PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Cecil Silva (ranked 24782 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lee Thomas (ranked 6092 p4p, 262 weight class). Lee Thomas has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Silva
vs
Thomas

162 cm
25
140 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

180 cm
25
139 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cecil Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lee Thomas!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, George Francis and Wesley Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva misses with a two punch combination.
Thomas has his takedown stuffed

and Silva counters with a takedown into side control.
Thomas struggling a bit here.
Thomas is holding Silva down, trying to stall.
Silva staying calm.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas throws an elbow to the body but it doesn't land.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Thomas manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Thomas is trying to control. Silva wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Thomas tries to stand and escape but Silva is controlling the position.
Thomas wants to take a breather but Silva is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Thomas wants to take a breather but Silva is having none of it.
Silva regains full guard. Nicely done.
Silva looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Thomas stops Silva from standing up.
Silva has Thomas pulled in close to control his posture.
Thomas postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas tries to score a power double leg takedown but Silva sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Thomas somewhat.

Silva moves into range and clinches up with Thomas.

Silva's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Thomas shoots in but no luck this time.
Cecil Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lee Thomas.
A shot to the body from Thomas misses
and Silva cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Thomas shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Silva defends it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva stuffs the takedown attempt from Thomas. Thomas gets slowly back to his feet.
Thomas uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Silva.

Silva has Thomas up against the cage in a clinch.

Silva manages to break the clinch.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Thomas closes the distance and pushes Silva back into the cage.
Silva looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Silva tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Thomas just stands there and leans against the cage.

Thomas's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cecil Silva dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Thomas gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Thomas tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silva just stands there and leans against the cage.

Silva jumps guard.
Thomas scoring with punches to the head and body.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Silva holds on and takes a little breather.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Thomas from controlling successfully.
Thomas throws a big elbow that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva is pulling down on Thomas's head to control his posture.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Thomas is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas wanted to stand there but Silva had control of the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Thomas looks for a takedown but Silva sprawls well.
Thomas shoots for a takedown but Silva saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Cecil Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lee Thomas.
Thomas shoots and misses

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into side control. Thomas won't be happy with that.

Thomas bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
Cecil Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Thomas fails with the takedown

and Silva counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Silva.
Thomas is breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Thomas just stands there and leans against the cage.

Thomas breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Thomas darts in looking for a takedown but Silva gets double underhooks and turns Thomas into the cage.
Silva changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Thomas dives in for a single leg takedown but Silva sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Thomas gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Silva is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Thomas is trying to stand back up but Silva is controlling him
Thomas throws a sloppy strike from the bottom. He's now off balance and Silva manages to pass to side control.
Thomas is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

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.
Silva slows the pace down.
Silva working away.
Silva lands an elbow.

Silva tries for a kimura but Thomas is defending well.
A lull in the action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Thomas tries to buck Silva off but Silva is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Cecil Silva dominated that second 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. 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.

Thomas has a takedown stuffed.
Silva fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Thomas replies with a solid counter kick to the body but Silva blocks it well.

Silva moves into the clinch.
Silva fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Thomas is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Silva is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Silva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Thomas shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Silva sprawls well. Silva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Thomas gets slowly back to his feet.
Cecil Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lee Thomas.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thomas throws a lazy head kick

so Silva counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.
Thomas has control of Silva's left arm, preventing Silva from doing any damage.
Thomas keeping full guard, as Silva tries to pass.
Silva postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Silva is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Thomas can do to turn this around?
Thomas slaps away a takedown attempt from Silva, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thomas darts in and clinches Silva up against the cage.
Silva taking a breather.

Silva pulls guard.
Thomas looking to sit in guard and control but Silva gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Silva sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Silva seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Thomas for as long as he can get away with.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Thomas looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Silva has picked Thomas up and slammed him! Thomas can't keep hold of the triangle and Silva manages to pass to side control!
Silva just content to control the position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thomas manages to work his way to half guard, despite Silva's best efforts.
Lee Thomas has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Cecil Silva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Silva controlling the pace.

And that's the end of the fight!
Cecil Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Silva 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Cecil Silva!