PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Vaai Finau (ranked 1808 p4p, 2312 weight class) and Cairo Silva (ranked 241 p4p, 298 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Finau
vs
Silva

196 cm
25
220
7 - 5 - 0

194 cm
34
218
14 - 11 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Vaai Finau!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 11 - 0, fighting out of London, Cairo Silva!
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Albert Achterberg and Saam Ante.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Finau tests Silva's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Finau fails with the takedown.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Silva! But no joy.
Finau misses with a few strikes there.
Finau tries a low kick but Silva avoids it.
Finau looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Silva is fending him off so far but Finau persists. Nope, Silva circles away and we're back to standing.
Finau's jab looks to have found its range, popping Silva under the eye.
Finau connects with a body shot.
Silva walks into a straight right hand from Finau.
Finau lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Silva connects with a solid leg kick.
Finau lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Silva darts in and clinches Finau up against the cage.
Silva scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Finau blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Finau has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Silva uses from the top position.
Silva wants to get up but he can't break Finau's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Silva preventing the sweep.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finau is working hard here to advance position.

Silva decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Silva tries to clinch there but Finau circles away.
Silva tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Finau counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Silva!
The strikes coming from Finau are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Silva takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Finau with the ground and pound but Silva regains half guard under the barage of strikes.
Finau missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Finau wants to free his trapped foot but Silva is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Finau missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Silva is trying to stand.
Finau winds up and cracks Silva with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Silva avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Finau.
Finau not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Finau trying to mount his opponent but Silva defends it.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva is staying active underneath Finau, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Finau wants to work for an arm triangle but Silva is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Finau thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Finau looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Silva is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Finau scores with a couple of nice shots.
Silva pushes Finau off looking to stand but Finau dives back in and keeps control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Finau not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Silva keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Finau throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Silva keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Finau thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.
Finau sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Silva defending well though.
Finau with the ground and pound but Silva uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Finau from controlling successfully.
Finau loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Finau prevents Silva from getting back to his feet.
Finau throws a strike but Silva rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Finau is trying to keep Silva in close.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Finau is proving hard to escape from.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Finau holds on and takes a little breather.
Silva would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Finau is adopting a defensive guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Finau is trying hard to land a takedown here. Silva sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Vaai Finau. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Finau chopping away at his opponent's legs.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vaai Finau dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Silva wants to land a leg kick but Finau is out of range.
An attempted straight right counter from Finau misses the target.
A head kick by Finau misses
and Silva cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.

It looks like Vaai Finau has been cut.
A swing and a miss from Silva.
Donk. Finau catches Silva right on the button with a cross.
Finau paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Vaai Finau is winning the standup battle so far.
Silva tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Silva misses with a leg kick.
Finau cracks Silva with a right hand to the side of the head.

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

The fighters are working up against the cage. Silva manages to wriggle his way back to his feet, so the fighters are now clinched against the cage.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Silva putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Finau in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Silva with a knee to the head.
Finau tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Silva smiles and moves away.
Silva tried to score with a low kick but Finau checks it.
Silva throws a low kick but Finau moves out of range easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Silva lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finau misses with a shot to the body
and Silva counters with a good low kick that Finau was not able to check.
Silva scores with a sloppy right hand. Finau should have avoided that one.
Finau throws a right hand that misses
and Silva counters with a stiff right hand.

Finau is rocked!
Silva throws a pinpoint strike between Finau's hands that connects right on the jaw and sends Finau crashing to the floor! He's out before he even hits the mat and Silva scores a great knockout victory!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:17 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Punch). Cairo Silva!