PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Muricio Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vitor Belfort (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Belfort comes into a darkened arena with his song building. Phenom kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Silva
vs
Belfort

188 cm
22
176 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

183 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Muricio Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vitor Belfort!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Leandro Rodrigues and Matheus Silva.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva keeps the fight on the outside.

Belfort has taken the fight to the clinch.
Belfort throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.
Belfort lands a hook to the side of the head.
Belfort is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Belfort lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Silva taking a breather.
Belfort gets through Silva's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Silva on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Belfort throws a head punch that misses.
Silva drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Silva tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Belfort just stands there and leans against the cage.
Silva has Belfort pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Belfort manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Muricio Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A short left from Belfort.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Belfort.
Belfort missing with knees to the body.
Belfort lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Belfort swings wildly with an uppercut but Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.
Belfort missing with knees to the body.
Silva tries to pull guard but Belfort won't allow it.
Silva takes a shot to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva jumps guard but Belfort stands there with Silva around his waist. Silva gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Belfort throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Silvas head.
Silva tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Belfort tries to land a knee to the head but Silva blocks with his arms.
Belfort is looking to break free of the clinch but Silva has double underhooks.
A short uppercut from Belfort.
Belfort lands a right hand that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
Belfort lands an uppercut.
Silva tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Belfort has a couple of punches blocked by Silva.
Belfort pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Silva keeps control of Belfort as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

Silva breaks the clinch.

Belfort darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Silva is breathing heavily.
Silva wants to control but Belfort is keeping busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Belfort stands up from half guard... He's had enough of that ground malarky for the time being.
Belfort is looking to clinch but Silva is avoiding it.
Belfort fails in his attempt to clinch.
Belfort fails with an attempt to clinch.
Silva fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

Belfort pushes Silva up against the cage in a clinch.
Belfort lands a left hand that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
Belfort lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Belfort lands a shoulder strike.
Belfort lands a hook to the side of the head.
Belfort lands a hook to the side of the head.
Silva tries to pull guard but Belfort holds him up against the cage and eventually Silva drops back down to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Belfort.
A hook to the body from Belfort.
Belfort lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Belfort tries to break the clinch but Silva is controlling the position.
Silva jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Belfort walks away with a smile on his face. Silva gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Belfort lands the left hand.
Silva avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Belfort lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

Belfort moves into the clinch.
Belfort lands an uppercut.
Belfort looking to throw knees to the head but Silva is blocking nicely.
Nice body punch from Belfort.
Silva takes a shot to the head.
Belfort lands with a short shot to the head.
Belfort lands a shoulder strike.
Belfort lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
A right hook to the body lands for Belfort.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Belfort lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A nice right hand lands inside from Belfort.
Belfort lands an uppercut.
Nice body punch from Belfort.
Belfort pushes Silva back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Belfort lands with a right to the head.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Belfort.
Belfort is pressed up against the cage. Silva has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Belfort down to the mat. Belfort avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

Belfort pushes Silva up against the cage in a clinch.
Belfort lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Belfort lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Silva or not.
Silva prevents Belfort from breaking the clinch.
Belfort lands with a right to the head.
Belfort lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
A short uppercut from Belfort.
Belfort is looking to break free of the clinch but Silva has double underhooks.
Belfort wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Silva has him pressed against the cage.

Belfort pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitor Belfort dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Belfort fails with an attempt to clinch.
Silva will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Silva keeps the fight on the outside.
Belfort fails with an attempt to clinch.

Belfort looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Silva!
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Belfort controlling from mount.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Belfort's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Silva wants to control but Belfort is having none of it.

That's two 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 is trying to escape the mount.
Belfort controlling his opponent.
Silva tries to hold on but Belfort pushes him away.
Belfort controlling his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Belfort stands up from mount. Strange move.
A left and a right from Belfort both land. Nice combination.
Silva closes the distance but Belfort moves to the side

so Belfort counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.

Silva looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Belfort passes into side control.
Belfort has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Silva!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Silva tries to hold on but Belfort postures up.
Belfort controlling his opponent.
Silva wants to control but Belfort is having none of it.
Belfort controlling the pace for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vitor Belfort showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Silva swats away the attempt to clinch by Belfort.
Belfort will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

Silva closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Belfort to the mat! Belfort manages to get full guard.
Belfort keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Belfort is looking to stand up but Silva isn't so interested in that idea.
Belfort looking to control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva controlling from the top position.

Silva is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Belfort is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Belfort has escaped and now he's on top!
Belfort controls from within his opponent's guard.

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.

Silva looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Silva not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Belfort stays in close to Silva's body and controls the position.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing Belfort from standing up.

Belfort gets to his feet - Silva follows without any prompting.
Vitor Belfort seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four 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.

Belfort closes the distance and clinches.
Belfort is trying to break free.
Belfort softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Belfort lands a body punch.
Belfort lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
Belfort stalling.
Belfort lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Belfort dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Good body shot from Belfort.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Silva fails to pull guard.
Muricio Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Vitor Belfort is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Silva tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Belfort just stands there and leans against the cage.
Belfort lands a body shot.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vitor Belfort comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Belfort 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 25:30
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 25:30
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vitor Belfort!