PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Marcelo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joesph Benavidez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Silva
vs
Benavidez

175 cm
25
140 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

163 cm
25
135 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Decent wrestler
Brawler
Very confident

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Marcelo Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Joesph Benavidez!
The judges for this bout are Timothy Bukovac, and Frank Antenori.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Silva moves into range and clinches up with Benavidez.
Benavidez goes for a takedown attempt but Silva pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Benavidez closes this distance looking for a takedown but Silva circles away.
Silva doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Benavidez counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Silva!
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Benavidez lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Benavidez scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Benavidez raining down shots from the mount!
Benavidez prevents Silva from getting the reversal.
Silva is trying to stand.
Benavidez working the ground and pound effectively.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Benavidez in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Benavidez landing shots from mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
BOOM! Benavidez connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Benavidez prevents Silva from getting the reversal.
Silva is breathing heavily.
Benavidez lands a big elbow.
Benavidez scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Silva?
Benavidez is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Silva really wants to buck Benavidez off and get back to his feet.
Benavidez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
A nice elbow there by Benavidez.
Benavidez lands a big shot there that rocks Silva but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Silva in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Benavidez is landing with some decent strikes but Silva is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
BOOM! Benavidez connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Benavidez lands a big shot there that rocks Silva but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Benavidez is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Silva in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Benavidez working the ground and pound effectively.
Benavidez working Silva over with strikes here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Silva in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Benavidez lands a big elbow.
Benavidez with good strikes from the mount here!
A nice elbow there by Benavidez.
Benavidez lands a big shot there that rocks Silva but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Benavidez lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
A nice elbow there by Benavidez.
Silva is looking to get to half guard.
Silva wants to try and get back to his feet.
Benavidez is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Silva can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Benavidez cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!
Benavidez lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Silva hang on?
Benavidez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Benavidez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Benavidez lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Benavidez looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Silva takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez with shots to the head and body - Silva looks very uncomfortable down there.
Benavidez scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Benavidez postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Silva looks a forlorn figure.
Silva manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Benavidez working Silva over with strikes.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Benavidez lands a nice short elbow.
Benavidez working Silva over with strikes.
Benavidez working the head and body with strikes.
Benavidez is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Benavidez prevents Silva from standing back up.
Benavidez lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Benavidez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Silva tries to kick Benavidez off but Benavidez keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Benavidez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Nice strikes from Benavidez there.
Benavidez landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Silva is trying to stand.
Ground and pound from Benavidez.
Benavidez seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Benavidez slips a nice elbow through Silva's hands, connecting with Silva's forehead.
Benavidez scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Benavidez seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Benavidez is nestled in close to Silva, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Silva pushes Benavidez off looking to stand but Benavidez dives back in and keeps control.
Benavidez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Benavidez looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joesph Benavidez dominated that round.
That's time! Silva's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Silva gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Benavidez loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Benavidez connects with a couple of short punches.
Benavidez working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Silva's head.

Silva manages to escape and get back to his feet.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Benavidez is defended easily by Silva.
Benavidez on the wrong end of a nice hook.

