PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Pablo Nunes (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Felipe Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nunes comes to the cage accompanied by Riverside. Silva has chosen Agressão/Repressão as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Felipe Silva struggled to make weight for this fight. He only made it down to 171.2lbs at the first attempt and had to take the additional two hours to make the official bout weight. Let's see how much it's taken out of him. Pablo Nunes has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Nunes
vs
Silva

195 cm
22
180 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

177 cm
24
175 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Pablo Nunes!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Silva!
The judges for this bout are Emerson Jorge, Daniel Cesar and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
No luck for Silva with that takedown attempt.
Silva looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Nunes scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Some wild striking there from Nunes.

Nunes darts in and clinches Silva up against the cage.

Nunes gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Silva regains guard.

Silva is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Nunes really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Nunes trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Nunes showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Nunes has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Nunes pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Silva is keeping the position for now.
Nunes sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nunes drops back looking for a leg! Silva is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Silva manages to kick Nunes off! Nunes jumps back into Silva's guard.
Silva has momentary wrist control but Nunes slips an elbow through the middle.
Nunes advances position into side control!
Nunes is chipping away with strikes.
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.

Nunes swings around for an armbar but Silva sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Nunes's guard.
Silva prevents Nunes from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

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

Nunes 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.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

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

Nunes 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.
Silva stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Nunes swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva preventing the sweep.
Silva tries to free his leg and advance position but Nunes is retaining full guard.
Silva passes Nunes's right leg, so he's now in half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Silva is trying to work for a kimura but Nunes is defending well.
Nunes slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Nunes trying to control the position.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Nunes is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Nunes prevents Silva from improving his position.

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.
Nunes has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Silva keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Silva takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
A nice elbow there by Nunes.
Nunes controlling from the full mount.
Nunes scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Silva?
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pablo Nunes 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.

Nunes drives through and clinches with Silva against the cage.

Nunes wants the takedown. Silva is fighting it off but Nunes persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Silva's guard against the cage.
Nunes trying to stand up but can't free himself from Silva's guard.

Silva has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Nunes can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Nunes wants to pass the guard but Silva is keeping the position.
Nunes is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.

Nunes decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.

Silva tries to keep at a distance but Nunes has taken the fight into the clinch.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Nunes tightens his grip and picks Silva up, before dumping him to the ground. Silva manages to land in guard.
Nunes slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

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

Silva looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Nunes drops back looking for a leg! Silva is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Silva manages to kick Nunes off! Nunes jumps back into Silva's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nunes passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Nunes working the ground and pound but Silva is defending the strikes.

Nunes tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Silva tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Nunes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Nunes postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nunes controlling the position from side mount.
Silva is trying to improve his position.

Nunes working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Silva is trying to get back to half guard.
Silva is not content to let Nunes control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Nunes working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Nunes lands some shots froms side control.

Nunes tries for a kimura but Silva is defending well.

Nunes has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pablo Nunes dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Nunes tries to clinch but Silva is having none of it.
A punch combination from Nunes misses.
Nunes dips down and scores with a jab to the body.

Nunes clinches up against the cage.

Nunes has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Silva clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
You can see the frustration on Silva's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Nunes loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Silva hold on?

Nunes is working for the rear naked choke. He has one arm under the chin but Silva has hold of the other arm. A bit of a stalemate here.
Nunes lands punches and elbows.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
I really don't envy Silva right now.
Nunes struggling to keep hold of the position.
Nunes is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Silva is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.

Silva defending nicely against the rear naked choke attempt.
Silva is really stuck here.

Nunes has his opponent's back and is working for the choke.
Nunes controlling well, preventing Silva from escaping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Silva tries to escape the position - he's now mounted. Is that better or worse? Hard to tell!

Nunes jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Silva is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Silva and Nunes has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.

Nunes tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Nunes has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Silva is trying to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is being controlled here.
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Nunes trying to control the action but Silva is working from the bottom.
Nunes works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Nunes is moving around in side control but his primary objective seems to be to maintain the position.
Nunes tries to move to mount but Silva blocks the move with his legs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Silva tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Nunes wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Nunes will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Silva is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Pablo Nunes overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Felipe Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Nunes shoots in and bounces Silva off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Silva keeping moving, preventing Nunes from controlling successfully.
Silva throws some sloppy strikes off his back.
Pablo Nunes is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Silva working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Nunes doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Nunes manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pablo Nunes showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Nunes has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Emerson Jorge scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Cesar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Seu Braga scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pablo Nunes!