PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anderson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johny Shadow (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shadow has chosen Johnny B. Goode as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Johny Shadow has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Silva
vs
Shadow

188 cm
33
195 lbs
16 - 14 - 0

175 cm
22
185 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
KO power

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Hellbent

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 16 - 14 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Anderson Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Johny Shadow!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Dmitry Maklakov and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva tries to clinch but Shadow moves out of range.
Silva closes the distance looking to clinch

and Shadow counters with a single leg into guard. Silva didn't expect that.
Silva looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shadow is one step ahead there.
Shadow trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Shadow postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Silva trying to control the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shadow trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Shadow preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shadow stands and throws Silva's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Shadow lands a decent elbow from side control.
Shadow working away.
An elbow from Shadow crashes against the mat.

Shadow is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Silva has escaped the position, nice work there.
Shadow misses with the ground and pound.
Shadow wants to control but Silva is keeping him busy.

Shadow working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Shadow looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Silva is avoiding damage well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shadow cracks Silva with a big right hand but Silva just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Shadow trying to control the position but Silva is working away.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Shadow working his ground and pound in the gym.
Shadow working away.
Shadow has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Shadow cracks Silva with a big elbow.
Shadow throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
Shadow creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Shadow throws an elbow but Silva slips to the side and avoids it well.
Silva on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Silva tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva parries the strikes from Shadow easily there. Shadow is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Silva to escape.

Shadow looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Shadow working the ground and pound from side control.
Shadow scores with a couple of short elbows.
Shadow moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
Shadow cracks Silva with a big right hand but Silva just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva is being controlled here.
Shadow in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Shadow fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Shadow working the ground and pound.

Shadow thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Sloppy strikes there by Shadow.
Silva takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Shadow misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Silva tries to improve position but can't.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Shadow is working Silva over with some ground and pound from side control.

Shadow is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Silva is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shadow cracks Silva with an elbow. That is naaassty.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johny Shadow dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Shadow shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Silva manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Silva avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Shadow has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Silva is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Shadow wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva looking to hit a scissor sweep but Shadow is one step ahead there.
Silva controls Shadow momentarily but Shadow frees himself.
Silva will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Shadow passes into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva keeps control of the position for the meantime.

Shadow looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Shadow is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Silva has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Shadow is working away from the top position though.
Shadow lands strikes from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Shadow is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Shadow missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Shadow thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.
Silva knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Shadow on the ground.
Shadow not landing any meaningful shots this time.

Shadow is working for a submission of some sort.
Silva controlling the position for now.
Shadow 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Shadow thows a huge punch but Silva dodges it nicely.
Silva has hold of Shadow's hands but Shadow slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Shadow trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Silva blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shadow.
Shadow trying to control from half guard but Silva is working away.
Silva tries to roll over but Shadow keeps him under control.
Shadow slips a nice elbow through Silva's hands, connecting with Silva's forehead.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Shadow scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Shadow in particular looking to stall.
Shadow is looking to take a break and control but Silva is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Silva blocking the ground and pound attempt from Shadow.
Silva is refusing to be controlled, as Shadow sits in half guard.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Silva moves into the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Silva lands a hook to the side of the head.
Silva working aggressively here.
Shadow throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.
Silva misses with a hook from the clinch.
Shadow doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Johny Shadow showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Silva's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Silva wants to clinch
and Shadow connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Silva tries to clinch up but Shadow circles away and keeps his distance.
Shadow throws a big shot that misses.

Silva moves into the clinch successfully.
Silva tries to throw a body punch but Shadow avoids it by throwing Silva back against the cage.
Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Shadow blocking some punches.
Silva swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Shadow breaks the clinch.
Silva moves in looking to clinch but Shadow pushes him off.
Silva tries to clinch
and Shadow counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

Silva is rocked!
Silva closes the distance looking to clinch
and Shadow rattles Silva with a well-timed uppercut counter. - Silva tries to back away and recover but his hands are down low and he gets tagged again, sending him stumbling down to the canvas. Shadow dives in after him and quickly finishes the job with a trio of brutal punches, leaving Silva stiff and motionless on the mat!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:47 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Johny Shadow!
During a confident post fight interview, Johny Shadow thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.