PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Alex Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bear Stevenson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Fingers crossed for an exciting fight - I'm sure both fighters are looking for a nice under the table bonus!

Silva
vs
Stevenson

180 cm
26
170 lbs
13 - 8 - 0

178 cm
31
168 lbs
22 - 6 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Dangerous knees
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Grand Champion Apparel
GREEN!160

SP Ultimate Nutrition
Fury Nutrition Inc.

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 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alex Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 6 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Bear Stevenson!
The judges for this bout are Saam Ante, Albert Achterberg and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Stevenson throws a looping overhand right but Silva ducks down to avoid it.
Stevenson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Stevenson fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Silva swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Stevenson tries to bum rush Silva with a series of wild strikes but Silva uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Stevenson takes a swing at Silva's ribcage but misses.
Stevenson connects with a looping right hand.
Silva shoots in looking for a takedown. Stevenson tries to sprawl out of it but Silva keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Stevenson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Stevenson lands a slapping body shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stevenson thuds a left hand into Silva's body.
Silva tries to clinch up but Stevenson circles away and keeps his distance.
Silva closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Stevenson misses with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stevenson dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Silva. That did some damage!
Silva misses with a takedown attempt
and Stevenson counters with a straight right hand.
Stevenson is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Silva rather than just go for the knockout.
Stevenson connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Stevenson lands a leg kick that knocks Silva off balance momentarily.
Stevenson stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Stevenson wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silva avoids the body shot from Stevenson.
Silva is looking to clinch.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Stevenson! But no joy.
Stevenson lands with a shot to the body.
Stevenson getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Silva blocks a low kick nicely.
Stevenson scores with a hook.
Stevenson leaves Silva with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Bear Stevenson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Stevenson lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Stevenson throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws out a leg kick but Stevenson moves out of range and Silva only half commits.
Silva shoots in but no luck this time.
Stevenson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Silva.
Stevenson looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Nice shot by Stevenson.
Stevenson throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Silva.
Stevenson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Silva stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Stevenson throws a leg kick but Silva sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Silva seemed to be looking to counter by closing the distance.
A low kick from Silva is predictable there
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Silva walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Silva with a lazy takedown attempt
and Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Stevenson tried to score with a low kick but Silva checks it.
Stevenson looks to score with a jab to the body but Silva is just out of range.
Stevenson tries to bum rush Silva with a series of wild strikes but Silva uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Stevenson misses with a wild body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva checks a leg kick.
Stevenson ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Stevenson throws a low kick but Silva avoids it.
Stevenson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Silva fails with the takedown.
Stevenson lands a slapping body shot.
Stevenson avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Stevenson comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Silva shoots in looking for a takedown but Stevenson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Silva's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Stevenson let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Silva tries to land a leg kick but Stevenson saw it coming and moves away.
Stevenson lands with a right hand.

Silva looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.
Silva trying to control but Stevenson is working from the bottom.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Silva accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Stevenson lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Silva is trying to control the position but Stevenson postures up.
Silva wants to hit a switch here but Stevenson passes into full mount! Oh no, disaster for Silva there!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bear Stevenson dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Stevenson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Stevenson let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Stevenson dips to his left and cracks Silva with an uppercut!
Stevenson misses with a leg kick.
Stevenson throws a leg kick but Silva sees it coming and moves out of range.
Stevenson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Silva takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Stevenson shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Silva darts in trying to clinch
and Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Silva throws a body punch but Stevenson moves out of range.
A countering left hand to the body from Stevenson misses.
Silva attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Stevenson lands a nice hook to Silva's body. Silva takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Stevenson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
A nice leg kick lands there from Stevenson.
Stevenson works Silva's body with a nice hook.

Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Stevenson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Stevenson looks to land a combination. Silva sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.

It looks like Alex Silva has been cut.
Stevenson is looking to chop away at Silva's legs.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Stevenson swings for the body but Silva moves out of range.
Alex Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Stevenson fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Silva has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Stevenson throws a body punch but Silva moves out of range.
Silva appears to be looking for a counter takedown.
Silva walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Stevenson checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Silva shoots and misses
and Stevenson counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Stevenson scores with a jab to the head.
Silva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Stevenson pinned against the cage. Stevenson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alex Silva. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silva tries to clinch there but Stevenson circles away.
Stevenson is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Silva with a body shot.
Stevenson lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Stevenson defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Silva.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Silva looks to clinch
and Stevenson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Stevenson digs a good body shot into Silva's ribs.

Silva moves into range and clinches up with Stevenson.
Silva is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Stevenson trying to stall but Silva improves his position.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Stevenson.
Stevenson scores with a knee to the head.
Silva wants to stall.
Stevenson is looking to break free of the clinch but Silva has double underhooks.
Silva blocks the elbow strike.
Silva misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Stevenson.
Silva throws a knee to the head but misses.

Silva pulls Stevenson into guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stevenson postures up.
Stevenson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Silva swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Stevenson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Silva looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Stevenson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Stevenson works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Stevenson prevents Silva from improving his position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
My spies in Hey Steves Fight Shack inform me that Stevenson has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!

That's four 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.
Nice strikes from Stevenson there.
Stevenson prevents Silva from improving his position.
Stevenson lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Silva wants to improve his position but Stevenson is controlling well.
Stevenson wants to free his trapped foot but Silva is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Silva wants to get back to full guard.
Silva regains full guard. Nicely done.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bear Stevenson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Alex Silva's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Stevenson fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Silva looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Stevenson tries a low kick but Silva avoids it.
Silva drops down looking for a counter takedown but Stevenson sprawls and moves away.

Silva drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Stevenson is looking to regain half guard here but Silva keeps moving and retains side control.
Alex Silva overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva tries to advance to mount but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva is looking to take a break and control but Stevenson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Silva gets to mount! Stevenson was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

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.
Stevenson is desperately trying to improve his position but Silva has a good base and remains in mount.
Stevenson is squirming around, avoiding Silva's attempts to control the action.
Silva with good strikes from the mount here!
Stevenson wants to control but Silva is having none of it.
Silva lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Silva unloading with bombs!
Stevenson really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
Silva lands a couple of good shots and Stevenson has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to stick to Stevenson's back but Stevenson is turning into Silva. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Silva's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Stevenson.
Silva trying to control the position.
Silva throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Alex Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Silva looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Stevenson trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Stevenson.
Silva is trying to keep Stevenson in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Stevenson passes Silva's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Bear Stevenson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Stevenson prevents Silva from improving his position.
Stevenson is trying to control the action in half guard but Silva is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Silva is looking to improve his position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Stevenson keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Stevenson is pressing down on Silva's thigh, looking to free his foot. Silva is holding on for now.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Silva showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Stevenson 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 Saam Ante scores the fight 28:29
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight 27:29
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bear Stevenson!
Bear Stevenson took some time post fight to say the following; 'Time for another shot at the title!'.