PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Nate Lavelle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lorenzo Da Silva (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.

Lavelle
vs
Da Silva

178 cm
19
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
25
184 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cardio machine

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent knees
Determined

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 Rio de Janeiro, Nate Lavelle!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Lorenzo Da Silva!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Matheus Silva and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Da Silva tries for a takedown but Lavelle circles away easily

and Lavelle counters with a takedown into side control.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Da Silva is trying to get back to half guard.
Lavelle misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
A lull in the action here as Lavelle stalls from top position.
Lavelle advances to mount.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lavelle controlling from mount.
Lavelle sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Lavelle misses with a head shot.
Lavelle looking to control and managing it successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Nate Lavelle just wasn't active enough.
Da Silva shoots in for a takedown but Lavelle shows good takedown defense.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lavelle shoots for a double leg takedown but Da Silva sprawls well. He's pushed Lavelle's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Da Silva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Lavelle pinned against the cage. Lavelle gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Nate Lavelle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lorenzo Da Silva.
Da Silva with a lazy takedown attempt

and Lavelle counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Lavelle uses his free foot to push down on Da Silva's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Da Silva.
Lavelle throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Da Silva looks gassed!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Da Silva wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Lavelle.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Da Silva shoots in looking for a takedown but Lavelle manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Da Silva's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
A bone on bone clash there as Da Silva blocks the leg kick.
Da Silva gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Lavelle counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Lavelle seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Lavelle missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Lavelle slows the pace down in half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Lavelle is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Lavelle is figuring out what he wants to do next.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

We're going to have a standup here because Nate Lavelle wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.

Lavelle closes the distance and pushes Da Silva back into the cage.

Lavelle breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Lavelle closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Lavelle controls the position from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Lavelle decides to take the fight back to the feet.

Lavelle gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Da Silva fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Nate Lavelle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Lorenzo Da Silva.
Da Silva is breathing heavily.

Lavelle manages to break the clinch.
Da Silva fails with the takedown

and Lavelle decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Da Silva's guard.
Lavelle has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Lavelle sitting in guard, not really doing much.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Lavelle has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

We're going to have a standup here because Nate Lavelle wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Lavelle throws a right and a left that both miss.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Da Silva shoots and misses

and Lavelle counters with a shoot takedown. Da Silva fights it but they end up in guard.
Lavelle controlling from the top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nate Lavelle dominated that second round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Lavelle throws an overhand right that lands on Da Silva's shoulder, as Da Silva tries to avoid the shot.

Lavelle scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Lavelle looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Lavelle moves nicely into side control.
Lavelle moves into full mount!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Da Silva is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

Lavelle looking for a guillotine from mount but Da Silva is having none of it.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Da Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Lavelle controlling the position easily from mount.

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.
Da Silva avoids a series of strikes thrown by Lavelle.
Lavelle controlling the pace for now.
Poor strikes thrown by Lavelle there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lavelle controlling from the full mount.
Lavelle 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.
Lavelle is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Da Silva can do to turn this around?
Lavelle thowing shots but they're missing.
Lavelle tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lavelle throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Lorenzo Da Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nate Lavelle is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Nate Lavelle has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Lavelle looking for a takedown here - he's got it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Nate Lavelle showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Lavelle has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:26
Judge Matheus Silva scores the fight 30:26
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nate Lavelle!