PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Joao Ribeiro Da Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Shotgun Trua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ribeiro Da Silva's entrance music is Soulfly - Pain. A fine choice. Trua comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Rancid - Ruby Soho kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Joao Ribeiro Da Silva could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Shotgun Trua's chin.

Ribeiro Da Silva
vs
Trua

185 cm
32
190 lbs
16 - 6 - 0

191 cm
30
191 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Instinct
GREEN!160

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 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joao Ribeiro Da Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Shotgun Trua!
The judges for this bout are Phil Schofield, Sam Margolis and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Trua fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Ribeiro Da Silva manages to avoid it.
Trua closes the distance looking to clinch
and Ribeiro Da Silva counters with a stiff right hand.
Ribeiro Da Silva takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Trua throws a shot from downtown. Ribeiro Da Silva moves away and avoids it.
Trua avoids a punch combination nicely.

Ribeiro Da Silva closes the distance and clinches.
Trua has a couple of punches blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ribeiro Da Silva can't find room to land a body shot as Trua controls the action.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Ribeiro Da Silva obliges.
Trua swings wildly with an uppercut but Ribeiro Da Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Trua fails to land.
Trua lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua misses with some punches.
Ribeiro Da Silva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Trua misses with some punches.
Trua misses with the head strike.
Trua blocking some punches.
A head punch on the inside from Trua fails to land.
Trua doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Trua lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Trua blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Trua tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A short right from Trua.
Trua misses with a short punch on the inside.
Trua blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Trua scores with a shot to the side of Ribeiro Da Silva's head.
Trua has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Ribeiro Da Silva seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Trua can turn it around.
Trua tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Ribeiro Da Silva's elbow.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocking some punches.
Trua lands a hook to the side of the head.
Trua misses with a hook from the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Ribeiro Da Silva.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Trua misses with a punch on the inside.
Ribeiro Da Silva trying to stall but Trua improves his position.
Ribeiro Da Silva landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocking some punches.
Trua tries to throw a body punch but Ribeiro Da Silva avoids it by throwing Trua back against the cage.
Trua pushes Ribeiro Da Silva back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Trua working aggressively here.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Trua stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Ribeiro Da Silva wants to stall.
Trua working aggressively here.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands a knee to the body.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
A head punch on the inside from Trua fails to land.
Ribeiro Da Silva connects with a nasty looking knee right to Trua's face.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee is keeping an eye on Ribeiro Da Silva - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Trua fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Trua lands with a left to the head.
Trua swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Ribeiro Da Silva tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Trua's elbow.
Trua lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Trua misses with a hook from the clinch.
Trua can't find room to land a body shot as Ribeiro Da Silva controls the action.
A head punch on the inside from Trua fails to land.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to stall but Trua uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Still in the clinch, Ribeiro Da Silva scores with a nice short uppercut.
Trua goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Trua fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ribeiro Da Silva using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Trua throws a head punch that misses.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
I was talking to Ribeiro Da Silva's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva is looking to control Trua's arms but Trua gets an underhook and turns him. Now Ribeiro Da Silva has his back to the cage.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a body shot from Trua.
Ribeiro Da Silva stalling in the clinch but Trua improves position.
Ribeiro Da Silva is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Trua has a couple of punches blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Trua swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Trua misses with the head strike.
Trua lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Trua lands a right hand that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to land a knee to the head but Trua blocks with his arms.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ribeiro Da Silva using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Trua has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Trua letting Ribeiro Da Silva take a breather here.
Trua lands a nice shot to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shotgun Trua dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Trua avoids a punch combination nicely.
Trua stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua lands a head shot.
Trua connects with a leg kick. Ribeiro Da Silva looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Trua cracks the inside of Ribeiro Da Silva's front leg.
Trua tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Ribeiro Da Silva manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ribeiro Da Silva punishes Trua's body with a nice straight punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ribeiro Da Silva fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Trua on the side of the head.
Ribeiro Da Silva punishes Trua's body with a nice straight punch.
Trua looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Trua takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Trua swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ribeiro Da Silva gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Trua gets through Ribeiro Da Silva's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Trua throws a head punch that misses.
Trua lands a hook that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Ribeiro Da Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as Trua controls his hands.
A short uppercut from Trua.
Trua doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Trua misses with a punch on the inside.
A short uppercut from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva gets through Trua's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Trua misses with the head strike.
Trua misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Ribeiro Da Silva is trying to maintain a safe position but Trua gets an underhook and turns Ribeiro Da Silva into the cage.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands a left hand.

