PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Thiago Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Arturo Gatti (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Gatti has chosen AC/DC ThunderStruck as his entrance music. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Silva
vs
Gatti

175 cm
21
130 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

171 cm
22
132 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Thiago Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Arturo Gatti!
The judges for this bout are Damien Edna, Hugh Johnson and Winston Howard.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva shoots for a double leg takedown but Gatti sprawls well. He's pushed Silva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
No luck for Silva with that takedown attempt.
Gatti shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Silva pinned against the cage. Silva gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Gatti leaves Silva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thiago Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gatti throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Silva on the side of the head.
Gatti lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Silva circles away quickly and effectively.
Silva shoots for a double leg takedown but Gatti sprawls well. He's pushed Silva's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Gatti looks to land a combination but Silva avoids it well.
Silva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Gatti pinned against the cage. Gatti gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Silva takes one on the button.
Gatti fails with the takedown

and Silva counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Gatti's guard now.
Gatti wants to stand but Silva is controlling the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva wants to control from the top but Gatti keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gatti is keeping the position for now.
Gatti looks gassed!
Gatti wants to stand but Silva is controlling the position.
Silva missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Silva trying to control but Gatti is working from the bottom.
Gatti wants to stand and escape but Silva is having none of it.
Silva slips nicely into half guard.
Silva is keen to just control but Gatti is a slippery customer.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Silva shoots in looking for a takedown. Gatti tries to sprawl out of it but Silva keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Gatti manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Silva shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Gatti's guard.
Silva really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Silva trying to control but Gatti is working from the bottom.
Silva slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Silva passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Gatti!
Silva is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Gatti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Gatti really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Silva. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Silva looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Gatti in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gatti's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Silva lands a big elbow.
Silva has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gatti's face.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.
Gatti is trying to stand.
The referee warns Gatti that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Gatti is wriggling around trying to escape.
A nice elbow there by Silva.
Gatti is in a horrible position here. Silva smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's four 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.
Gatti is trying to escape the mount.
Silva breaks from Gatti's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Silva looking to finish Gatti with some ground and pound. This is bad for Gatti!
Silva controlling the pace for now.
Silva lands with some strikes.
Silva has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Gatti working to try and regain half guard.
Silva has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Gatti's face.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thiago Silva dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Silva has his takedown stuffed

and Gatti counters with a takedown into side control.
Silva tries to escape but Gatti is in control.

Gatti wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Silva, who protects the arm well.
Silva is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Gatti has just dragged him back down to the mat.

Silva explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Gatti throws a left and a right that both miss

and Silva counters with a takedown into side control.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Silva throwing strikes but missing, from side control.
Silva has knee on belly and moves into mount.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gatti is trying to stand up.
Silva dominating with strikes here.
A nice elbow there by Silva.
Silva landing strikes from the mount and Gatti is in trouble!
Silva lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Silva lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Gatti holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Silva tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Gatti is in all sorts of trouble here.
Gatti in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Silva working the ground and pound effectively.

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.
Gatti avoids a series of strikes thrown by Silva.
Silva landing shots from mount.
Gatti avoids a series of strikes thrown by Silva.
Gatti holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Silva tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva punching from mount but Gatti doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Silva throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.
A nice elbow there by Silva.
Gatti is bucking up trying to escape but Silva cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva landing strikes, looking to finish!
Silva avoids the attempt from Gatti to control.
Gatti taking shots to the head.
Silva unloading with bombs!
Silva thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Silva connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
A nice elbow there by Silva.
Silva lands a nice shot to the head.
Thiago Silva overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gatti is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Silva is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Gatti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
A nice elbow there by Silva.

That's four 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.
Silva unloading with bombs!
Silva lands a big elbow.
Gatti is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Silva breaks from Gatti's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Silva lands a big elbow.
Gatti is working to get back to half guard.
Silva pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Silva looking to control but Gatti is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Silva lands with some strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thiago Silva dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Gatti with a nice cross.
Gatti stuffs the takedown.
Silva shoots in but Gatti avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Silva dodges the punch combination from Gatti.
Silva shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Gatti but Gatti pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thiago Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The fight stays on the outside here - Gatti looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Gatti fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva shoots and misses
and Gatti counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

Gatti forces Silva back against the cage and clinches.
Gatti has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Gatti is trying to break the clinch but Silva has him pressed against the cage.
Silva has Gatti pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Gatti manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Gatti gets underhooks to prevent Silva's takedown attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva goes for a takedown attempt but Gatti pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Silva looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Gatti is fending him off so far but Silva persists. Nope, Gatti circles away and we're back to standing.
Gatti tries to clinch but Silva moves away

so Silva counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva with a nice head shot there.
Silva working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Gatti can do anything to dispel that myth.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Silva accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Silva works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Silva trying to control the action but Gatti is working from the bottom.
Gatti is trying to stand up here but Silva is controlling him well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gatti is in trouble now - Silva has advanced to mount!
Gatti really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Gatti is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Silva landing punches.
Silva is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Gatti can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Silva pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Silva lands a big elbow.
A nice elbow there by Silva.
Silva with shots to the head and body - Gatti looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gatti is trying to stand up.
Silva trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Silva breaks from Gatti's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Silva lands a big elbow.
Silva landing strikes, looking to finish!
Silva lands a heavy elbow.
Silva can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Gatti is looking to escape.
Silva pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Silva cracks Gatti with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Silva controlling the position easily from mount.
Gatti trying desperately to get to his feet.
Silva landing shots from mount.
Silva looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Gatti takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Gatti swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.
Silva lands a big shot there that rocks Gatti but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Arturo Gatti has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thiago Silva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Silva tries to control but Gatti wriggling away.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thiago Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Silva, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Winston Howard scores the fight 30:27

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