PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Sam Talbert (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Junior De Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Talbert
vs
De Silva

185 cm
28
220 lbs
19 - 10 - 1

193 cm
36
216 lbs
31 - 15 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 19 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Sam Talbert!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 31 - 15 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Junior De Silva!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Alec Ball and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Silva throws a right and a left that Talbert avoids nicely.
De Silva connects with a jab.
De Silva paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Talbert has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Montreal Fighter's Gym (5* Sparring) in the buildup to the fight.
De Silva jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Talbert throws a big counter combination but De Silva scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
De Silva throws a lazy uppercut
and Talbert counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Talbert throws a looping overhand right but De Silva ducks down to avoid it.
De Silva throws a big shot that misses.
Talbert appears to be looking for a big counter.
Talbert misses with a looping right.
De Silva throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
De Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Talbert swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Talbert is looking to counter punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Silva throws a sloppy body shot
and Talbert counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Talbert just misses with a punch to the body.
De Silva avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Silva thuds his right hand into Talbert's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
De Silva throws a hook but Talbert blocks it.
Talbert with a jab.
De Silva swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Talbert is looking for a counter combo.
De Silva slips a jab from Talbert.
De Silva just misses with a punch to the body.
Talbert is looking to counter punch.
De Silva lands with a hook. Talbert tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
De Silva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Talbert manages to avoid it.
Talbert throwing a counter right hand but De Silva manages to avoid it.

De Silva moves into the clinch.
De Silva lands a shoulder strike.
De Silva lands with a short shot to the head.
De Silva prevents the takedown attempt.
De Silva can't find room to land a body shot as Talbert controls the action.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Silva tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Talbert's elbow.
Talbert is trying to push De Silva away but De Silva has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Talbert's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Talbert scores with an uppercut up the middle.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
De Silva lands with a light punch inside.
De Silva lands a shot to the body.
Talbert swings wildly with an uppercut but De Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.
Still in the clinch, De Silva scores with a nice short uppercut.
Talbert blocking some punches.
A nice left hand lands by De Silva.
De Silva scores with a nice hook to the head.
De Silva pushes Talbert back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Talbert swings wildly with an uppercut but De Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.

Talbert's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

De Silva drives through and clinches with Talbert against the cage.
De Silva lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Talbert.
Talbert trying to control the position but instead, De Silva has worked for underhooks and has pushed Talbert into the cage.
De Silva tries to throw a body punch but Talbert avoids it by throwing De Silva back against the cage.
Talbert looking to slow down the pace here.
A nice right hand lands inside from De Silva.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, De Silva creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
De Silva misses with some punches.

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

De Silva has taken the fight to the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Silva throws an elbow but it misses.
De Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as Talbert controls his hands.
De Silva doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
De Silva lands a left hand that snaps the head of Talbert backwards.
The referee calls for Talbert to work.
A body shot lands from De Silva.
De Silva works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Talbert has De Silva pushed against the cage.
De Silva slowing the pace effectively.
Talbert leaning his opponent against the cage.
Talbert tries to pull guard but De Silva holds him up against the cage and eventually Talbert drops back down to his feet.
De Silva pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior De Silva dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

De Silva clinches with his opponent.
Talbert jumps guard but De Silva stands there with Talbert around his waist. Talbert gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
De Silva misses with some punches.
De Silva lands on the inside with an uppercut.
De Silva fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
De Silva's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
De Silva scores with a nice hook to the head.
De Silva swings wildly with an uppercut but Talbert uses good head movement to avoid it.
Talbert can't get the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Silva stalls.

Talbert tightens his grip and picks De Silva up, before dumping him to the ground. De Silva manages to land in guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Silva has control of Talbert's left arm, preventing Talbert from doing any damage.
Talbert trying to control but De Silva is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Silva is pulling down on Talbert's head. It's preventing any offense from Talbert, at least for the moment.
Talbert is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
De Silva pulls Talbert in close to his closed guard and prevents Talbert from doing any damage or advancing position.
De Silva is continuing to stall.
Talbert wants to control from the top but De Silva keeps moving.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
De Silva fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Talbert thows a left - swing and a miss!
De Silva moves away from the strike by Talbert.
De Silva lands a body shot.

