PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anderson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samat Gaziev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Silva has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. Anderson Silva has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Silva
vs
Gaziev

189 cm
24
182 lbs
2 - 6 - 0

192 cm
23
194 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid 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 2 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anderson Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Samat Gaziev!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Thiago Cunha and Alexandre Firmino.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gaziev fails with the takedown.
Silva looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Gaziev throws a head kick that misses.
Gaziev lands a jab.
Gaziev throws a series of punches but Silva moves out of range.
Silva fails with a takedown attempt.

Gaziev closes the distance and clinches.

Gaziev manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Gaziev punching to the body, from the bottom.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gaziev swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Gaziev looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Gaziev keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Gaziev is proving hard to escape from.
Silva trying to control but Gaziev is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Anderson Silva just wasn't active enough.
Gaziev fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gaziev fails with a takedown attempt.
Gaziev shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Silva sprawls well. Silva wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Gaziev gets slowly back to his feet.
Anderson Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Samat Gaziev.

Gaziev darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Gaziev really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Silva. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Silva tries to get to full guard but Gaziev has control of the leg.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gaziev landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Gaziev lands with a punch from half guard.
Gaziev working over Silva with some ground and pound. Silva looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Ground and pound from Gaziev.
Silva wants to get back to full guard.
Silva is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Gaziev scores with a couple of nice shots.
Nice strikes from Gaziev there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gaziev lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Gaziev wants to work for an arm triangle but Silva is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Silva avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Gaziev.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva wants to control but Gaziev is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Nice strikes from Gaziev there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Silva looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Gaziev 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samat Gaziev dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anderson Silva's cut.
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 tries to close the distance and clinch up but Gaziev swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Gaziev shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Gaziev seems to be working for a kimura but Silva defends the submission attempt.
Silva is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Gaziev scores with a couple of nice shots.
Gaziev prevents Silva from improving his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gaziev is working away from the top position though.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gaziev trying to control from half guard but Silva is working away.
Gaziev working the head and body with strikes.
Gaziev lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Silva is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Gaziev pulls his head out easily.
Gaziev lands with a punch from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva is looking for a sweep. Gaziev is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Gaziev lands with a punch from half guard.
Gaziev looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Silva is looking to control Gaziev's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Silva avoid being mounted?
Gaziev seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Gaziev connects with a nice short shot to Silva's temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to improve his position but Gaziev is controlling well.
Gaziev working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.

Gaziev is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Samat Gaziev has got the better of the ground game so far.

Gaziev is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Silva is pressing down on Gaziev's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva looking to control.
Silva bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Gaziev's guard.
Gaziev throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.
Silva missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Gaziev keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Silva working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Gaziev's head.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Gaziev is keeping the position for now.
Silva trying to stand up but can't free himself from Gaziev's guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samat Gaziev showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Anderson Silva's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. 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.

Gaziev keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Gaziev will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Silva defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gaziev.

Gaziev drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Gaziev must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

Silva looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Gaziev has picked Silva up and slammed him! Silva can't keep hold of the triangle and Gaziev manages to pass to side control!
Silva tries to control but Gaziev manages to take his back.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
I really don't envy Silva right now.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gaziev is not going to allow Silva to sit and survive in this position.
Gaziev controlling well, preventing Silva from escaping the position.
Silva trying to control but not successfully.
Silva is trapped and Gaziev is scoring with shots to the head and body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva manages to reverse the position and now he's in Gaziev's guard. Nice work there by Silva.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Gaziev swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Silva postures up in Gaziev's guard and throws a big left but Gaziev blocks it.
Silva with a flurry of punches that miss.

Gaziev pushes Silva off and scrambles back to his feet.

Gaziev shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Silva is trying to defend but Gaziev finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ground and pound from Gaziev.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Gaziev working the head and body with strikes.
Silva looks like he's trying to stand up.
Gaziev takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva works his way to full guard. Good work.
Gaziev lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Gaziev keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Silva's head.

Silva had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Gaziev defends it easily.
Gaziev trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Anderson Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Samat Gaziev is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Silva looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

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 Anderson Silva.
Well Gaziev 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 28:29
Judge Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Samat Gaziev!