PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Kobe Bryant (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joao Ribeiro Da Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Ribeiro Da Silva has chosen Soulfly - Pain as his entrance music. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Bryant
vs
Ribeiro Da Silva

192 cm
26
187 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

185 cm
32
190 lbs
16 - 7 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Voodoo Nutrition
MayheM sportswear

Voodoo Nutrition

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 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kobe Bryant!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 16 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joao Ribeiro Da Silva!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Daniel Franklin and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bryant ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ribeiro Da Silva moves away.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to counter with a clinch but Bryant shakes him off and moves away.
Bryant looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to counter by closing the distance.
Bryant paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A combination from Ribeiro Da Silva does no damage.
Bryant tried to counter with a leg kick but Ribeiro Da Silva avoided it.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a head kick.
Ribeiro Da Silva falls off balance throwing a combination
and Bryant counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to clinch up but Bryant circles away and keeps his distance.
Bryant looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
A head kick from Ribeiro Da Silva lands but Bryant takes it in his stride.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bryant throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Ribeiro Da Silva counters with a nice leg kick.
A low kick from Bryant is predictable there
and Ribeiro Da Silva counters with a head kick. That will keep Bryant thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Ribeiro Da Silva swings for the body but Bryant moves out of range.
Bryant has been working on his boxing with his coaches at LOD: Lightning Kicks (MaxID260K) in the buildup to the fight.
Kobe Bryant seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A jab from Bryant misses.
Bryant lands an overhand right.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva throws a nice looking combination but Bryant bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Bryant tried to counter with a leg kick but Ribeiro Da Silva avoided it.
Bryant checks the leg kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Bryant. That's going to slow Ribeiro Da Silva down.
Bryant lets loose with a powerful body kick. Ribeiro Da Silva will feel that in the morning.
Ribeiro Da Silva drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Bryant scores with the left hand. Ribeiro Da Silva knows he should have avoided that one.
Ribeiro Da Silva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Ribeiro Da Silva finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Bryant swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Bryant drives through with a takedown into guard.
Ribeiro Da Silva has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Bryant looking to pass the guard.
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.
Ribeiro Da Silva keeping moving, preventing Bryant from controlling successfully.
Ribeiro Da Silva trying to keep a closed guard but Bryant is proving a slippery customer.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bryant tries to free his leg and advance position but Ribeiro Da Silva is retaining full guard.
Bryant stopping the sweep attempt from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Bryant tries to free his leg and advance position but Ribeiro Da Silva is retaining full guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Bryant has gone for a leg lock! Ribeiro Da Silva slips out almost immediately though and dives into Bryant's guard.

Bryant looking for a sweep. Not yet Bryant, not yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ribeiro Da Silva got a little sloppy there for a moment and Bryant has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ribeiro Da Silva has managed to get both his arms back between Bryant's legs - danger averted.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ribeiro Da Silva accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Bryant had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Ribeiro Da Silva defends it easily.

Bryant throws his legs up looking for a submission but Ribeiro Da Silva uses it to pass to side control.
Ribeiro Da Silva moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.

That's four 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.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Bryant tries to buck Ribeiro Da Silva off but Ribeiro Da Silva is having none of it.
Bryant is working hard here to advance position.
Bryant struggling a bit here.
Ribeiro Da Silva cracks Bryant with a big elbow.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to score with some ground and pound. Bryant controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Kobe Bryant will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

An inside leg kick lands from Bryant.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a wild body shot.
Bryant lands a slapping body shot.
Bryant scores with a nice head shot.
A telegraphed right hand from Ribeiro Da Silva misses the target.
Bryant scores with the left hand. Ribeiro Da Silva knows he should have avoided that one.
Bryant's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Bryant duly obliges.
Kobe Bryant is winning the standup battle so far.
Bryant checks the leg kick.
Ribeiro Da Silva pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Bryant lands a right hook to the body.
Ribeiro Da Silva lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bryant throws an overhand right that lands on Ribeiro Da Silva's shoulder, as Ribeiro Da Silva tries to avoid the shot.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Bryant manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Ribeiro Da Silva tries a head kick but it misses.
Bryant throws a right hand that Ribeiro Da Silva ducks under and follows up with a left that Ribeiro Da Silva also avoids with ease.
Ribeiro Da Silva shapes to counter with a head kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bryant avoids the head kick by Ribeiro Da Silva.

