PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Granger (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be fireworks!

Silva
vs
Granger

173 cm
26
155 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

162 cm
23
163 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Brawler
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rafael Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, James Granger!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Seu Braga and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva scores with a crisp jab that stopped Granger in his tracks.
Silva bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Granger's head.
Granger shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Silva as he avoids it easily.

Silva has Granger up against the cage in a clinch.
Granger tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silva just stands there and leans against the cage.
Silva lands with a left to the head.
Silva scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Silva lands an uppercut.
Silva misses with some punches.
Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Granger tries to pull guard but Silva forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Rafael Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Granger.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Granger.
Silva misses with a hook from the clinch.
Silva lands an uppercut.
Granger fails to pull guard.
Granger is trying to pull guard but Silva turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Granger jumps guard but Silva turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Silva prevents a takedown attempt there.
Granger is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva swings wildly with an uppercut but Granger uses good head movement to avoid it.
Silva misses with the head strike.
Silva gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Granger.
Granger blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Granger blocks an uppercut.
Granger blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Granger has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Silva avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Granger tries for a takedown. No joy.
Granger is trying to force a seperation but Silva has the dominant position.
Granger tries to circle away but Silva has him pinned against the cage.
Silva has a couple of punches blocked by Granger.
Silva lands a nice uppercut.
Silva lands a left hand.
Silva misses with some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Granger is trying to pull guard but Silva turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Granger tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silva just stands there and leans against the cage.
Silva working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Silva misses with some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Silva.
Silva lands with a right to the head.
Silva misses with a short punch on the inside.
Silva misses with the head strike.
Granger tries to break free but Silva pushes him back against the cage.
Silva misses with a short punch on the inside.
Granger tries to pull guard but Silva won't allow it.
Silva swings away with an uppercut that misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Granger jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Silva walks away with a smile on his face. Granger gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Granger tries for a takedown but Silva sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rafael Silva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Granger gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Silva.
Silva tries to clinch but Granger is having none of it.
Granger tries for a takedown but Silva circles away easily
and Silva counters with a left and a right that stings Granger.
Granger fails to land the takedown.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Granger fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Granger takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Granger closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Silva did well to prevent Granger getting side control.
Granger wants to take a breather but Silva is having none of it.

Silva looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Granger working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Granger is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
Granger drops an elbow to the side of Silva's head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Granger winds up and cracks Silva with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Granger is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
My spies in Brophy's Evil Troid Academy (BETA) inform me that Granger has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Silva definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.

Granger is looking for submissions but instead, Silva has regained full guard.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Granger slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
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 Rafael Silva will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Granger shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Silva moves in looking to clinch but Granger pushes him off.
Silva slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Granger dives in for a single leg takedown but Silva sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Granger looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Granger jumps guard but Silva stands there with Granger around his waist. Granger gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Rafael Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Granger.
Silva throws a punch but it's blocked by Granger.
Granger tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Silva smiles and moves away.
Rafael Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Granger decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Granger stalling.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Granger wants to control but Silva is keeping him busy.
Granger stalling.
Granger drops an elbow to the side of Silva's head.
Granger missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Granger is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Silva tries to get to full guard but Granger has control of the leg.
Granger with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Silva looking for submissions off his back.
Well, if Granger is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Let's hope that Granger 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.
Granger wants to take a breather but Silva is having none of it.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. James Granger wasn't active enough on the ground.
Granger tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Silva swivels and escapes.

Silva instigates a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva keeps control of Granger as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Granger is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Rafael Silva has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Silva makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
A shot in the inside from Silva.
Silva throws a punch but it's blocked by Granger.
Silva has a couple of punches blocked by Granger.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Silva.
Granger tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silva just stands there and leans against the cage.
Granger has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Silva is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Silva is pressed up against the cage. Granger has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Silva down to the mat. Silva avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Nice cross by Silva.
Nice sprawl there from Silva as Granger shoots in.
Granger with a lazy takedown attempt
and Silva counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Granger is breathing heavily.
Granger fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Silva avoids it really well and circles away.
Granger moves out of range as Silva strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Silva is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Silva misses with the combination.
Granger throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Silva's waist but Silva gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Granger off to one side.
James Granger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Granger has his takedown stuffed
and Silva counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
A big left from Silva misses.
Granger tries for a takedown but Silva circles away easily
and Silva counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva lands a head shot.
Silva tries to clinch up but Granger circles away and keeps his distance.
Silva connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Granger will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rafael Silva is winning the standup battle so far.
Silva darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
Granger fails with the takedown
and Silva counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but James Granger will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Silva's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Silva is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Granger is defended easily by Silva.
Silva throws a nice looking combination but Granger bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Silva swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Granger.
Silva is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Granger misses with a takedown
and Silva counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Silva's corner calls for a 1-2. Silva obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Granger shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Silva but Silva pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Rafael Silva has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Granger.
Silva shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Granger eats them both and turns towards Silva to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

Granger shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Silva napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Granger in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Granger trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Granger takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Granger grinds an elbow into Silva's temple.
Granger throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Silva takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Granger is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Silva is trying to improve his position.
Granger scoring with punches from side control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva is not content to let Granger control the position.
Granger lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Granger grinds an elbow into Silva's temple.

Granger is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Silva knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Granger takes a little break here. Silva wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.

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

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Granger grinds an elbow into Silva's temple.
Granger scores with a couple of short elbows.
Granger scores with punches from side control.
Silva tries to improve position but can't.
Granger trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Granger slows the pace down.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Granger trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Granger lands a few punches from side control.

Granger is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Silva is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Granger wants to lay and pray for a moment but Silva keeps working.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva regains half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Granger comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Granger has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Felipe Paraventi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Granger!
James Granger took his opportunity to call for a title shot in his post fight interview.