De Silva forces Talbert back against the cage and clinches.
A frustrated look appears on Talbert's face as he tries to break the clinch.
The referee calls for De Silva to work.
Talbert fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Talbert. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Silva prevents Talbert from breaking the clinch.
A right hook to the body lands for De Silva.
Talbert is looking for a takedown.
Talbert working hard to break the clinch.
Talbert misses with a punch on the inside.
De Silva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Talbert being controlled against the cage.
Talbert looking to slow down the pace here.
De Silva stalling the fight.
Talbert prevents a body shot from De Silva.
De Silva looks to throw an elbow but misses.
De Silva misses with some punches.
De Silva tries to throw a body punch but Talbert avoids it by throwing De Silva back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Talbert blocks a punch to the side of the head.
De Silva digs a right hand underneath Talbert's ribcage. Talbert let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Talbert blocks a body shot from De Silva.
Talbert lands with a light punch inside.
De Silva lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Talbert is looking to control De Silva's arms but De Silva gets an underhook and turns him. Now Talbert has his back to the cage.
A head punch on the inside from Talbert fails to land.

Talbert breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
De Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Talbert is looking for a counter combo.
De Silva ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Talbert moves away.
Talbert was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Talbert ducks under a wild hook from De Silva.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
De Silva misses with a body shot.
De Silva lands with a shot to the body.
De Silva avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Junior De Silva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Talbert's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Talbert keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Talbert is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Talbert jabbing away but nothing is landing.
De Silva misses with a wild body shot.
De Silva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Talbert manages to avoid it.
De Silva tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Talbert was well out of range. Poor timing from De Silva.
De Silva looks to throw the jab but Talbert is out of range.
Talbert swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
De Silva let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Junior De Silva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
The crowd cheers as De Silva lands an impressive looking overhand right. Talbert doesn't seem phased though.
The fighters circling - De Silva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
It looked like Talbert wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Talbert moves away from the strike by De Silva.
Talbert defending well as De Silva loads up on a big left hand.
Talbert is looking to counter punch.
De Silva is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Talbert.
Talbert uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from De Silva.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Silva staying out of range there.
De Silva connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Talbert's hands.
De Silva tries to clinch but Talbert moves out of range.
Talbert ducks under a wild hook from De Silva.
A combination from Talbert does no damage.
Junior De Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Talbert pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces De Silva back to the cage. Talbert follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.
Talbert misses with a straight right.
De Silva throws out a counter right but Talbert avoids it with no problem.
Talbert throws a jab when De Silva was well out of range.
The fighters circling - De Silva throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
De Silva slips a jab from Talbert.

De Silva moves into the clinch.
De Silva lands a shoulder strike.
Talbert looking to slow down the pace here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Talbert is trying to break the clinch but De Silva has him pressed against the cage.
De Silva lands a nice elbow from the clinch.
De Silva tries to work over Talbert's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Talbert tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
De Silva cracks Talbert with a nice body shot.
De Silva misses with the head strike.
De Silva doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
De Silva misses with a body punch.
De Silva pushes Talbert back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
De Silva blocks an uppercut.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
De Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Talbert blocks an uppercut.
Talbert swings wildly with an uppercut but De Silva uses good head movement to avoid it.
De Silva lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Sam Talbert has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Junior De Silva is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Junior De Silva seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Talbert misses with a short punch on the inside.
Talbert is trying to push De Silva away but De Silva has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Talbert misses with a hook from the clinch.
Talbert just leaning against De Silva, taking a breather.

Talbert manages to break the clinch.
Nice defenses there by De Silva.
A little jabbing left from De Silva on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
De Silva looks to land a combination but Talbert avoids it well.
De Silva uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Talbert.
Talbert is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
De Silva jabs at Talbert's body.

De Silva darts in and clinches Talbert up against the cage.
Talbert wants a takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Talbert tries to pull guard but De Silva holds him up against the cage and eventually Talbert drops back down to his feet.
Talbert is really struggling to find his range with his punches. De Silva's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Talbert is trying to maintain a safe position but De Silva gets an underhook and turns Talbert into the cage.
De Silva lands a shot to the body.
Talbert is trying to force a seperation but De Silva has the dominant position.
Talbert tries for a takedown but De Silva manages to get underhooks.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sam Talbert. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Talbert looking to slow down the pace here.
De Silva lands on the inside with an uppercut.

And that's the end of the fight!
Junior De Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got De Silva winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 William Peck scores the fight 27:30
Judge Alec Ball scores the fight 27:30
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Junior De Silva!
In his post fight interview, Junior De Silva started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.