PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Pierce (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Romo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Pierce
vs
Silva

180 cm
26
170 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

185 cm
21
179 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Very strong

BJJ Brown Belt
Decent boxing
Powerful

Down Under! - Supplements (AXES)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Pierce!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Romo Silva!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Daniel Cesar and Luis Engracia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Pierce shoots in and bounces Silva off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Silva keeping full guard, as Pierce tries to pass.
Pierce won't allow Silva to sweep him here.
Silva managing to control the position.
Pierce stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Silva swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Silva is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Pierce gets back to full guard.

Pierce working for a triangle but Silva defends it easily.

Pierce looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Pierce looking for subs off his back but Silva has passed one foot through into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Pierce is refusing to be controlled, as Silva sits in half guard.
Pierce is looking to improve his position.
Silva perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Pierce is looking for a sweep. Silva is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Silva trying to mount his opponent but Pierce defends it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Pierce punching from the bottom.
Silva thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pierce's head.
Pierce is refusing to be controlled, as Silva sits in half guard.
Silva prevents Pierce from improving his position.
Silva is looking to take a break and control but Pierce is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Silva looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Silva performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Pierce looking for submissions off his back.
Pierce lands with a few short shots to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva controlling the pace.
Silva winds up and cracks Pierce with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Pierce is trying to get back to full guard.
Silva lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Pierce tries to roll over but Silva keeps him under control.
Pierce is looking to get back to is feet but Silva passes into side control.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Silva lands some shots froms side control.
Pierce gets back to half guard.
Pierce is not content to let Silva control the position.
Silva is taking a breather. Pierce says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Silva has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pierce wants to improve his position but Silva is controlling well.
Silva content to control rather than advance.
Silva looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Romo Silva.
Pierce fails with the takedown

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Pierce avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Silva.
Pierce is refusing to be controlled, as Silva sits in half guard.
Silva controlling the action here.
Pierce is trying to get back to full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romo Silva dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Silva fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Pierce shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Silva counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Rafael Pierce seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pierce fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Pierce shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Silva counters with a stiff right hand.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rafael Pierce. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silva keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Pierce shoots and misses

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown. Pierce fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.

Pierce throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva trying to control but Pierce is working from the bottom.
Silva cracks Pierce with a solid left hand.
Silva sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Silva has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Silva advances to half guard.
Pierce tries to roll over but Silva keeps him under control.
Silva looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Silva trying to pass the guard but Pierce defending well.
Pierce regains full guard. Nicely done.
Pierce wants to sweep but no luck.
Silva showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Silva passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Pierce manages to work his way to half guard, despite Silva's best efforts.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Pierce is refusing to be controlled, as Silva sits in half guard.
Silva scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Pierce trying to control here.
Silva is taking a breather. Pierce says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Silva takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.

Pierce actively working from the bottom here.

Pierce looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is nestled in close to Pierce, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Pierce is staying active underneath Silva, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Silva is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Silva is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Silva lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Silva frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Silva looking to control but Pierce is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Silva with good strikes from the mount here!
Silva content just to control the position here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pierce can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva with good strikes from the mount here!
Silva lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Pierce is squirming around, avoiding Silva's attempts to control the action.
Pierce is desperately trying to improve his position but Silva has a good base and remains in mount.
Silva has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Pierce's face.
Pierce is trying desperately to improve position.
Silva controlling from mount.
Pierce is looking to get to half guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pierce is flailing around like a fish out of water, trying to land strikes.
Pierce wants to hold on but Silva pushes him away.
Silva trying to control but Pierce is having none of it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romo Silva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Pierce with a lazy takedown attempt

so Silva counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Silva controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Silva is in close to Pierce's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Silva loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Silva got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pierce has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Silva has managed to get both his arms back between Pierce's legs - danger averted.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Pierce is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Silva working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Pierce's head.
Silva stays in close to Pierce's body and controls the position.

Pierce looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Silva passes into side control.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pierce tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Silva wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Silva landing strikes.
Silva lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Pierce down.
Silva is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Pierce will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Pierce manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Silva is looking to control Pierce's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Silva avoid being mounted?
Silva keeps control of the position for the meantime.
Silva is looking to improve his position.
Pierce is pressing down on Silva's thigh, looking to free his foot. Silva is holding on for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Silva has control of Pierce's left arm, preventing Pierce from doing any damage.
Silva manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Silva fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Pierce is in all sorts of trouble here.
Silva looking to control and managing it successfully.
Pierce is squirming around, avoiding Silva's attempts to control the action.
Silva is landing with some decent strikes but Pierce is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.
Silva looking to finish Pierce with some ground and pound. This is bad for Pierce!
Silva tries to control but Pierce wriggling away.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.

Pierce is rocked!
Silva scoring with strikes but Pierce is staying in there.
Oh Pierce is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Silva prevents Pierce from getting the reversal.
Silva loads up on a couple of big shots to the head that have Pierce scrambling to escape. He can't get free though and several more unanswered shots from Silva land to the head. The referee has no choice but to stop the fight. Silva stands and salutes the crowd.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:44 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Romo Silva!
A loyal slave to those sponsorship dollars, Romo Silva made sure he mentioned Down Under! - Supplements (AXES), along with how happy he was to win his fight.