PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ralph Bonnano (ranked 2247 p4p, 97 weight class) and Adriano Silva (ranked 2721 p4p, 118 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Bonnano
vs
Silva

170 cm
26
144 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

176 cm
32
135 lbs
18 - 13 - 0

Good takedowns
Brawler
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
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 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ralph Bonnano!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Adriano Silva!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Matti Vanhoillinen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva works Bonnano's body with a nice hook.
Silva swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

so Bonnano counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Bonnano showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Bonnano drops back, looking for a kneebar! Silva looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Silva looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Silva!

Silva working away.
A lull in the action here.

Silva tries for a kimura but Bonnano is defending well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Silva wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Bonnano, who protects the arm well.
Silva scores with punches from side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bonnano is not content to let Silva control the position.

Silva decides to stand back up. Silva steps back and let's Bonnano get back to his feet.
Bonnano pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bonnano missing with a left hand there. Silva was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Bonnano takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Sloppy strikes from Silva. Those never looked like landing.
Silva takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Bonnano throws a shot to the body.
Silva takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Silva swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Bonnano, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Bonnano against the cage but Bonnano circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Bonnano connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Silva's hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Nice straight punches there by Silva. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Silva.
A punch combination from Bonnano misses.
Bonnano tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Silva swivels and escapes.
Bonnano looks to land a combination but Silva avoids it well.
A slow jab from Bonnano misses its intended target.
Bonnano ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Silva moves away.
Silva misses with a wild body shot.
Bonnano changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Silva paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Bonnano walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Silva swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Bonnano.
Silva throws a low kick, looking for Bonnano's leg but Bonnano calmly moves out of range.
Silva throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Silva keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Bonnano throws the left hand but Silva avoids the punch easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonnano shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Silva sprawls well. Silva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Bonnano gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ralph Bonnano. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bonnano throws a right and a left that Silva avoids nicely.
Silva scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Bonnano defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Silva.
Silva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Bonnano manages to avoid it.
Bonnano tries to counter with a takedown but Silva is quick to defend against it.
Silva throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Silva slips a jab from Bonnano.
Silva with the counter takedown but Bonnano avoids it easily.
Silva pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bonnano's corner calls for a 1-2. Bonnano obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Silva. No joy for Bonnano on that attempt.
Silva is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Silva shoots in but Bonnano avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Silva lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bonnano has a takedown stuffed.

Silva shoots in and gets a takedown into Bonnano's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Silva got a little sloppy there for a moment and Bonnano has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Silva has managed to get both his arms back between Bonnano's legs - danger averted.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Bonnano is proving hard to escape from.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Silva working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Silva content to stall in guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Adriano Silva dominated that 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.

Silva throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bonnano sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Silva misses with a wild body shot.
Bonnano keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Silva.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Bonnano.
Silva gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Bonnano dives in for a single leg takedown but Silva sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Silva throws a hook but Bonnano avoids it easily.
Bonnano ducks under a wild hook from Silva.
A looping hook to the body misses from Silva. Bonnano does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nice shot lands for Bonnano.
Bonnano uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Silva.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva misses with the combination.
Bonnano leaves Silva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Silva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Silva misses with an uppercut

and Bonnano counters with a takedown into side control.

Silva explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sloppy strikes from Bonnano. Those never looked like landing.
Ralph Bonnano seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Bonnano, as that shot connected.

Bonnano is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Silva's half guard.

Silva kicks Bonnano off and gets back to his feet.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Silva connects with a nice looking jab.
Silva fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Bonnano looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Bonnano misses with a looping left.
And Silva tries to counter it with a takedown but Bonnano pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Silva pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Bonnano misses with a series of wild punches.

Silva gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Adriano Silva has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bonnano trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Bonnano won't allow Silva to sweep him here.
Bonnano postures up.
Bonnano wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Bonnano trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Silva is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Bonnano is not content to let Silva control the position.
Bonnano is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Silva's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Silva's back!
Bonnano trying to control momentarily.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Silva is keeping busy.
You can see the frustration on Silva's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to stand back up.
Silva looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.

Silva defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Bonnano's arms.
Silva breaks Bonnano's hooks off and manages to turn into his guard.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Bonnano is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Adriano Silva will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Silva gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Bonnano blocks a jab.
Adriano Silva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Silva throws a leg kick but Bonnano moved away.
Bonnano misses with a hook. Silva ducked under it nicely.
Silva darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Silva takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Bonnano is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Silva misses with a looping left.
Bonnano tries to counter with a takedown but Silva is quick to defend against it.
Bonnano keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Bonnano changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Silva misses with a body shot.
A punch combination from Silva misses.
Silva misses with a double jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

Silva shoots in and gets a takedown into Bonnano's guard.

The fighters are working up against the cage. Bonnano manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva lands a nice uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva lands an uppercut.
A frustrated look appears on Silva's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bonnano swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Silva goes for a takedown attempt but Bonnano pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Ralph Bonnano is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bonnano thows a left - swing and a miss!
Bonnano looks for a takedown but Silva sprawls well.
Silva cracks Bonnano with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Bonnano throws a right hand that Silva ducks under and follows up with a left that Silva also avoids with ease.
A head kick from Silva lands but Bonnano takes it in his stride.
Bonnano fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Bonnano dives in and grabs Silva's left leg, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes down on Bonnano's head and hops out.
Bonnano shoots in looking for a takedown. Silva tries to sprawl out of it but Bonnano keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Silva manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ralph Bonnano. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva slips a jab and a cross from Bonnano.
Silva lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Bonnano paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Silva lands a nice hook to Bonnano's body. Bonnano takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Silva shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Bonnano eats them both and turns towards Silva to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Silva lands with a cross.
Silva takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Bonnano takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Silva lands with a thumping leg kick.
Bonnano walks into a straight right hand from Silva.
Bonnano looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Bonnano walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Silva tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bonnano connects with a body shot.
Bonnano works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Bonnano takes one to the side of the head.
Bonnano fails to land with a series of punches.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Silva.
Bonnano swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Silva.
Silva misses with a takedown attempt - Bonnano sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Silva pivots, looking for a leg kick but Bonnano is out of range and Silva settles back down.
Silva throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Bonnano sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bonnano throws a hook but Silva blocks it.

Bonnano darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.

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

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva lands with a hook. Bonnano tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Bonnano ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Silva moves away.
Silva feints the counter takedown.
Bonnano misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Silva works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Bonnano misses with a body shot.
Silva throws a lazy right hand but Bonnano sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Silva throws a body punch but Bonnano moves out of range.
Bonnano avoids the body shot from Silva.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva misses with a hook

and Bonnano counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Silva!
You can see the frustration on Silva's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Ralph Bonnano has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Silva is trying to avoid being dragged into an even worse position than he's already in but Bonnano is staying active.

And that's the end of the fight!
Adriano Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Silva 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30

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