PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Daniel Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Johnny Hick (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Silva comes to the cage accompanied by Victory. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Silva
vs
Hick

155 cm
18
135 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

166 cm
19
135 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite 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 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Daniel Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Johnny Hick!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Alexandre Firmino and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Silva shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Silva lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Silva avoids the attempt from Hick to control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva cracks Hick with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Silva trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Silva with the ground and pound from mount.
Silva looking to finish Hick with some ground and pound. This is bad for Hick!
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!
Hick bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hick throws a big elbow that misses.
Hick looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hick drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Hick jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Hick throws a strike but Silva rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Silva wants to control from the top but Hick keeps moving.

That's two 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.
Hick looking to control.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Hick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Silva cracks Hick with a solid left hand.
Silva slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Silva missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Hick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Daniel Silva wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hick tries to clinch there but Silva circles away.

Silva drives through with a takedown into guard.
Silva slips nicely into half guard.
Hick avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Silva.
Silva trying to control from Hick's half guard. Hick has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Silva trying to control but Hick is working from the bottom.
Silva trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Silva stops Hick from standing up.
Silva looking to sit in guard and control but Hick gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hick drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Silva manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Hick has Silva in his guard.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Hick swivels though and keeps the full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva trying to control but Hick is working from the bottom.
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 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.

Daniel 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.

Hick throws a combination that misses

and Silva decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Hick's guard.
Hick controls Silva momentarily but Silva frees himself.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Silva accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Silva wants to control from the top but Hick keeps moving.
Hick lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Silva!
Silva is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hick controlling from mount.
Silva trying desperately to get to his feet.

Hick goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Silva turns into him and now he's in Hick's guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Silva postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Hick is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Silva, into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Silva has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Hick off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Hick leaves Silva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Hick is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Silva could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hick shoots in for a takedown but Silva shows good takedown defense.
Silva misses with a wild body shot.

Silva drives through with a takedown into guard.
Hick trying to keep a closed guard but Silva is proving a slippery customer.
Silva throws a strike but Hick rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
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.
Hick throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hick 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 thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hick trying to keep a closed guard but Silva is proving a slippery customer.

Silva drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Silva jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Daniel 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. And we move into the final round!

Silva avoids the head kick by Hick.

Hick clinches with his opponent.
Silva is looking for a takedown.
Hick is pressed up against the cage. Silva has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Hick down to the mat. Hick avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Sloppy strikes from Hick. Those never looked like landing.
Hick shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Silva keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Hick.
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hick as he avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Daniel Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hick looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Silva is fending him off so far but Hick persists. Nope, Silva circles away and we're back to standing.
Hick digs a good hook to Silva's body.
Silva connects with a single shot there.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hick tries to sprawl but Silva drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Hick takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Silva wants to control but Hick is keeping him busy.

Silva is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Hick has managed to free his arm - good work.
Silva sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Hick defending well though.
Silva missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Silva looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hick with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hick is trying to control but can't.
Silva is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.

Silva seems to be looking for submissions.
Silva working over Hick with some ground and pound. Hick looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hick has hold of Silva's hands but Silva slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
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 wants to control but Hick is keeping him busy.
Silva working Hick over with strikes.
Silva not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Silva wants to pass to mount but Hick is defending the position.
Hick is pressing down on Silva's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hick keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Daniel Silva overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Silva is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Hick preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Hick's head.
Silva is looking to work some ground and pound but Hick has wrist control.
Silva with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Silva postures up and lands a big shot to Hick's brow.
Silva pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Hick is keeping the position for now.
Silva wants to control from the top but Hick keeps moving.
Silva postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Hick being controlled here, momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Hick is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Daniel Silva wasn't doing enough on the ground.

Silva shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Silva missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Hick with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Hick won't allow Silva to pass to mount.
Johnny Hick has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Daniel Silva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Silva is keen to just control but Hick is a slippery customer.

And that's the end of the fight!
Daniel 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 30:27
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Daniel Silva!
Daniel Silva decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.