PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sisu Okunaba (ranked 1723 p4p, 220 weight class) and Starling Silva (ranked 1786 p4p, 228 weight class). Sisu Okunaba has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Okunaba
vs
Silva

175 cm
40
179 lbs
9 - 1 - 0

191 cm
31
192 lbs
14 - 8 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Granite chin

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Sisu Okunaba!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 14 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Starling Silva!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Steve Montenegro and Franklyn Lucas.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Okunaba shoots for a double leg takedown but Silva sprawls well. He's pushed Okunaba's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Okunaba fails to land the takedown.
Silva bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Okunaba fails with a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Sisu Okunaba. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A good leg kick by Silva.
Silva walks into a left hand.
Silva slaps away a takedown attempt from Okunaba, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Okunaba checks the leg kick nicely there.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Okunaba throws a sloppy head kick and Silva moves out of range easily.
Silva throws the kick towards the body but Okunaba avoids it.
Okunaba gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Silva.

Okunaba closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Silva's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Silva utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Okunaba trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Okunaba is looking to work some ground and pound but Silva has wrist control.
Okunaba missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Silva working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Okunaba.
Silva utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Silva is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Okunaba has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

Okunaba is holding a leg here, probably looking for an ankle lock - he drops back and goes for it! Silva is in trouble! Is it all over??? No! Silva has escaped and now he's on top!

Okunaba looking for a guillotine here but Silva defends easily.

Okunaba isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Silva stacks Okunaba on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Silva!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva staying calm.
Okunaba might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Okunaba is looking for a sweep.
Okunaba can't do much from the bottom here.
Silva in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Okunaba tries to buck Silva off but Silva is having none of it.
Okunaba struggling a bit here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Okunaba is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Okunaba is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Silva is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Silva takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Silva moves to the back.
I really don't envy Okunaba right now.
Okunaba is working hard here to advance position.
My spies in The Takeover inform me that Silva has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Okunaba trying to control the action but Silva just sinks the hooks in.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva slows the pace down here. Having a little breather whilst he's in a dominant position, looking to rest and regain some energy, ready to go for the finish.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Okunaba wants to escape the position.
Silva controls the action.
Okunaba looks to control his opponent's hands but he's not mananging it at the moment.
Silva keeps control of the position easily here as Okunaba tries to buck him off.
Let's hope that Silva 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.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Okunaba trying to control but not successfully.
Okunaba tries to break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Starling Silva dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Okunaba scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Silva defending against the ground and pound.
Silva dodges the ground and pound from Okunaba.
Okunaba lands a decent elbow from side control.
Okunaba creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Silva sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Okunaba misses with the ground and pound.
Okunaba creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Silva sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.
Silva is trying to get back to half guard.
The strikes coming from Okunaba are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Okunaba lands a few punches from side control.
You can see the frustration on Silva's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Silva tries to bench press Okunaba off him but Okunaba keeps the position.
Okunaba throws an elbow but Silva slips to the side and avoids it well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Okunaba working the strikes but Silva uses the opportunity to regain half guard.
Okunaba trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Silva works his way to full guard. Good work.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Silva lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Okunaba working for submissions but it's allowed Silva to get to half guard.
Silva keeping composed on the top, looking to control the action.
Silva has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Okunaba tries to get to full guard but Silva has control of the leg.
Silva stalling.
Starling Silva has got the better of the ground game so far.
Silva seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Okunaba does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

Okunaba looking for submissions off his back.
Silva controlling the action here.

Okunaba has guillotine here! It looks pretty tight! Could this be all over! No, Silva escapes and passes into side control at the same time. Nice work there by Silva!
Okunaba wants to control but Silva postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Okunaba is looking for a sweep.
Okunaba is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Silva off and has taken his back!
Okunaba punches the canvas rather than the man.

Okunaba is remaining active here, looking for the choke. The more discerning members of the crowd will appreciate his efforts.
Okunaba misses with a punch to the head.

Okunaba is staying calm and holding on to the back position, whilst working on a rear naked choke. Silva is defending well though. Okunaba let's go of the attempt for now.

Silva defends a rear naked choke attempt by controlling one of Okunaba's arms.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Okunaba throws a big right hand but he misses and hits the mat. Ouch.
Silva tries to roll but Okunaba sticks to his back.
Okunaba throwing wild punches that miss their target.
Okunaba misses with punches from the back.
Okunaba thows a huge left but connects with the canvas and not his opponent.
Silva is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Okunaba off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Silva can't escape the position.
Silva turns into Okunaba and is now in his guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Okunaba has his foot on Silva's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Silva works his way back into a safe position though.

Okunaba working for a triangle but Silva defends it easily.
Okunaba tries to land a sweep but no joy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sisu Okunaba dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Okunaba throws a head kick that misses.
Silva scores with a head kick.
Okunaba 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 Okunaba off to one side.
Okunaba looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.

Okunaba fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Silva sprawls well initially but Okunaba persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Okunaba is just content to waste time from the top position. Silva takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Silva is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Okunaba postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Silva is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Silva with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Okunaba is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Silva's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Silva's back!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Okunaba wants to control but Silva is keeping busy.
Silva trying to survive by controlling the hands.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva showing good submission defense here.

Okunaba working for the choke.
Okunaba struggling to land strikes to the head as Silva covers up.
Okunaba is not going to allow Silva to sit and survive in this position.

Okunaba working for a choke but Silva reverses nicely into Okunaba 's guard.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Okunaba 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 slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Okunaba is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Silva is aware though and is defending well.

Okunaba working for submissions but it's allowed Silva to get to half guard.
Okunaba is looking to improve his position.
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 wants to free his trapped foot but Okunaba is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Okunaba tries to roll over but Silva keeps him under control.
Okunaba wants to get back to full guard but Silva has passed into side control.
Silva just content to control the position.
Okunaba is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Okunaba gets back to half guard.

Okunaba actively working from the bottom here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Silva is pressing down on Okunaba's thigh, looking to free his foot. Okunaba is holding on for now.
Silva takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Okunaba trying to get back to full guard but Silva takes advantage of the position and moves to full mount!
Okunaba wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.
Silva has the hooks in. Okunaba is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.
Okunaba tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Silva controlling his opponent.
Silva's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Okunaba really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Starling Silva.
I think Silva 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Starling Silva!