PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Bojan Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Phillip Askos (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Phillip Askos told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Silva
vs
Askos

188 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Intelligent

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Granite 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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Bojan Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Phillip Askos!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Wagner Zegers and Paulsen Ambrosius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Askos moves in looking to clinch but Silva pushes him off.
Askos looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Silva is fending him off so far but Askos persists. Nope, Silva circles away and we're back to standing.
Silva closes this distance looking for a takedown but Askos circles away.
Silva closes this distance looking for a takedown but Askos circles away.
Askos shoots and misses

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Askos is looking to improve his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Silva is looking for a kimura but Askos is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Silva to get the leverage.
Silva prevents Askos from improving his position.
Silva missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Silva prevents Askos from improving his position.
Silva has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Silva is controlling the pace.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva throws a strike but Askos avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Silva wants to pass the guard but Askos is keeping the position.

Silva has gone for a leg lock! Askos slips out almost immediately though and dives into Silva's guard.
Askos sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Askos wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Askos throws a strike but Silva rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.
Silva working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Silva content to stall in guard here.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Askos is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Bojan Silva just wasn't active enough.
Askos darts in trying to clinch

and Silva counters by clinching up.
Silva is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Askos to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bojan Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Askos has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Silva is trying to keep an underhook but Askos manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Askos is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!

Askos jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Silva manages to avoid the submission attempt.

Askos tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Askos has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Askos wants to stand but Silva has his arm trapped.
Silva can't do much from the bottom here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
A bit of a lull in the action here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Bojan Silva will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Askos lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Silva at a distance.
Askos shoots in for a takedown but Silva shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Silva gets caught flat footed, as Askos shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Silva has Askos pulled in close to control his posture.
Askos pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Silva is keeping the position for now.

Askos drops back, looking for a kneebar! Silva looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Silva looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Silva!
You can see the frustration on Askos's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Askos knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Silva trying to control the action but Askos is working from the bottom.
Silva controlling the position from side mount.
Silva has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Askos!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Askos tries to hold on but Silva pushes him away.
Silva throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Silva controlling from mount.
Silva tries to control but Askos wriggling away.
Askos holds on, trying desperately to control.

Silva is working for a guillotine from mount but Askos frees his head quite easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Askos is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

Silva working for a guillotine from mount but Askos is in no mood to give up.

Silva wants to finish this one by submission but Askos is holding onto his waist, trying to prevent any attacks from Silva.
Silva prevents Askos from getting the reversal.
Askos tries to lock up and control but Silva gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Bojan Silva overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Askos should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Silva looking to finish Askos with some ground and pound. This is bad for Askos!
Askos tries to reverse the position but Silva maintains control.
Silva lands a big elbow.
Silva unloads with some shots from mount but Askos bucks and avoids them well.

Silva is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Askos has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Askos!
Askos must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Askos throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva seems keen to control Askos's posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bojan Silva dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Askos closes the distance and clinches up with Silva, looking for a takedown. Askos pushes Silva against the cage but Silva circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Silva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Askos.
A looping hook to the body misses from Askos. Silva does a little dance to reset his feet.
Askos doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Silva counters with a nice uppercut.
Askos moves in looking to clinch but Silva pushes him off.
Silva defending well as Askos loads up on a big left hand.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Askos.
Bojan Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Phillip Askos.
Silva shoots in and drives through. Askos sprawls well.
Silva circles away from the clinch attempt.
Askos throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Silva counters with a solid body kick.
Askos takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Askos.
Silva keeps the fight on the outside.
Askos throws a right and a left that both miss.
Sloppy strikes from Silva. Those never looked like landing.
Askos throws a predictable looking body shot

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

Silva wants to work for an arm triangle but Askos is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Silva is controlling the pace.

Silva is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Askos slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva wants to pass the guard but Askos is keeping the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Askos trying to keep a closed guard but Silva is proving a slippery customer.
Silva lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Silva tries to free his leg and advance position but Askos is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Askos keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Silva throws a big elbow that misses.
Silva pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Askos is keeping the position for now.
Silva won't allow Askos to sweep him here.
Askos keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Askos has his hands on Silva's head, controlling the position.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Silva stuffs the takedown attempt from Askos. Askos gets slowly back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Askos falls off balance throwing a combination
and Silva counters with a two punch combo.
Silva checks a low kick from Askos.
Askos stuffs the takedown attempt from Silva. Silva gets slowly back to his feet.
Askos misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Silva fails with the takedown.
Askos missing with a left hand there. Silva was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva defending well as Askos loads up on a big left hand.
Bojan Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Askos, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Askos against the cage but Askos circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Phillip Askos has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Bojan Silva is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
No joy there for Askos, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bojan Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Silva, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:27
Judge Wagner Zegers scores the fight 29:28
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 30:27

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