Benavidez scores a takedown into full mount!
Joesph Benavidez has got the better of the ground game so far.
Silva is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Benavidez unloading with bombs!
Benavidez with a couple of short strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
BOOM! Benavidez connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Benavidez postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Silva looks a forlorn figure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Benavidez breaks from Silva's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Silva is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Benavidez lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Silva taking shots to the head.
Benavidez working the ground and pound effectively.
Benavidez fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Benavidez is landing with some decent strikes but Silva is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Benavidez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Benavidez looking to finish Silva with some ground and pound. This is bad for Silva!
Silva is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Benavidez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Benavidez with a couple of short strikes.
Benavidez lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Silva hang on?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez working Silva over with strikes here.
Silva is desperately trying to improve his position but Benavidez has a good base and remains in mount.
Benavidez landing shots from mount.
Benavidez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Benavidez landing strikes from the mount.
Benavidez cracks Silva with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Silva trying desperately to get to his feet.
Benavidez landing shots from mount.
The referee warns Silva that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Silva wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Benavidez lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Silva hang on?
Benavidez looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Benavidez putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Benavidez cracks Silva with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez landing shots from mount.
Benavidez is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Benavidez with good strikes from the mount here!
Benavidez unloading with bombs!
Silva keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Silva is bucking up trying to escape but Benavidez cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Benavidez looking to finish Silva with some ground and pound. This is bad for Silva!
Benavidez lands a heavy elbow.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Silva really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
A nice elbow there by Benavidez.
Benavidez scoring with strikes but Silva is staying in there.
Benavidez has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Silva's face.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Benavidez with good strikes from the mount here!
Benavidez in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Benavidez landing strikes from the mount and Silva is in trouble!
Benavidez putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Benavidez lands with some strikes.
Silva is trying to stand up.
Silva can't escape the position.
Benavidez lands a big elbow.
Benavidez raining down hammerfists from mount.
Benavidez breaks from Silva's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Benavidez raining down shots from the mount!
Benavidez unloading with bombs!
Benavidez landing punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joesph Benavidez showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Benavidez avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Silva stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Silva wants it to stay on the feet.
Silva tries to clinch but Benavidez moves away

and Benavidez counters with a nice double leg into side control. Silva won't be happy with that.
Silva pushes Benavidez away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Benavidez gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Silva takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Silva takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Benavidez lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Silva down.
Silva wants to get back to his feet but Benavidez drags him back down.
Silva takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Benavidez working the ground and pound.
Silva takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Benavidez working the head and body with strikes.
Silva on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Silva wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Silva taking punishment in the form of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is working to avoid the ground and pound but Benavidez connects with a decent elbow.
Benavidez lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Silva taking a bit of punishment here - Benavidez scoring with strikes.
Benavidez grinds an elbow into Silva's temple.
Silva is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Benavidez has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Silva on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Benavidez connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Silva some visible discomfort.
Benavidez looks up at the clock and then as Silva takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Benavidez smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Silva wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Benavidez working the body and head with strikes.
Benavidez cracks Silva with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Silva pushes Benavidez away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Benavidez gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Benavidez scores with a couple of short elbows.
Benavidez cracks Silva with a big elbow.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Benavidez has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Silva taking punishment in the form of punches.
Silva is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Benavidez cracks Silva with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Benavidez scoring with punches and elbows.
Benavidez is chipping away with strikes.
Benavidez lands an elbow.
Silva is trying to get back to his feet.
Benavidez lands a nice forearm strike.
Silva takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Benavidez cracks Silva with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Silva takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Benavidez works to advance to full mount. Silva defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Benavidez dominating with strikes here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
BOOM! Benavidez connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Silva regains half guard.
Silva on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Benavidez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Benavidez throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Nice strikes from Benavidez there.
Silva pushes Benavidez off looking to stand but Benavidez dives back in and keeps control.
Benavidez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Silva taking some punishment here, with Benavidez in his half guard.
Benavidez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Silva with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Benavidez working over Silva with some ground and pound. Silva looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Silva is trying to stand back up but Benavidez is controlling him
Marcelo Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Benavidez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Nice strikes from Benavidez there.
Silva pushes Benavidez off looking to stand but Benavidez dives back in and keeps control.
Benavidez lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Silva wants to improve his position but Benavidez is controlling well.
Silva is trying to stand up here but Benavidez is controlling him well.
Silva has hold of Benavidez's hands but Benavidez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Silva has hold of Benavidez's hands but Benavidez slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Silva on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Benavidez is nestled in close to Silva, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Benavidez lands with a punch from half guard.
Joesph Benavidez is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Benavidez not doing much here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Joesph Benavidez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Benavidez winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joesph Benavidez!