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

Bryant drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Ribeiro Da Silva manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Bryant has Ribeiro Da Silva in his guard.

Bryant has control of Ribeiro Da Silva's left arm, preventing Ribeiro Da Silva from doing any damage.

Bryant has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ribeiro Da Silva can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Bryant is trying to keep Ribeiro Da Silva in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bryant working a defensive guard but Ribeiro Da Silva manages to pass into side control anyway.
Ribeiro Da Silva controls the position.
Bryant tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Ribeiro Da Silva wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Ribeiro Da Silva looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Bryant is avoiding damage well.
Bryant is looking for a sweep.
Ribeiro Da Silva working the ground and pound but Bryant is defending the strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bryant is trying to control Ribeiro Da Silva's posture but Ribeiro Da Silva avoids it.
Bryant is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Ribeiro Da Silva's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Bryant gets back to full guard.
Ribeiro Da Silva is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Bryant looking for a sweep. Not yet Bryant, not yet.
Kobe Bryant overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four 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.
Ribeiro Da Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Bryant is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Joao Ribeiro Da Silva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with a head kick.
Bryant cracks Ribeiro Da Silva with a right hand to the side of the head.
Bryant fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Bryant looks to score with a jab to the body but Ribeiro Da Silva is just out of range.
Good work by Bryant as he checks the leg kick.
Ribeiro Da Silva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Bryant manages to avoid it.
Bryant misses with a combination
letting Ribeiro Da Silva counter with a right hand.
Bryant takes a swing at Ribeiro Da Silva's ribcage but misses.
A nice side step and Ribeiro Da Silva releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Ribeiro Da Silva dips to his left and cracks Bryant with an uppercut!
Bryant on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Bryant cracks the inside of Ribeiro Da Silva's front leg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kobe Bryant dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Bryant scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
A head kick by Ribeiro Da Silva misses
and Bryant counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Bryant jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Bryant misses with a hook
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Ribeiro Da Silva is looking to score with low kicks.
A counter left hand to the body from Bryant misses its target.
Bryant misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Bryant walks into a straight right hand from Ribeiro Da Silva.
Bryant misses with a takedown attempt
and Ribeiro Da Silva counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Bryant changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Ribeiro Da Silva looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bryant working away.
Ribeiro Da Silva manages to get back to half guard.

Bryant seems to be working for a kimura but Ribeiro Da Silva defends the submission attempt.
Bryant controlling the action here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ribeiro Da Silva is trying to get back to full guard.
Ribeiro Da Silva is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Ribeiro Da Silva trying to control here.
Bryant is looking to take a break and control but Ribeiro Da Silva is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Joao Ribeiro Da Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two 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.
Bryant works his foot free and advances to mount.
Ribeiro Da Silva is in all sorts of trouble here.
Bryant fails to advance to Ribeiro Da Silva's back.
Bryant controlling his opponent.

Bryant goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Ribeiro Da Silva turns into him and now he's in Bryant's guard.
Bryant is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bryant is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ribeiro Da Silva wants to control from the top but Bryant keeps moving.
Ribeiro Da Silva stays in close to Bryant's body and controls the position.
Bryant is pulling down on Ribeiro Da Silva's head to control his posture.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Bryant trying to keep a closed guard but Ribeiro Da Silva is proving a slippery customer.
Kobe Bryant is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Ribeiro Da Silva looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Ribeiro Da Silva throws a sloppy head kick
and Bryant counters with a nice kick to the body.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bryant takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Ribeiro Da Silva looks to score with a jab to the body but Bryant is just out of range.
Ribeiro Da Silva has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Ribeiro Da Silva misses with an uppercut
and Bryant cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kobe Bryant showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Bryant 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kobe Bryant!
Kobe Bryant was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.