PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Thomas Whitney (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Leonardo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Whitney
vs
Silva

165 cm
25
151 lbs
0 - 3 - 0

171 cm
21
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thomas Whitney!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Leonardo Silva!
The judges for this bout are Alexandre Firmino, Thiago Cunha and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva tries for a takedown but Whitney circles away easily
and Whitney counters with a solid body kick.
Silva is looking to clinch but Whitney is avoiding it.
Whitney quickly followed up with a counter body kick but doesn't connect.
Silva shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Whitney pinned against the cage. Whitney gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
A thudding body kick lands there by Whitney!

Whitney has taken the fight to the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva gets underhooks to prevent Whitney's takedown attempt.
Whitney has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Silva avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Silva dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Silva taking a breather.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Good body shot from Whitney.
Whitney looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
A short right from Silva on the inside.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Silva takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Whitney misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Silva.

Silva manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Whitney stopping the sweep attempt from Silva.

Silva looking for subs off his back but Whitney has passed one foot through into half guard.
Silva tries to regain full guard. Instead though, Whitney has advanced to mount. Uh oh.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Whitney controlling his opponent.
Whitney has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Whitney looking to control but Silva is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitney controlling from mount.
Silva is looking to improve his position but Whitney isn't that keen on the idea.
Whitney trying to control but Silva is having none of it.
Silva is trying to escape the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Silva wants to control but Whitney is having none of it.
Silva avoids a series of strikes thrown by Whitney.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva is looking to improve his position but Whitney isn't that keen on the idea.
Whitney trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Whitney looking to control and managing it successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thomas Whitney 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 clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Whitney manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Silva takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Whitney looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Silva is trying to avoid his opponent's strikes and get into the clinch.
Whitney lands a leg kick that knocks Silva off balance momentarily.
Silva is looking to clinch.
Whitney tries to land a front kick but Silva steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Whitney tries a head kick but it misses.
Leonardo Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Silva misses with a takedown attempt
and Whitney counters with a nice body kick.

Whitney forces Silva back against the cage and clinches.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva crunches a lovely knee into Whitney's ribcage.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Silva throws a head kick that misses.

Silva instigates a clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva managing to block the knees to the body from Whitney.

Whitney breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Silva throws a head kick that misses.
Whitney slips a jab and a cross from Silva.
Silva blocks the body kick.

Silva gets a clinch.
Whitney goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Silva has Whitney pressed against the cage, preventing Whitney from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Silva drops down looking for an ankle pick but Whitney pulls his leg out and moves away.
Silva avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

Whitney clinches.
Whitney is trying to pull guard but Silva turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva stalls.
Good body shot from Whitney.
Whitney is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Silva can do to turn this around?
Silva taking a breather.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Whitney misses with a body kick.
Silva tries to clinch there but Whitney circles away.
Whitney stuffs the takedown.
Thomas Whitney has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Leonardo Silva.
Whitney doesn't manage to clinch there - Silva circles away.
Silva is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.

Whitney fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Silva, pushing him back against the cage.

Whitney manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Whitney working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Silva doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Silva manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Silva stays in close to Whitney's body and controls the position.
Silva is looking to pass into half guard but Whitney pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Whitney is in guard.

Silva is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Whitney fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Silva ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Silva no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.

Silva is looking for a triangle here but Whitney uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
Whitney trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Whitney is controlling the pace.
Whitney 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.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Thomas Whitney will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Whitney tries to close the distance and clinch up but Silva swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Silva will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Whitney swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Whitney throws a big counter combination but Silva scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.

Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Whitney pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Whitney tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Silva paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Silva keeps the fight on the outside.
Whitney stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Whitney wants it to stay on the feet.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Whitney.
Whitney looking for a takedown.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Whitney misses with a body punch.
Silva misses with a hook to the ribs.
Whitney is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Silva to keep the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Thomas Whitney. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Whitney changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Silva fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Whitney fails in his attempt to clinch.
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Whitney, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Whitney against the cage but Whitney circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
As Silva looks to move away, Whitney throws a big counter combo but Silva just gets out of the way.
Silva misses with an attempted mid kick.
Whitney is looking to counter with a body kick.
Silva looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Whitney is fending him off so far but Silva persists. Nope, Whitney circles away and we're back to standing.
Silva moves out of range of the body kick.
Silva moves out of range of the body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Silva closes the distance and pushes Whitney back into the cage.
Silva tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Silva lands a knee to the body.
Whitney tries to circle away but Silva has him pinned against the cage.

Silva breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Silva thuds a left hand into Whitney's body.

Whitney pushes Silva up against the cage in a clinch.
Whitney is working for takedown but Silva is calmly controlling the position for now.
Whitney struggles to land a body shot inside as Silva controls his hands.

Silva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Whitney fails with an attempt to clinch.
Whitney lands a nice hook to Silva's body. Silva takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Whitney buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Whitney tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Silva shoots in for a double leg but Whitney sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Silva shoots in for a takedown but Whitney shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Whitney instigates a clinch.
Whitney wants a takedown but no success here.
Whitney is trying to force a seperation but Silva has the dominant position.
Whitney is working for takedown but Silva is calmly controlling the position for now.

Silva breaks the clinch.
A nice inside leg kick there by Whitney. That's going to slow Silva down.
Thomas Whitney is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva with a lazy takedown attempt
and Whitney counters with a body kick that stops Silva in his tracks momentarily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Silva misses with a combination
and Whitney counters with a body kick that stops Silva in his tracks momentarily.
Nice straight punches there by Whitney. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Whitney.
Whitney pushes Silva away with a front kick.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Whitney.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Whitney throws a head kick that Silva semi-blocks.
Leonardo Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Thomas Whitney is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva fails with an attempt to clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Thomas Whitney showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Whitney, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Alexandre Firmino scores the fight 30:27
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Thomas Whitney!