PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva (ranked 1420 p4p, 182 weight class) and Cletus McDonald (ranked 1414 p4p, 179 weight class). McDonald has chosen Merle Haggard - Okie From Muskogee as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ferreira Da Silva
vs
McDonald

180 cm
25
193 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

184 cm
26
190 lbs
12 - 7 - 1

Good wrestling
World class MT
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Groove Gear

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 7 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cletus McDonald !
The judges for this bout are Nard Betker, Radbod Blank and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ferreira Da Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but McDonald swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to clinch up.
Ferreira Da Silva takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
We've been told by Ferreira Da Silva's head coaches at Brazilian Elite Team that he's been working on his takedown defense in preparation for this fight.
McDonald darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Ferreira Da Silva takes a body punch that cleary hurt but he's trying not to show any weakness.

Ferreira Da Silva moves into the clinch.
Nice body punch from Ferreira Da Silva.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with some punches.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a body punch.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Ferreira Da Silva creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a body punch.
McDonald blocks a punch to the side of the head.
McDonald wants to stall.
Ferreira Da Silva lands an uppercut.
McDonald doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
McDonald misses with some punches.
Ferreira Da Silva has a couple of punches blocked by McDonald .

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferreira Da Silva throws an elbow that misses.
McDonald looking to slow down the pace here.
McDonald lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Ferreira Da Silva backwards.
Ferreira Da Silva is leaning against McDonald and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A short left from Ferreira Da Silva.
A head punch on the inside from Ferreira Da Silva fails to land.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a nice shot to the body.
A short right from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a short punch on the inside.
McDonald stalls.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Ferreira Da Silva lands with a light punch inside.
McDonald lands a hook that snaps the head of Ferreira Da Silva backwards.
McDonald dodges an elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald is trying to stall.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
McDonald blocks a body shot from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald misses with a punch to the body.
Ferreira Da Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
McDonald blocking some punches.
Ferreira Da Silva swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Ferreira Da Silva lands on the inside with an uppercut.
McDonald just leaning against Ferreira Da Silva, taking a breather.
McDonald lands with a left to the head.
McDonald dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
McDonald slows down the pace here.
The crowd are getting on McDonald 's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
McDonald can't find room to land a body shot as Ferreira Da Silva controls the action.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Cletus McDonald .
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a kick to the body.
McDonald scores with a spinning back kick!
Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ferreira Da Silva gets a clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a body punch.
Ferreira Da Silva tries a body shot but McDonald blocks it.
McDonald takes an elbow to the forehead.

It looks like Cletus McDonald has been cut.
Ferreira Da Silva lands with a short head shot on the inside.
McDonald misses with a body punch.
Ferreira Da Silva scores with a shoulder strike.
McDonald looking to slow down the pace here.
McDonald avoids the elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva, against the cage.
McDonald holding his opponent close, against the cage.
McDonald stalling in the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Ferreira Da Silva fails to land.
McDonald dodges an elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald misses with the head strike.
McDonald stalling the fight.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with an elbow strike.
McDonald avoids the elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva, against the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of McDonald backwards.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

McDonald tightens his grip and picks Ferreira Da Silva up, before dumping him to the ground. Ferreira Da Silva manages to land in guard.
Ferreira Da Silva keeping moving, preventing McDonald from controlling successfully.
Ferreira Da Silva is pulling down on McDonald 's head to control his posture.
Ferreira Da Silva keeping full guard, as McDonald tries to pass.
McDonald stops Ferreira Da Silva from standing up.
McDonald trying to control the position from guard on top but Ferreira Da Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
McDonald is looking to work some ground and pound but Ferreira Da Silva has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Cletus McDonald 's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Ferreira Da Silva throws a leg kick but McDonald moved away.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a head kick.
McDonald appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
McDonald misses with an uppercut. Ferreira Da Silva saw that one coming.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to clinch up
and McDonald counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Ferreira Da Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - McDonald circles away.
Ferreira Da Silva fails in his attempt to clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with an attempted mid kick.
Ferreira Da Silva is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ferreira Da Silva fires out a quick counter leg kick but McDonald just manages to avoid it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ferreira Da Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Ferreira Da Silva closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva scores with a shot to the side of McDonald 's head.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Ferreira Da Silva.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A body shot lands from McDonald .
Ferreira Da Silva tried to land a shot to the body but connects with McDonald 's elbow.
McDonald is pushing Ferreira Da Silva up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a punch to the body.
McDonald tries to work over Ferreira Da Silva's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.

