PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between CJ Kenn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anderson Sillva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Kenn
vs
Sillva

185 cm
21
200 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
19
202 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Good gas tank

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 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, CJ Kenn!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Anderson Sillva!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Konstantin Menshow and Igor Prikhodko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kenn shoots for a double leg takedown but Sillva sprawls well. He's pushed Kenn's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Kenn shoots for a takedown but Sillva saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.

Kenn gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Sillva looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Kenn is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Sillva showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Kenn tries to clinch but Sillva is having none of it.
Sillva with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kenn finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Kenn misses with a takedown

and Sillva counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for CJ Kenn. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Kenn tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Kenn wants to stand up but Sillva is controlling him.
Sillva tries to free his leg and advance position but Kenn is retaining full guard.
Sillva slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sillva passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Kenn prevents Sillva from improving position.
Kenn is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Sillva has just dragged him back down to the mat.
Sillva controlling from side mount.
I looks like Sillva might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
You can see the frustration on Kenn's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sillva in side control lands a decent elbow.
Sillva remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Kenn is looking to reverse the position.
Kenn is letting Sillva control him for a moment.
Kenn is trying to buck Sillva off.
Sillva taking a breather here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sillva landing strikes.
Sillva working away.
Kenn tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Sillva wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Sillva really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Kenn. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Sillva controlling the position.
Sillva is trying to move to mount but Kenn reverses beautifully and ends up in Sillva's guard.
Kenn is looking to work some ground and pound but Sillva has wrist control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anderson Sillva dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Kenn gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sillva counters with a shoot takedown. Kenn fights it but they end up in guard.
Kenn lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Sillva!
Kenn wants to get back to his feet but Sillva is holding on tight.
Kenn can't control as he wanted to and Sillva manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Sillva is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenn passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Sillva!
Kenn misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.

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.
Kenn sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Poor strikes thrown by Kenn there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Kenn looking to control but Sillva is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sillva holds on for dear life.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kenn sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sillva looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
Sillva is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Kenn.
Kenn lands a punch to the side of the head from the back.

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.
Sillva holding both Kenn 's hands and preventing any damage.
Sillva takes a big shot to the side of the head.
Sillva rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Kenn tries to stand and escape but Sillva actually recovers to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Anderson Sillva will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Sillva has his takedown stuffed
and Kenn counters with a two punch combo.
Kenn swings away with a body shot that misses

and Sillva counters with a takedown into side control.
Sillva trying to control the action but Kenn is working from the bottom.
Sillva tries to move into full mount but can't pass Kenn's legs.
Kenn is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Anderson Sillva has got the better of the ground game so far.
Kenn taking punishment in the form of punches.
Kenn wants to get back to his feet but Sillva drags him back down.
Kenn takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kenn is trying to control Sillva's posture but Sillva avoids it.
Sillva taking a breather here.
Kenn can't do much from the bottom here.
The referee asks Sillva politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. Sillva prefers to stall for the moment though.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Kenn tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Sillva counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Sillva.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kenn is trying to control the position but Sillva postures up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Sillva is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Sillva looking to pass the guard.
Sillva wants to control from the top but Kenn keeps moving.
Kenn is pulling down on Sillva's head to control his posture.

The ref stands the fighters back up. CJ Kenn wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Kenn with a poor takedown

and Sillva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sillva sitting and controlling from the half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sillva is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Kenn still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Kenn has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
Sillva can't do much from the bottom here.
Anderson Sillva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

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.
Sillva parries the strikes from Kenn easily there. Kenn is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Sillva to escape.
Kenn wants to stand but Sillva has his arm trapped.
Sillva is not content to let Kenn control the position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anderson Sillva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Sillva 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 27:30
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 27:30
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anderson Sillva!