PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Asher Lee (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ronaldo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ronaldo Silva told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Lee
vs
Silva

192 cm
39
192 lbs
36 - 25 - 0

183 cm
37
191 lbs
24 - 12 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 36 - 25 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Asher Lee!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 24 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ronaldo Silva!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Edson Gomes and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Lee closes the distance but Silva moves to the side

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
My spies in Brazilian Elite Team inform me that Silva has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Silva is pressing down on Lee's thigh, looking to free his foot. Lee is holding on for now.
Lee wants to improve his position but Silva is controlling well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lee has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Silva is working away from the top position though.
Silva perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Silva missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lee won't allow Silva to pass to mount.
Lee is trying to get back to full guard.
Silva is stalling here. Lee is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Silva seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Lee has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Lee wants to stand but Silva has his arm trapped.
Silva struggling a bit here.
Silva is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Lee is staying active.
Silva tries to buck Lee off but Lee is having none of it.
Silva is trying to control Lee's posture but Lee avoids it.
We've been hearing good reports from Lee's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Silva manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to improve his position but Lee is controlling well.
Lee trying to pass the guard but Silva defending well.
Silva moves into full guard.
Silva bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lee's guard.
Lee working a defensive guard here.
Silva trying to control but Lee is working from the bottom.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Silva postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Asher Lee wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Silva throws out a loose jab but Lee uses good head movement to avoid it.
Silva blocks the body kick.
Lee goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Lee pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Silva slips under a jab from Lee.
Silva takes one on the button.
Lee throws a head kick but Silva moves out of range.
Lee tries to land a front kick but Silva steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Lee tries to move into range but Silva moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Silva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Lee circles away quickly and effectively.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to bum rush Lee with a series of wild strikes but Lee uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nice defenses there by Lee.
Lee moves in looking to clinch but Silva pushes him off.
No joy there for Silva, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva throws a combination. Lee tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Lee lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Lee slips a jab and a cross from Silva.
Lee stuffs the takedown attempt from Silva. Silva gets slowly back to his feet.
Lee lands a slapping body shot.
Lee misses the shot to the body.

Silva shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Lee's guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Lee keeping full guard, as Silva tries to pass.

Silva is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Lee is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Lee has escaped and now he's on top!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ronaldo Silva dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Lee connects with a nice looking jab.
Silva misses with a double jab.
Silva fails with a takedown attempt.
Silva throws a low kick but Lee avoids it.
Silva moves out of range of the strikes.
Nice defenses there by Silva.
Lee throws a jab when Silva was well out of range.
Lee cracks Silva with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Silva lands with a right hand.
Lee takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Silva looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Silva slips a straight right by Lee.
Asher Lee is winning the standup battle so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Lee counters with a series of strikes. Silva will be more careful next time no doubt.
A big right from Silva misses.
Silva fails to land with a series of punches.
Silva throws the kick towards the body but Lee avoids it.
Silva throws an overhand right that lands on Lee's shoulder, as Lee tries to avoid the shot.
Lee takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Silva looks to land a left hand but Lee moved out of range nicely.
Sloppy strikes from Lee. Those never looked like landing.
Lee connects with a jab.
Lee keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Lee lands with a hook. Silva tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Silva fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Silva lands a jab-cross combination.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva scores with the left hand. Lee knows he should have avoided that one.
Silva takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Lee looks to throw the jab but Silva is out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Silva misses.
Silva slips a jab and a cross from Lee.
Silva throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Lee stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Lee tries to clinch up but Silva circles away and keeps his distance.
Lee misses with an uppercut.
Lee throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Silva.
Silva darts in looking for a takedown but Lee gets double underhooks and turns Silva into the cage.
Lee misses with a hook to the ribs.
Lee fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

Silva has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Lee uses from the top position.
Lee 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 pulls Lee in close to prevent any damage.
Lee postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lee stopping the sweep attempt from Silva.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing Lee from standing up.
Ronaldo Silva has got the better of the ground game so far.
Silva is trying to keep Lee in close.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Ronaldo Silva.
Lee misses with an uppercut. Silva saw that one coming.
Silva keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Lee walks into a jab.
Silva on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Lee wants to land a leg kick but Silva is out of range.
Silva fails to land with a series of punches.
Silva thows a body shot but no joy.
Silva waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Lee.
Ronaldo Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Silva takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Silva swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Lee counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A jab from Silva does it's job there.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva misses with an uppercut.
Silva slips under a jab from Lee.
Lee blocks a leg kick.
Lee throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Silva throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Lee dodges the punch combination from Silva.
Lee thuds his right hand into Silva's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Lee takes one to the chin there.
Lee connects with a body shot that sends Silva's belly button to the back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Lee displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Silva.
Lee takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Lee gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Silva.
Lee tries to clinch there but Silva circles away.
Lee is looking to clinch.
Lee paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Silva looks to throw the jab but Lee is out of range.
Jab by Silva.
Lee throws a body punch but Silva moves out of range.
Silva scores with a decent looking hook.
Lee misses with a body shot.
Silva looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A jab from Silva misses.
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Lee as he jumps to the side.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lee thows a left - swing and a miss!
Lee thows a left - swing and a miss!
Silva is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Lee scores with a crisp jab that stopped Silva in his tracks.
Silva will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Lee uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Silva.
Lee throws a sloppy head kick and Silva moves out of range easily.
Lee closes the distance but Silva moves to the side

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Silva wants to pass to mount but Lee is defending the position.
Silva missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Asher Lee has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Lee is controlling Silva's trapped leg to prevent Silva from advancing to side control.

Silva is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Silva looks to land a strike but Lee avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
Silva with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Silva's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Silva is pushing down on Lee's leg trying to pass to half guard. Lee is fighting to maintain full guard but Silva has managed to sneak the leg through.
Silva throws a strike but Lee avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Silva throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Lee is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva looking to sit in guard and control but Lee gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Silva looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lee is fighting to break Silva's control of his arms but Silva is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Silva lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Lee!
Silva looking to control but Lee is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Silva working Lee over with strikes here.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Silva moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Lee has worked his arm free - good work by Lee!
Lee on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ronaldo Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Silva 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 27:30
Judge Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Ronaldo Silva!
An out of breath Ronaldo Silva thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.