PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rickson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Muhammad Ward (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chooooooooon! I think Silva might be my favorite fighter, now he's come out to system of a down - violent pornography. Ward has chosen Feel The Music by Guru as his entrance music. Rickson Silva has the edge in experience - let's see if he can make that count tonight.

Silva
vs
Ward

200 cm
35
233 lbs
26 - 24 - 2

193 cm
36
220 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

BJJ Red Belt
Counter fighter
Granite chin

Hell's Balls Recovery (160)

TFP Graphics - Pit Inc

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 26 - 24 - 2, fighting out of Amsterdam, Rickson Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Muhammad Ward!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Bishop, James Glass and Steven Brown.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
We've got one fighter who appears to only be looking to counter and the other not looking particularly aggressive either, so we could be in for a dull fight.
Ward misses with a takedown

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Ward looking for submissions off his back.

Silva is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Silva is pressing down on Ward's thigh, looking to free his foot. Ward is holding on for now.
Silva prevents Ward from improving his position.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Still in half guard, Silva seems content to control.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Silva trying to control from half guard but Ward is working away.

Silva is working for a submission of some sort.
Ward is staying active underneath Silva, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Ward is trying to maintain the position but Silva is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Silva is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Silva is trying to control the action in half guard but Ward is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ward wants to control but Silva is keeping busy.

Silva seems to be looking for submissions.
Silva tries to pass the half guard into mount. Ward knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Ward is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Silva pulls his head out easily.

Silva is working for a kimura but Ward is defending it quite comfortably.
Silva wants to control but Ward is keeping him busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Silva is working for a submission of some sort.
Ward is trying to maintain the position but Silva is very close to passing his half guard.

Silva is looking for a kimura but Ward is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Silva to get the leverage.

Silva is trying to work for a kimura but Ward is defending well.
Silva passes to full mount!
Ward wants to control but Silva is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ward is trying to escape the mount.
Silva is trying to take his opponent's back.

Silva jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Ward is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Ward and Silva has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
Silva wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ward keeps working.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
You can see the frustration on Ward's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

Silva working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Ward is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Silva off and has taken his back!
You can see the frustration on Silva's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Will Ward go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Silva tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
Silva prevents any damage by holding on tight.
Ward trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Silva wants to control but Ward is having none of it.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Ward pushing the pace here, looking to move to his opponents back and work for a finish.
Ward trying to control but Silva is having none of it.
Silva is desperately trying to improve his position but Ward has a good base and remains in mount.
Silva bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!

Silva drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Silva jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Ward swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Ward is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Silva is aware though and is defending well.
Ward trying to keep a closed guard but Silva is proving a slippery customer.

Ward looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Silva has picked Ward up and slammed him! Ward can't keep hold of the triangle and Silva manages to pass to side control!
Ward is looking for a sweep.

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

Silva is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Ward knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Ward is trying to get back to half guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Silva is trying to get an arm triangle but Ward is defending well.

Silva is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Ward has escaped the position, nice work there.

Silva tries for a kimura but Ward is defending well.
Ward is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Ward sneaks back into half guard.

Silva is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Ward is not content to let Silva control the position.
Ward is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva works his way into full mount!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rickson Silva dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Ward has his takedown stuffed

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Ward is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Silva wants to free his trapped foot but Ward is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Silva is trying to control the action in half guard but Ward is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ward is looking to control Silva's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Ward avoid being mounted?
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Silva in particular looking to stall.
Silva uses his free foot to push down on Ward's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Ward.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward is trying to reverse the position but instead Silva has taken his back - oops!

Silva is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

Ward fending off the submission attempt from Silva.
Silva is looking to control Ward but Ward is wriggling around and keeping busy.
Rickson Silva overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Ward is in bad spot here.
Silva doesn't have the hooks in and Ward manages to turn into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Ward got a little sloppy there for a moment and Silva has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ward has managed to get both his arms back between Silva's legs - danger averted.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Ward trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Ward got a little sloppy there for a moment and Silva has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Ward has managed to get both his arms back between Silva's legs - danger averted.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Silva wants to improve his position but instead Ward has moved into half guard.

Silva is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ward pulls his head out easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward wants to take a breather but Silva is having none of it.
Silva is looking for a sweep. Ward is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Silva is refusing to be controlled, as Ward sits in half guard.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Ward is trying to control. Silva wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Silva wants to get back to full guard.
Ward trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Silva gets full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva working a defensive guard here.
Ward trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Silva controlling Ward's posture.

Silva is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Ward defends well.

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

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Ward looking to pass the guard.
Silva is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ward trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's six minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Muhammad Ward was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Ward misses with a takedown attempt

and Silva counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Silva.
Silva trying to control but Ward is working from the bottom.

Ward looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Silva passes into half guard.

Silva seems to be looking for submissions.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!

Silva is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.

Silva is looking for a kimura here.
Ward trying to hold on to Silva's head to control him but Silva postures up.
Silva is trying to control. Ward wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Silva is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Ward is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Ward manages to get to full guard.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Silva's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Silva passes Ward's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Ward tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Silva has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Silva trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Silva fails to take his opponent's back.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Silva tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Silva moves to the back.

Silva is looking to finish the fight by rear naked choke. Ward knows exactly what he's got planned though, so he's defending well. Maybe a few strikes would soften Ward for a finish.
Silva keeps control of the position as Ward tries to break free.
Muhammad Ward has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Ward is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rickson Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Silva has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight for Rickson Silva!
Judge James Glass scores the fight for Rickson Silva!
Judge Steven Brown scores the fight for Rickson Silva!

Rickson Silva wins by unanimous decision!
Rickson Silva seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.