PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Khabib Nurmagomedov (ranked 4843 p4p, 3382 weight class) and Eduardo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nurmagomedov comes to the cage accompanied by Khabib Nurmagomedov Mix || The Eagle Motivation. Silva has chosen Rap do Silva as his entrance music. Nurmagomedov has a slight injury, which hopefully won't affect the fight too much. The key to victory for Khabib Nurmagomedov has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Nurmagomedov
vs
Silva

190 cm
20
217
5 - 6 - 0

194 cm
25
213
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Solid chin

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 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Khabib Nurmagomedov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Silva!
The judges for this bout are Ben Hemmingworth, Donatello Bradman and Summer Carpenter.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nurmagomedov swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Silva takes the fight into the clinch.
A head punch on the inside from Nurmagomedov fails to land.
Silva misses with a hook to the ribs.

Silva breaks from the clinch.
Nurmagomedov's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Nurmagomedov duly obliges.
Silva just misses with a punch to the body.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.
Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - Nurmagomedov circles away.
Eduardo Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nurmagomedov misses with a looping right.
Silva tries to counter by closing the distance.
Nurmagomedov changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Nurmagomedov walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - Nurmagomedov circles away.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.

Silva has closed the distance and engaged Nurmagomedov in a clinch.
Nurmagomedov lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nurmagomedov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Silva lands a shoulder strike.
Nurmagomedov definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Silva swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva manages to break the clinch.
Nurmagomedov misses with a wild combination.
Silva moves away from the strike by Nurmagomedov.
Silva fails with an attempt to clinch.
Silva is looking to clinch but Nurmagomedov is avoiding it.
Nurmagomedov swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Silva throws a counter combo.
Nurmagomedov fails to land with a series of punches.
Nurmagomedov is breathing heavily.
Nurmagomedov swats away the attempt to clinch by Silva.
Silva swings for the body but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.
Nurmagomedov misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Silva.
Silva tries to counter with a clinch but Nurmagomedov shakes him off and moves away.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov is having none of it.
Nurmagomedov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Silva.

Silva fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Nurmagomedov, pushing him back against the cage.
Nurmagomedov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Silva lands a left hand.
A head punch on the inside from Nurmagomedov fails to land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov lands a left hand.
Silva lands a body shot.
Nurmagomedov lands a right hand that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Silva is looking to clinch.
Nurmagomedov was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Silva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Nurmagomedov counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Silva misses with a jab, cross combination.
Silva tries to clinch up.
Nurmagomedov lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Silva on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nurmagomedov with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Silva clinches.
Nurmagomedov throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.
Silva misses with a hook to the ribs.
Nurmagomedov tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Nurmagomedov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva works on Nurmagomedov's body with a couple of short punches.

Silva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nurmagomedov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Silva manages to avoid it.

Silva clinches.
Nurmagomedov misses with some punches.
Nurmagomedov throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nurmagomedov throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.

Silva breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Nurmagomedov fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Silva manages to avoid it.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov is having none of it.
Nurmagomedov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Silva.

Silva gets a clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Silva.

Silva's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Nurmagomedov lands the left hand.
Nurmagomedov cracks Silva with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Silva breaks the clinch.
The fighters circling - Nurmagomedov throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

Silva moves into the clinch.
Nurmagomedov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Silva digs a right hand underneath Nurmagomedov's ribcage. Nurmagomedov let out a lung full of air as it connected.

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Silva swinging wildly here.
Silva takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Silva looks to land a right hand but Nurmagomedov moved out of range.

Nurmagomedov tries to keep at a distance but Silva has taken the fight into the clinch.
Nurmagomedov lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.

Silva breaks from the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Silva has managed to clinch.
Nurmagomedov misses with the head strike.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Khabib Nurmagomedov will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Silva instigates a clinch.
Nurmagomedov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Silva blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Nurmagomedov working aggressively here.
Eduardo Silva seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Silva struggles to land a body shot inside as Nurmagomedov controls his hands.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Nurmagomedov fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Silva on the side of the head.
Silva tries to clinch up.
Silva walks into a jab.
Silva darts in trying to clinch
and Nurmagomedov counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Nice shot lands for Nurmagomedov.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Silva fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Nurmagomedov, pushing him back against the cage.
Nurmagomedov has a couple of punches blocked by Silva.
Silva tries to throw a body punch but Nurmagomedov avoids it by throwing Silva back against the cage.
A nice left hand lands by Silva.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nurmagomedov lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Silva tries to clinch
and Nurmagomedov counters with a stiff right hand.
Nurmagomedov jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nurmagomedov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nurmagomedov misses with a few strikes there.
Silva bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Silva is looking to clinch but Nurmagomedov is avoiding it.

Silva pushes Nurmagomedov up against the cage in a clinch.

Silva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nurmagomedov is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Silva misses with a hook.
Nurmagomedov scores with a jab.
Khabib Nurmagomedov is winning the standup battle so far.
Nurmagomedov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Nurmagomedov throwing a counter right hand but Silva manages to avoid it.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook.

Silva gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Silva fails in his attempt to clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Nurmagomedov tests Silva's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nurmagomedov misses with the combination.
Silva tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Nurmagomedov manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
It looked like Nurmagomedov wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Nurmagomedov is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Silva can do to turn this around?
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination
and Nurmagomedov counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Silva thinking.

Silva instigates a clinch.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Nurmagomedov keeps the fight on the outside.

