PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Shogun Silva (ranked 3904 p4p, 3825 weight class) and Vaai Finau (ranked 495 p4p, 491 weight class). On his way into the cage it seems that Shogun Silva has been attacked by a crazed fan! It looks like it might have been the just bleed guy! Luckily Shogun Silva seems to be OK! I thought that lunatic was in prison!?

Silva
vs
Finau

188 cm
29
219
4 - 8 - 0

196 cm
31
220
8 - 7 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class 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 4 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Shogun Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 7 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Vaai Finau!
The judges for this bout are Francis DeMontford, Ben Watson and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Finau throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Silva has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Kalashnikov ELITE MMA Gym in the buildup to the fight.
Shogun Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Silva tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Silva slips under a jab from Finau.
Silva seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Silva pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Silva throws a lazy head kick
and Finau cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Silva throws a looping overhand right but Finau ducks down to avoid it.
Silva misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Finau pulls out of a head kick attempt.

Finau 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.

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Finau can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Finau throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.
Finau won't allow Silva to sweep him here.
Finau lands a couple of elbows.

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Finau can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Finau cracks Silva with a solid left hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Finau distracts Silva with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.

Silva is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Finau is aware though and is defending well.
Finau postures up and lands a big shot to Silva's brow.

Silva looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Silva working for a triangle but Finau defends it easily.
Silva trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Finau distracts Silva with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Finau wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.

Silva is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Finau working some strikes from top position.
Finau seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

Silva looking for a guillotine here but Finau defends easily.

Silva is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Finau is working Silva over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Finau working some strikes from top position.
Silva looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Finau trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Finau lands a couple of elbows.
Finau postures up and lands a big shot to Silva's brow.

Silva is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Finau postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Finau connects with a couple of short punches.
Finau cracks Silva with a solid left hand.
Finau works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Silva is looking to get back to full guard here but Finau has managed to pass to side control instead.
Finau wants to control but Silva is keeping him busy.
Silva is positioning himself to get back to half guard.
Finau scores with a couple of short elbows.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Finau is chipping away with strikes.
Finau works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Silva is trying to get back to half guard.
Finau taking a breather here.
Silva manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Silva is trying to control. Finau wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Finau gets back to full guard.
Silva won't allow Finau to sweep him here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Vaai Finau dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Silva throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Silva swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Danga de danga de dang - Finau scores with a four punch combination!
A jab from Silva misses.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Finau.
Silva takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Silva tries a head kick but it misses.
Shogun Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Silva throws a lazy uppercut
and Finau counters with an outside leg kick.
Silva ducks right into an uppercut from Finau.
Finau throws a jab when Silva was well out of range.
Silva rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Finau moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Silva gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Silva is wriggling around but Finau manages to pass to half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!

The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Finau drops an elbow to the side of Silva's head.
Finau takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Finau connects with a nice short shot to Silva's temple.
Finau has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva looking for subs from the bottom but Finau mounts him!

Finau is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Silva can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Finau lands a nice shot to the head.

Finau has hold of Silva's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Silva manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Silva is looking to improve his position but Finau isn't that keen on the idea.
A nice elbow there by Finau.
Finau is landing with some decent strikes but Silva is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

Silva is rocked!
Finau postures up and connects with a big shot that has rocked Silva badly. He's trying desperately to grab hold of Finau around the waist but Finau pushes him off and unloads with more strikes, forcing the referee to jump in and save him! Finau is the winner by TKO! Finau jumps onto the cage and shouts into the camera. "We did it momma!"

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Vaai Finau!
A very excited looking Vaai Finau made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.