PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anderson Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Vincent Castillo (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Anderson Silva has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Silva
vs
Castillo

185 cm
23
175 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

160 cm
21
187 lbs
3 - 0 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the middleweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Anderson Silva!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Vincent Castillo!
The judges for this bout are Mauricio Rocha, Thiago Cunha and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Castillo wants to clinch.
Silva fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
A lazy left from Silva finds it's target.
Castillo misses with a head kick.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Castillo shows good takedown defense.
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Castillo, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Castillo against the cage but Castillo circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Anderson Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Castillo pulls out of a head kick attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Castillo is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Castillo gets the takedown into side control.
Castillo trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is looking for a sweep.
Castillo scores with punches from side control.
Silva is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Castillo wants to stand but Silva has his arm trapped.
Castillo in side control, throwing shots but Silva defends.
Castillo throws an elbow but Silva slips to the side and avoids it well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Castillo tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Silva struggling a bit here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Castillo wants to stand but Silva has his arm trapped.
Castillo wants to control but Silva is keeping him busy.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Silva bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Castillo's head backwards.
Silva misses with a takedown
and Castillo counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Silva with a lazy takedown attempt

and Castillo counters with a single leg into guard. Silva didn't expect that.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva is breathing heavily.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Castillo controls the pace.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Castillo from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Castillo postures up and lands a big shot to Silva's brow.
Castillo trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Castillo wants to get up but he can't break Silva's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Silva doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Castillo counters with a nice leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Silva has his takedown stuffed

and Castillo counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Castillo preventing the sweep.
Castillo tries to free his leg and advance position but Silva is retaining full guard.

Silva has his foot on Castillo's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Castillo works his way back into a safe position though.
Castillo trying to stand up but can't free himself from Silva's guard.
Castillo looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Castillo looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Vincent Castillo dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Silva gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Castillo decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Silva's guard.
Silva can't keep his opponent in guard - Castillo advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Castillo performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Castillo is keen to just control but Silva is a slippery customer.
Castillo is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Silva tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Castillo has advanced to mount. Uh oh.
Castillo throws some wild stikes that Silva manages to avoid easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is squirming around, avoiding Castillo's attempts to control the action.
Silva is bucking up trying to escape but Castillo cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Castillo tries to control but Silva wriggling away.
Silva is trying desperately to improve position.
Castillo 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.
Castillo punching from mount but Silva doing a good job of avoiding damage.

Castillo is looking to secure an arm. He's managed it! He's pivoting for an armbar - that looks tight! But Silva has managed to get out of it and now he's in a dominant position. Nice work from Silva!
Silva trying to control but Castillo is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Castillo trying to keep a closed guard but Silva is proving a slippery customer.
Castillo wants to stand up but Silva is controlling him.
Castillo looking for a sweep. Not yet Castillo, not yet.
Silva passes Castillo's left leg - he's now in half guard.

Castillo looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Silva is looking to advance position but Castillo won't allow it.
Castillo is looking to control Silva's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Castillo avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Silva misses with a takedown attempt

and Castillo counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

Castillo stands up over his opponent, looking to dive in with a big punch. Here he comes, superman style! Oh, the punch misses and Silva has got him in a triangle choke for good measure! Oh no! Castillo manages to get his head free but now Silva has transitioned to an armbar! Castillo grimaces and is forced to tap! Beautiful Jiu Jitsu from Silva! I'd be surprised if that didn't end up as submission of the night!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:28 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Anderson Silva!
Anderson Silva retains his middleweight title!