PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Rex Ruger (ranked 939 p4p, 26 weight class) and Adriano Silva (ranked 2228 p4p, 80 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Ruger
vs
Silva

169 cm
31
145 lbs
17 - 9 - 0

176 cm
33
135 lbs
19 - 14 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Rex Ruger!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 19 - 14 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Adriano Silva!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Thiago Cunha and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Ruger uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Silva.
Silva ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Ruger moves away.
Ruger throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Silva counters with a shoot takedown. Ruger fights it but they end up in guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Silva looking to sit in guard and control but Ruger gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Ruger throws a big right hand that misses.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ruger is one step ahead there.

Silva wriggles free and stands up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Ruger shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Silva manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.
Ruger wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Ruger with a flurry of punches that miss.
Ruger loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ruger content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Ruger throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Ruger from controlling successfully.
Ruger has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Ruger postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Silva is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruger scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Silva looking to control.
Ruger prevents Silva from getting back to his feet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Ruger accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Ruger postures up in Silva's guard and throws a big left but Silva blocks it.
Silva looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Silva keeping full guard, as Ruger tries to pass.
Ruger loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Ruger from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to keep Ruger in close.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Ruger takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.

Silva shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Silva showed some decent athleticism there.
Ruger is not content to let Silva control the position.
Silva trying to pass the guard but Ruger defending well.
Ruger is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Ruger trying to control but Silva postures up.
Ruger tries to get to full guard but Silva has control of the leg.
Silva is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Silva wants to free his trapped foot but Ruger is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Ruger is trying to stand back up but Silva is controlling him
Ruger tries to roll over but Silva keeps him under control.
Ruger pushes Silva off looking to stand but Silva dives back in and keeps control.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Silva is pressing down on Ruger's thigh, looking to free his foot. Ruger is holding on for now.
Ruger pushes Silva off but Silva dives into side control.
Silva wants to lay and pray for a moment but Ruger keeps working.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Adriano Silva will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Ruger looks to land a left hand but Silva moved out of range nicely.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Silva.
A slow jab from Silva misses its intended target.
Silva ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
A solid leg kick lands there for Silva.
Horrible takedown attempt by Ruger or perhaps it was just good defense by Silva, which made it look bad.
Ruger keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Silva.
Ruger attempts a counter takedown but Silva avoids it well and moves away.
A swing and a miss from Silva.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
No luck for Ruger with that takedown attempt.
Ruger fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Silva manages to avoid it.
A jab from Ruger finds it's way through Silva's defenses.
Silva works over Ruger's head and body with a nice combination.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruger keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Ruger changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Rex Ruger seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Ruger is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Silva's half guard.
Ruger not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Ruger winds up and cracks Silva with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Silva is trying to stand up here but Ruger is controlling him well.
Silva regains full guard. Nicely done.
Ruger throws a strike but Silva rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Ruger can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Silva controls the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Ruger is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva wants to stand but Ruger has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Ruger looking for a sweep. Not yet Ruger, not yet.
Silva is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Ruger looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Ruger has his hands on Silva's head, controlling the position.
Ruger keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a big elbow that misses.
Ruger is wriggling around but Silva manages to pass to half guard.
Silva is looking to take a break and control but Ruger is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

Silva is working for a kimura but Ruger is defending it quite comfortably.
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 is working for a kimura but Ruger is defending it quite comfortably.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Ruger is staying active underneath Silva, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Ruger drives through with a takedown into Silva's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Ruger is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ruger lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Silva wants to sweep here but Ruger controlling him for the moment.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Ruger from controlling successfully.
Silva wants to get back to his feet but Ruger is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Adriano Silva will probably get the nod - 10:9.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Ruger feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Ruger keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Silva's head.
Ruger loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Ruger trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Ruger slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Ruger stops Silva from standing up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ruger throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Silva works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ruger postures up.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ruger throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Ruger works over Silva with some ground and pound from guard.
Ruger tries to free his leg and advance position but Silva is retaining full guard.
Ruger makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Ruger is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ruger is looking to work some ground and pound but Silva has wrist control.
Silva is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Ruger throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Silva works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Ruger working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Ruger throws a big elbow that misses.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Ruger keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Ruger looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Silva is fending him off so far but Ruger persists. Nope, Silva circles away and we're back to standing.
Silva leaves Ruger with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Ruger checks a leg kick.
Silva throws a series of punches but Ruger moves out of range.
Ruger slips under a jab from Silva.
Ruger lands a nice hook to Silva's body. Silva takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Ruger looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rex Ruger. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Ruger jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Ruger shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Silva as he avoids it easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ruger takes one to the chin there.
Silva takes one to the side of the head.
Ruger tries to score a power double leg takedown but Silva sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Ruger somewhat.
Ruger has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Silva finds it's way round the side to connect with Ruger's head.
Silva punishes Ruger's body with a nice straight punch.
Ruger slips a straight right by Silva.
Ruger avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Adriano Silva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Silva throws a body shot but no joy.
Ruger feinted with a counter takedown.
Silva tests Ruger's chin there with a solid looking shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Ruger takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Ruger throws an overhand right that lands on Silva's shoulder, as Silva tries to avoid the shot.
Silva scores with a push kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Ruger is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Silva.
Silva takes a push kick to the midsection and stumbles backwards.
Silva catches Ruger with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Ruger walks into a jab.
Silva swings for the body but Ruger moves out of range.
Ruger fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Silva is out of range.
Ruger tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Silva defends well and Ruger ends up having to push Silva into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

Ruger drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Rex Ruger has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Ruger stopping the sweep attempt from Silva.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Adriano Silva.
I've got 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 Luis Engracia scores the fight 27:30
Judge Thiago Cunha scores the fight 27:30
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 27:30

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