Trua is rocked!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Ribeiro Da Silva takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Trua avoiding damage as Ribeiro Da Silva throws knees to the body.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
Trua lands with a right to the head.
Trua lands a left hand that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Trua tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Trua prevents a body shot from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua misses with a punch on the inside.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Trua.
Trua scores with a shoulder strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Trua.
Ribeiro Da Silva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Trua working aggressively here.
Trua goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Ribeiro Da Silva can't find room to land a body shot as Trua controls the action.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a knee strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trua working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva stalls.
Trua fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Trua lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Shotgun Trua seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Trua throws a punch but it's blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Trua throws a head punch that misses.
Trua pushes Ribeiro Da Silva back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Trua misses with a body punch.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short left from Trua.
Trua tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Trua misses with some punches.
Ribeiro Da Silva with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Trua misses with the head strike.
Ribeiro Da Silva trying to stall but Trua improves his position.
Trua working some nice short punches in the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Trua lands with a left to the head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Trua working aggressively here.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Trua.
Trua throws a punch but it's blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to land a knee to the head but Trua blocks with his arms.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
Trua lands a hook that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to work over Trua's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Ribeiro Da Silva is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Trua working aggressively here.
Trua lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Trua cracks Ribeiro Da Silva with a nice body shot.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to land a knee to the head but Trua blocks with his arms.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Shotgun Trua showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Ribeiro Da Silva throws a predictable looking body shot
and Ribeiro Da Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Ribeiro Da Silva stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Trua misses with an uppercut. Ribeiro Da Silva saw that one coming.

Ribeiro Da Silva has Trua up against the cage in a clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands with a short shot to the head.
Trua throws a punch but it's blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Ribeiro Da Silva is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Trua is defending well for now.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to throw a body punch but Trua avoids it by throwing Ribeiro Da Silva back against the cage.
Trua misses with some punches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Trua misses with a hook to the ribs.
Trua doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Trua tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
Trua swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a hook from the clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva has a couple of punches blocked by Trua.
A short right from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua throws a punch but it's blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva takes a shot to the head.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Ribeiro Da Silva will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Trua up against the cage.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Trua.
Trua swings wildly with an uppercut but Ribeiro Da Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.
Ribeiro Da Silva with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Trua misses with the head strike.
Nice body punch from Ribeiro Da Silva - that landed with a thud.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands with a left to the head.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
Joao Ribeiro Da Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a body punch.
A hook to the body from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua gets through Ribeiro Da Silva's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
A shot in the inside from Trua.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ribeiro Da Silva taking a breather.
Trua blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short left from Trua.
Ribeiro Da Silva wants to stall.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Ribeiro Da Silva takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Trua misses with some punches.
Trua blocking some punches.
Ribeiro Da Silva throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Trua blocks it with crossed arms.
Good body shot from Trua.
Still in the clinch, Ribeiro Da Silva scores with a nice short uppercut.
Trua fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A shot in the inside from Trua.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Trua throws a punch but it's blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks an uppercut.
Trua has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
A short right from Trua.
Trua misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Trua misses with a punch on the inside.
Trua tries to throw a body punch but Ribeiro Da Silva avoids it by throwing Trua back against the cage.
Trua lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Ribeiro Da Silva blocks a body shot from Trua.
Trua blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Trua scores with a nice hook to the head.
Trua misses with a hook from the clinch.
Trua blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Trua has a couple of punches blocked by Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Trua.
A hook to the body from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Trua lands a left hand.
Shotgun Trua is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to stall but Trua uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Ribeiro Da Silva lands a shoulder strike.
Ribeiro Da Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a hook from the clinch.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Ribeiro Da Silva stalling against the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Trua fails to land.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Trua.
Ribeiro Da Silva working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Trua lands a right hand that snaps the head of Ribeiro Da Silva backwards.
Ribeiro Da Silva goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Shotgun Trua.
I've got Trua 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 Phil Schofield scores the fight 28:29
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Shotgun Trua!
During a confident post fight interview, Shotgun Trua thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.