Silva has taken the fight to the clinch.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Silva tries to clinch there but Nurmagomedov circles away.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nurmagomedov throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Silva lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
A shot to the body from Silva misses
and Nurmagomedov counters with a straight right hand.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to clinch up but Nurmagomedov circles away and keeps his distance.

Nurmagomedov tries to keep at a distance but Silva has taken the fight into the clinch.
Silva working aggressively here.
Nurmagomedov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook from the clinch.
A right hand to the body from Silva.

Silva breaks the clinch.
Nurmagomedov pushing out the jab but it's not landing.

Silva darts in and clinches Nurmagomedov up against the cage.
Nurmagomedov misses with a punch on the inside.
Silva goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Silva tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Silva breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nurmagomedov misses with a body shot.
Silva is loading up here, looking for a big counter of his own.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Nurmagomedov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Silva uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Nurmagomedov.
Silva fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a two punch combination.
Nurmagomedov scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Nurmagomedov keeps the fight on the outside.
Silva looks to clinch
and Nurmagomedov counters with a stiff right hand.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.
An attempted straight right counter from Nurmagomedov misses the target.
Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.
Nurmagomedov misses with a few strikes there.
Nurmagomedov connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Silva's hands.

Silva moves into the clinch.

Silva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nurmagomedov keeps the fight on the outside.
A counter left hand to the body from Nurmagomedov misses its target.
Nurmagomedov circles away from the clinch attempt.
Silva is looking to clinch.
Silva wants to clinch but Nurmagomedov slips to the side
and Nurmagomedov counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Silva ducks right into an uppercut from Nurmagomedov.
Silva swings for the body but Nurmagomedov moves out of range.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Nurmagomedov dominated that second round.
That's time! Nurmagomedov's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Silva tries to clinch but Nurmagomedov is having none of it.

Nurmagomedov tries to keep at a distance but Silva has taken the fight into the clinch.
Nurmagomedov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nurmagomedov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Silva softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.

Silva manages to break the clinch.
Silva fails in his attempt to clinch.
Silva looks to land a combination but Nurmagomedov avoids it well.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Nurmagomedov swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Silva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Nurmagomedov cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Silva on the wrong end of a nice jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva tries to clinch there but Nurmagomedov circles away.
Nurmagomedov throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Silva fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Nurmagomedov, pushing him back against the cage.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Silva misses with a punch to the body.
Nurmagomedov throws a punch but it's blocked by Silva.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Silva misses with a punch on the inside.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook from the clinch.
Silva's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Nurmagomedov throws a head punch that misses.
Nurmagomedov lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Silva breaks the clinch.
A telegraphed right hand from Nurmagomedov misses the target.
Silva swinging wildly here.
Nurmagomedov scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Nurmagomedov throws a hook but Silva avoids it easily.
Nurmagomedov swings for the body but Silva moves out of range.
Silva unleashes a big counter combination but Nurmagomedov bobs and weaves and avoids any damage.
Nurmagomedov throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Nurmagomedov waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Silva.
Silva lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Nurmagomedov circles away quickly and effectively.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Silva lands an uppercut.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Silva wants to clinch up but Nurmagomedov keeps it at a distance.
Silva moves away from the strike by Nurmagomedov.
Eduardo Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nurmagomedov swings and misses with a hook to the body.

Silva clinches with his opponent.
Silva blocks an uppercut.

Silva breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Silva clinches up with Nurmagomedov and pushes him back against the cage.
Nurmagomedov misses with the head strike.
Nurmagomedov misses with the head strike.
Nurmagomedov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nurmagomedov working aggressively here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov misses with a hook from the clinch.

Silva escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Nurmagomedov looks to throw the jab but Silva is out of range.
Silva tries to bum rush Nurmagomedov with a series of wild strikes but Nurmagomedov uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Nurmagomedov throwing a counter right hand but Silva manages to avoid it.
Silva tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Nurmagomedov counters with a stiff right hand.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Nurmagomedov paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Silva instigates a clinch.

Silva's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Silva misses with a jab to the body
and Nurmagomedov counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Silva is looking to clinch.
Silva throws a hard body shot but it just misses.

Nurmagomedov gets tackled into the cage by Silva. Silva maintains the clinch.
Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Nurmagomedov blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Silva can't find room to land a body shot as Nurmagomedov controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nurmagomedov blocks a body shot from Silva.
Nurmagomedov misses with some punches.

Silva pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Silva closes the distance but Nurmagomedov moves to the side
enabling Nurmagomedov to counter with a crisp jab.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Silva tries to clinch up but Nurmagomedov circles away and keeps his distance.
Silva has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Silva slips under a jab.
Silva tries to counter with a clinch but Nurmagomedov shakes him off and moves away.
Nurmagomedov throws a looping overhand right but Silva ducks down to avoid it.
Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - Nurmagomedov circles away.
Nurmagomedov connects with a right hand. Silva shakes it off.
Silva swings widly with a right hand
and Silva takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
The fight stays on the outside here - Silva looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nurmagomedov takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Eduardo Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Silva throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Nurmagomedov stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Nurmagomedov, 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 Ben Hemmingworth scores the fight 30:27
Judge Donatello Bradman scores the fight 30:27
Judge Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Khabib Nurmagomedov!
A relieved looking Khabib Nurmagomedov thanked the fans for their support and gave the usual line about them being amazing. They seemed to believe that he actually meant it.