McDonald lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
McDonald prevents Ferreira Da Silva from standing back up.
McDonald not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
McDonald looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Ferreira Da Silva regains full guard. Nicely done.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferreira Da Silva wants to stand and escape but McDonald is having none of it.
Ferreira Da Silva keeping moving, preventing McDonald from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
McDonald pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ferreira Da Silva is keeping the position for now.
McDonald stops Ferreira Da Silva from standing up.
McDonald trying to control but Ferreira Da Silva is working from the bottom.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
McDonald avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to score with a low kick but McDonald moves his leg out of the way.
Ferreira Da Silva gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Ferreira Da Silva is looking to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Ferreira Da Silva darts in and clinches McDonald up against the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva working some nice short punches in the clinch.
McDonald throws a head punch that misses.
Ferreira Da Silva throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Ferreira Da Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as McDonald controls his hands.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a punch on the inside.
Ferreira Da Silva creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A hook to the body from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald dodges an elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva.
Ferreira Da Silva digs a right hand into McDonald 's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on McDonald 's gas tank.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Ferreira Da Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Ferreira Da Silva scores with a shot to the side of McDonald 's head.
Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva has scored more points in the clinch so far.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
A short body shot lands from Ferreira Da Silva as the two fighters clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down McDonald .
Ferreira Da Silva is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that McDonald can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McDonald blocks a body shot from Ferreira Da Silva.
Ferreira Da Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as McDonald controls his hands.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a left hand.
The referee calls for McDonald to work.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from McDonald .
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

McDonald works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.

Ferreira Da Silva uses the cage to get back to his feet.
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a low kick.

Ferreira Da Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.
McDonald taking a breather.
Ferreira Da Silva working aggressively here.
A shot in the inside from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald slows down the pace here.
With the fighters up against the cage, Ferreira Da Silva throws an elbow but misses.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Cletus McDonald 's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Ferreira Da Silva moves into range and connects with a jab.
A shot to the liver by Ferreira Da Silva. Beautiful body shot.

Ferreira Da Silva moves into range and clinches up with McDonald .
Ferreira Da Silva misses with a short punch on the inside.
Ferreira Da Silva lands with a light punch inside.
McDonald tries to stall but Ferreira Da Silva uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Ferreira Da Silva lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Ferreira Da Silva throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Ferreira Da Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Ferreira Da Silva lands an elbow that stopped McDonald in his tracks for a moment.
McDonald avoids a wild elbow strike from Ferreira Da Silva.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
McDonald taking a breather.
McDonald takes a shot to the head.
Ferreira Da Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.

McDonald lands a takedown into guard.

Ferreira Da Silva scrambles and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ferreira Da Silva closes the distance but McDonald moves to the side
and McDonald counters with a straight right hand.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
McDonald misses with a shot to the kidneys.
McDonald tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
McDonald gets through Ferreira Da Silva's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
McDonald presses Ferreira Da Silva against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
McDonald misses with the head strike.
A short left from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a body punch in the clinch.
McDonald avoiding damage.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a shoulder strike.
A short body shot lands from Ferreira Da Silva as the two fighters clinch.
Ferreira Da Silva doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Ferreira Da Silva pushes McDonald back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ferreira Da Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nice body punch from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ferreira Da Silva throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
McDonald is trying to maintain a safe position but Ferreira Da Silva gets an underhook and turns McDonald into the cage.
Ferreira Da Silva creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through McDonald 's defenses.
Ferreira Da Silva can't find room to land a body shot as McDonald controls the action.
McDonald is trying to maintain a safe position but Ferreira Da Silva gets an underhook and turns McDonald into the cage.
McDonald struggles to land a body shot inside as Ferreira Da Silva controls his hands.
A short uppercut from Ferreira Da Silva.
Ferreira Da Silva throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
McDonald lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

McDonald has hold of one of Ferreira Da Silva's legs. Ferreira Da Silva is fighting the takedown attempt but McDonald gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald stopping the sweep attempt from Ferreira Da Silva.
McDonald wants to control from the top but Ferreira Da Silva keeps moving.
McDonald pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Ferreira Da Silva is keeping the position for now.
McDonald prevents Ferreira Da Silva from getting back to his feet.
McDonald missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Cletus McDonald has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
McDonald won't allow Ferreira Da Silva to get back to his feet.
Ferreira Da Silva is trying to keep McDonald in close.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
McDonald preventing the sweep.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to clinch there but McDonald circles away.
McDonald throws a big counter head kick but Ferreira Da Silva avoids it with no problem.
Ferreira Da Silva lands a front kick.
Ferreira Da Silva wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A solid body kick from Ferreira Da Silva.
The fight stays on the outside here - Ferreira Da Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
McDonald is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but McDonald swats him away and circles back towards the center.
McDonald lands a head kick!
Ferreira Da Silva tries to land a leg kick but McDonald saw it coming and moves away.
McDonald misses with a double jab.
Ferreira Da Silva swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
Ferreira Da Silva connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Ferreira Da Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but McDonald paws at him with a jab and circles away.
McDonald checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Ferreira Da Silva connects with a nice looking jab.

And that's the end of the fight!
Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Ferreira Da 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 Nard Betker scores the fight 30:27
Judge Radbod Blank scores the fight 30:27
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Virgulino Ferreira Da Silva!
Cletus McDonald spoke after the fight, saying 'A country boy can survive'.