PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anderson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcelo Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Silva
vs
Rua

187 cm
20
190 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

187 cm
18
185 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Tends to cut

Diamond Design Clothing
Team S.W.A.T.

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 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anderson Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Rua!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Matheus Silva and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rua shoots in but no luck this time.
Anderson Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rua looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.

Rua gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Silva tries to pull guard but Rua holds him up against the cage and eventually Silva drops back down to his feet.
Rua is pressed up against the cage. Silva has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Rua down to the mat. Rua avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Silva clinches but Rua breaks the clinch

and Rua holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Silva tries to pull guard but Rua holds him up against the cage and eventually Silva drops back down to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anderson Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Rua breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Silva shoots and misses

and Rua counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rua 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Rua 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.
Rua wants to pass the guard but Silva is keeping the position.

Rua stands up from Silva's guard - Rua perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Silva has his takedown stuffed
and Rua counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Silva is breathing heavily.
Rua swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Rua clinches.
Silva wants to get back to striking at distance but Rua won't allow it.
Silva gets underhooks to prevent Rua's takedown attempt.
Rua tries to pull guard but Silva won't allow it.
Silva misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Rua.
Rua tries to pull guard but Silva won't allow it.
Silva looking to throw knees to the head but Rua is blocking nicely.
Silva tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Rua just stands there and leans against the cage.
Rua lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Rua blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Silva tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Rua stalling in the clinch.
Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as Rua controls his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rua works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Rua sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Rua wants to stand but Silva has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Rua is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

Silva wriggles free and stands up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Rua.

Rua decides to stand back up.
Silva doesn't succeed with the takedown

so Rua counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Rua must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Silva looking for a guillotine here but Rua defends easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Silva darts in trying to clinch

and Rua counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rua.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Rua trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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

Silva shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Rua slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua working for submissions but it's allowed Silva to get to half guard.

Rua makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Silva gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Rua counters by clinching up.
Silva has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Rua avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.

Rua turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Rua manages to end up in side control.
Marcelo Rua has got the better of the ground game so far.
Rua scoring with punches from side control.

Rua is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Silva has escaped the position, nice work there.
Silva tries to buck Rua off but Rua is having none of it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua wants to lay and pray for a moment but Silva keeps working.
Silva being controlled for a moment.
Silva strikes from the bottom but Rua takes advantage and advances to full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Rua has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Silva's face.
Rua trying to control but Silva is having none of it.

Rua is standing up, even though he is in mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcelo Rua showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Silva misses with a takedown

and Rua counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Rua trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Rua content to stall in guard here.
Rua trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Rua looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Silva working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Rua.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Silva looking for subs off his back but Rua has passed one foot through into half guard.
Rua is nestled in close to Silva, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Rua takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua moves into full mount! Silva won't be happy about that!
Rua can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Silva is looking to escape.
Rua controlling the position easily from mount.

That's four 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.
Silva working to try and regain half guard.
Anderson Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Marcelo Rua is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Rua scores with a couple of good head shots there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcelo Rua comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Rua has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Emerson Jorge scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulo Santos scores the fight 27:30

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