PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Gabe Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Umbabarauma Smith II (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Silva
vs
Smith II

220 cm
23
195 lbs
5 - 2 - 1

185 cm
24
205 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Gabe Silva!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Umbabarauma Smith II!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Hirohito Nitta and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Smith II paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Some wild striking there from Smith II.
Silva fails in his attempt to clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith II misses with a double jab.
Silva wants to clinch.
Umbabarauma Smith II is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Smith II is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Silva pulls his head out easily.

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.

Smith II is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Silva pulls his head out easily.

Silva is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Smith II sees it coming and defends easily.
Silva prevents Smith II from improving his position.

Silva seems to be looking for submissions.

Silva is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Smith II wants to improve his position but Silva is controlling well.

Smith II looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Smith II keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Smith II as he jumps to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Smith II keeps the fight on the outside.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith II swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Silva dominated that 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.

No luck with that takedown attempt from Silva.
Smith II takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith II throws a series of punches but Silva avoids them all with ease.
Both fighters are looking to counter, which isn't making for the most exciting fight in the world.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith II misses with a hook.
Silva is looking to clinch but Smith II is avoiding it.
Smith II ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Smith II swats away the attempt to clinch by Silva.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith II just misses with a punch to the body.
Nice uppercut there from Smith II.
No joy there for Smith II, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith II misses with a body shot.
Smith II uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Silva.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Smith II misses with a hook. Silva ducked under it nicely.
Silva dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Silva misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Smith II.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith II will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Umbabarauma Smith II showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Silva looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Smith II looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Silva is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Smith II is defending against the submission attempts here by Silva.
Silva is controlling the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Smith II looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Silva is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Silva looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

Smith II actively working from the bottom here.
Silva tries to pass the half guard into mount. Smith II knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

Silva is looking for a kimura here.

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.

Smith II looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nice defenses there by Silva.
Silva shoots in looking for a takedown. Smith II tries to sprawl out of it but Silva keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Smith II manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to clinch but Smith II moves out of range.

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 avoids a punch combination nicely.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Smith II paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Horrible takedown by Silva or perhaps it was just good defense by Smith II which made him look bad.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gabe Silva clearly takes that round.
That's time! Silva's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

A telegraphed takedown attempt from Silva is defended easily by Smith II.
Silva ducks under a wild hook from Smith II.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith II swings for the body but Silva moves out of range.
Smith II throws a right hand that Silva ducks under and follows up with a left that Silva also avoids with ease.
No luck for Silva with that takedown attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Silva wants to clinch.
Gabe Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - Smith II circles away.
Gabe Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva moves out of range as Smith II strikes.
Smith II swats away the attempt to clinch by Silva.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Smith II connects with a good right hand that stumbles Silva. Silva circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Silva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Smith II.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith II swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Umbabarauma Smith II dominated that fourth 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. This is the final round!

Silva avoids a punch combination nicely.
Silva shoots in and drives through. Smith II sprawls well.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Smith II lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Silva circles away quickly and effectively.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva throws a right hand that Smith II ducks under and follows up with a left that Smith II also avoids with ease.
Silva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Smith II.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Smith II swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Silva shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Smith II but Smith II pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Smith II looks to score with a jab to the body but Silva is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smith II throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Silva.

Silva closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Silva is working for a kimura but Smith II is defending it quite comfortably.

Smith II looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.

Smith II looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Silva looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Smith II with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Silva wants to take a breather but Smith II is having none of it.

Silva is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Smith II defends it well.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Silva seems to be working for a kimura but Smith II defends the submission attempt.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Silva is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Smith II doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Silva.

And that's the end of the fight!
Gabe Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Silva has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 48:47
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight 48:47
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Gabe Silva!
Gabe Silva is the new light heavyweight champion!