PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nate Knuckles (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Matt Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Knuckles's ring entrance music is that housewives' favourite, When I'm Gone. Silva has chosen BLUNT- The Iron Maiden as his entrance music. 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?

Knuckles
vs
Silva

188 cm
27
200 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

186 cm
27
195 lbs
17 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Very strong

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Australian Xtreme - 159 Energy + Stamina!

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 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Nate Knuckles!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 17 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Matt Silva!
The judges for this bout are Skip Squint, Steve Erwin and Eliza Hachem.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination
and Knuckles counters with a stiff right hand.
Silva ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Knuckles moves away.
Silva misses the shot to the body.
Silva tries to clinch
enabling Knuckles to counter with a crisp jab.
Jab from Silva.
Silva doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Knuckles counters with a stiff right hand.
Silva throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Knuckles swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Knuckles takes one to the side of the head.
Knuckles falls off balance throwing a combination
and Silva connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Silva lands a jab to Knuckles's midsection.
Silva jabs at Knuckles's body.
Decent striking displayed by Silva there.
Silva misses with an uppercut. Knuckles saw that one coming.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a body shot.
Silva tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Knuckles was well out of range. Poor timing from Silva.
Nice straight punches there by Silva. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Silva.
Knuckles misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Silva swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Knuckles counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Silva throws a sloppy body shot
letting Knuckles counter with a right hand.

It looks like Matt Silva has been cut.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Knuckles takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Silva looks to score with a jab to the body but Knuckles is just out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva swings for the body but Knuckles moves out of range.
A looping hook to the body misses from Silva. Knuckles does a little dance to reset his feet.
Knuckles throws a right hand that misses
and Silva counters with a stiff right hand.
Knuckles on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Knuckles throws a right hand that misses
and Silva counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Silva fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Knuckles on the side of the head.
Matt Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Knuckles throws a left and a right that both miss

and Silva counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Knuckles!
Silva is in the full mount, landing strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Silva lands a big elbow.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva looking to control but Knuckles is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Knuckles slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Silva tries to pass the half guard into mount. Knuckles knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Matt Silva will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Matt Silva's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

A slow jab from Silva misses its intended target.
Knuckles takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Knuckles swats away the attempt to clinch by Silva.
Silva throws an off balance right hand
and Knuckles counters with a straight right hand.
Silva jabs at Knuckles's body.
Silva misses with a lunging right hand
and Knuckles counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
A big right from Knuckles misses.
Knuckles swings widly with a right hand
and Silva counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Knuckles swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Silva counters with a right hand to the body.
A slow jab from Knuckles misses its intended target.
Silva takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Knuckles throws a right hand that misses
letting Silva counter with a right hand.
Silva misses with a wild body shot.
Knuckles misses with a right hand
and Silva counters with a straight right hand.
The crowd cheers as Silva lands an impressive looking overhand right. Knuckles doesn't seem phased though.
Knuckles swings widly with a right hand
and Silva makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Silva throws a shot from downtown. Knuckles moves away and avoids it.
A jab from Silva misses.
Knuckles takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Nate Knuckles is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Silva rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Knuckles moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nate Knuckles is winning the standup battle so far.
Silva shoots in looking for a takedown. Knuckles tries to sprawl out of it but Silva keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Knuckles manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Silva changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Knuckles looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles regains half guard there - taking advantage of Silva's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.
Knuckles is looking to improve his position.
Silva not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Silva thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Knuckles's head.
Silva not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Silva looks to score some points with some ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Silva uses his free foot to push down on Knuckles's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Knuckles.
Knuckles taking shots to the head.
Knuckles blocking the ground and pound.
Silva looking to ground and pound but Knuckles is blocking nicely.
Silva raining down shots from the mount!
Silva scoring with strikes but Knuckles is staying in there.
Silva throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Knuckles because Silva loaded up on that one.
Knuckles tries to hold on but Silva postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Silva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Matt Silva's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Knuckles connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Knuckles slips under a jab.
Knuckles misses with a two punch combination.
Knuckles takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Knuckles walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Silva looks to score with a jab to the body but Knuckles is just out of range.
Some wild striking there from Knuckles.
Knuckles is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

That's one minute gone in the round.
No luck for Silva with that takedown attempt.
Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Knuckles loads up on a big right hand but Silva slips the punch.
Silva tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Knuckles manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Knuckles walks into a stiff left hand from Silva.
Knuckles throws the left hand but Silva avoids the punch easily.
Nate Knuckles has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two 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.
Knuckles moves forwards but Silva connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Knuckles throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Silva counters with a nice body shot.
Knuckles takes one to the side of the head.
Silva is looking to clinch.
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination
and Knuckles counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Silva fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knuckles with a hook.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Silva misses with a hook.
Silva lands a jab to Knuckles's midsection.
A big left from Silva misses.
Silva tries to clinch but Knuckles moves out of range.
Knuckles fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Silva manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva looks to land a left hand but Knuckles moved out of range nicely.
The fighters circling - Silva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Knuckles throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown. Knuckles fights it but they end up in guard.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Knuckles has his feet on Silva's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Knuckles shows good takedown defense.
Matt Silva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nate Knuckles has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Matt Silva.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Silva.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Nate Knuckles.
I think Silva has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Skip Squint scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Erwin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Eliza Hachem scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Silva!