira off but Meira is having none of it.
Meira is pausing for a moment. What's he doing? It looks like he's clearing his nose. Oh dude! He's shot a load of snot all down Silva's shoulder. That is not cool.
Silva can't do much from the bottom here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Meira goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Silva rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Meira's guard! Nice work there by Silva!
Meira has his hands on Silva's head, controlling the position.
Silva postures up.
Silva stopping the sweep attempt from Meira.
Silva must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Silva wanted to stand there but Meira had control of the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Meira tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Silva defends well and Meira ends up having to push Silva into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Meira fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Silva is trying to break the clinch but Meira is controlling him.
Silva wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Silva is working for takedown but Meira is calmly controlling the position for now.
Meira landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Silva has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Meira jumps guard and drags Silva to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Meira has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Meira swivels though and keeps the full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Carlos Meira showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Meira has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Carlos Meira!