PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Mirsad Ibrahimovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thiago Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Thiago Silva is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Ibrahimovic
vs
Silva

178 cm
25
180 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very confident

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Mirsad Ibrahimovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Silva!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Tarja Halkonen and Johanna Lukiainen.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Silva darts in and clinches Ibrahimovic up against the ropes.
Silva scores with a knee to the head.
Still in the clinch, Silva scores with a nice short uppercut.

Ibrahimovic is fighting off a takedown attempt but Silva is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Ibrahimovic to the mat. Ibrahimovic regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.

Silva avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Ibrahimovic working a defensive guard here.
Silva is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ibrahimovic is trying to keep Silva in close.
Silva must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ibrahimovic looking for subs off his back but Silva has passed one foot through into half guard.
Silva content to control rather than advance.
Ibrahimovic trying to control from the bottom.
Ibrahimovic is trying to get back to full guard.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Silva connects with a nice short shot to Ibrahimovic's temple.
Ibrahimovic gets back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Ibrahimovic throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Silva showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Ibrahimovic is trying to control the position but Silva postures up.
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 controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Silva scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Silva puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Well, if Silva 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.
Silva's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Silva tries to pass to full mount but Ibrahimovic defends it.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Silva drives through with a takedown into guard.
Ibrahimovic keeping full guard, as Silva tries to pass.
Ibrahimovic being controlled here, momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic trying to control the position.
Ibrahimovic being controlled here, momentarily.

Ibrahimovic looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Silva passes into half guard.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Still in half guard, Silva seems content to control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Silva stuffs the takedown attempt from Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic gets slowly back to his feet.
Silva displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Ibrahimovic.

Silva gets a clinch.
Ibrahimovic is trying to break the clinch but Silva is controlling him.
Ibrahimovic is trying to push Silva away but Silva has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Silva holding his opponent close, against the ropes.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A frustrated look appears on Ibrahimovic's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Silva landing knees to the head.
Silva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ibrahimovic wants a takedown but no success here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mirsad Ibrahimovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic fails with the takedown.

Silva shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Ibrahimovic is trying to get back to full guard.

Ibrahimovic with the active half guard here but Silva passes nicely into side control.
Silva gets to mount! Ibrahimovic was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic is bucking up trying to escape but Silva cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Silva controlling from mount.
Ibrahimovic wants to control but Silva is having none of it.
Ibrahimovic tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Silva lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Silva punishing his opponent with strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Silva looking to control and managing it successfully.
Thiago Silva has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ibrahimovic regains half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ibrahimovic trying to control from the bottom.
Ibrahimovic wants to improve his position but Silva is controlling well.
Ibrahimovic misses with some strikes from the bottom.
Ibrahimovic is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Silva controlling the action here.
Silva not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Silva is thwarting Ibrahimovic's attempts to control the position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Ibrahimovic gets full guard.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Ibrahimovic is proving hard to escape from.
Ibrahimovic seems to have improved his submission grappling technique since last time we saw him. Let's see if he can pull off a submission.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Ibrahimovic shoots in and drives through. Silva sprawls well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Silva gets a double leg takedown into Ibrahimovic's guard.
Ibrahimovic looking to control.
Ibrahimovic looking to control but Silva passes into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thiago Silva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Silva throws a head kick that half lands.
Ibrahimovic shoots in for a double leg but Silva sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Silva.
Ibrahimovic is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Silva is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Ibrahimovic wants to control but Silva is having none of it.
Ibrahimovic looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva controls the action.

Silva looking for the choke but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva controlling the position well here. Ibrahimovic rolled but Silva kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Ibrahimovic wants to control his opponent's hands but Silva gets his hands free.
Ibrahimovic manages to reverse the position and now he's in Silva's guard. Nice work there by Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to sweep here but Ibrahimovic controlling him for the moment.
Silva seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Ibrahimovic stopping the sweep attempt from Silva.
Ibrahimovic trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ibrahimovic accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Silva is trying to control the position but Ibrahimovic postures up.
Silva is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Silva throwing some rather feeble looking strikes off his back.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Silva changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Ibrahimovic looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Ibrahimovic tries to buck Silva off but Silva is having none of it.

Silva is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Ibrahimovic is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Silva wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ibrahimovic keeps working.
Ibrahimovic can't do much from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva controls the position.
Ibrahimovic is trying to control Silva's posture but Silva avoids it.
Ibrahimovic is trying to get back to half guard.
Silva working away.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Silva decides to stand up, so the ref orders Ibrahimovic to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thiago Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Silva has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 27:30
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight 27:30
Judge Johanna Lukiainen scores the fight 27:30

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