PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Morris McDonald (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Marcus Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Morris McDonald has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

McDonald
vs
Silva

173 cm
23
169 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

160 cm
26
162 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Morris McDonald!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Marcus Silva!
The judges for this bout are , and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva looks to clinch
and McDonald counters with a nice uppercut.
McDonald shoots and misses

and Silva counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of McDonald is proving hard to escape from.
McDonald wants to stand but Silva is controlling the position.
Silva is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Silva throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Silva lands a couple of decent looking shots.
McDonald keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. McDonald is keeping the position for now.
McDonald wants to improve his position but instead Silva has moved into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McDonald is looking to escape.
McDonald is refusing to be controlled, as Silva sits in half guard.
Silva takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Silva is trying to control the action in half guard but McDonald is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
McDonald regains full guard. Nicely done.
McDonald working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Silva.
Silva trying to control but McDonald is working from the bottom.
McDonald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Silva slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
McDonald wants to stand up but Silva is controlling him.
McDonald keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Silva postures up in McDonald's guard and throws a big left but McDonald blocks it.
McDonald utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Silva wants to pass the guard but McDonald is keeping the position.
Silva looking to sit in guard and control but McDonald gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Silva controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald with a flurry of punches that miss.
Silva looking for a sweep. Not yet Silva, not yet.
McDonald wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Silva looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
McDonald pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Silva is keeping the position for now.
McDonald trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Silva fails to land the takedown.

Silva moves into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
McDonald lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Silva misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from McDonald.
McDonald has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Silva is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
McDonald lands a left hand that snaps the head of Silva backwards.
McDonald dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Silva throws an elbow but misses.
McDonald pushes Silva back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Silva taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
McDonald on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
McDonald lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Silva or not.
Silva throws a punch but it's blocked by McDonald.
McDonald prevents a body shot from Silva.
Silva lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Silva is trying to stall.
McDonald lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
McDonald throws a head punch that misses.
Nice body punch from McDonald - that landed with a thud.
Silva tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Silva tries for a takedown but McDonald manages to get underhooks.
Silva creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
McDonald is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Marcus Silva dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

McDonald lands the left hand.
Silva tried to score with a low kick but McDonald checks it.
McDonald throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Silva stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Silva swings and misses with a shot to the body
and McDonald makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Silva wants to clinch

and McDonald counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
McDonald won't allow Silva to sweep him here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as McDonald accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Silva manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. McDonald manages to get himself to full guard.
Silva trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

McDonald uses the cage to get back to his feet.
McDonald looks to score with a jab to the body but Silva is just out of range.
McDonald lands a jab to Silva's midsection.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva swings widly with a right hand

and McDonald counters with a nice double leg into side control. Silva won't be happy with that.
Silva is looking to reverse the position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Silva sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
McDonald not landing any meaningful shots this time.
McDonald is pressing down on Silva's thigh, looking to free his foot. Silva is holding on for now.
Silva is trying to get back to full guard.
Silva is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Silva can do anything to dispel that myth.
McDonald is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
McDonald throwing shots but Silva is blocking nicely.
Morris McDonald overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
McDonald scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
McDonald prevents Silva from improving his position.
McDonald working the head and body with strikes.
McDonald missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
McDonald seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Silva really doesn't want to stay on the ground with McDonald. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Silva is looking for a sweep. McDonald is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

McDonald seems to be looking for submissions.
McDonald thows a huge punch but Silva dodges it nicely.
McDonald content to control rather than advance.
Silva tries to roll over but McDonald keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald working Silva over with strikes.
McDonald works his foot free and advances to mount.
McDonald thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
McDonald in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
McDonald wants to control the pace but Silva is squirming around nicely.
Silva wants to control but McDonald is having none of it.
McDonald lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Silva hang on?
Silva is trying to escape the mount.
McDonald lands a nice shot to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to lock up and control but McDonald gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
McDonald landing strikes from the mount.
McDonald trying to control but Silva is having none of it.
McDonald working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Silva tries to lock up and control but McDonald gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Silva regains half guard.
Silva is looking to control McDonald's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Silva avoid being mounted?
Silva is looking to get full guard. It looks like he might be successful but at the last minute McDonald jumps into side control!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
McDonald creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.

McDonald tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
McDonald misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Morris McDonald dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

McDonald is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
McDonald gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Silva holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Silva has dropped down and is working for a takedown. McDonald is trying to keep an underhook but Silva manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Silva throwing shots but McDonald is blocking nicely.
Silva missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Silva seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but McDonald does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Silva in particular looking to stall.
McDonald tries to kick Silva off but Silva keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Silva wants to lay and pray for a moment but McDonald keeps working.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Silva passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for McDonald!
McDonald holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Silva tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McDonald working to try and regain half guard.
Silva throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Silva tries to control but McDonald wriggling away.
Silva landing strikes from the mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Silva can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as McDonald is looking to escape.
McDonald is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
McDonald regains half guard.
Silva wants to pass the guard but McDonald is defending well.
Silva thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Silva stops McDonald from getting back to his feet.
Silva thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
McDonald keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Silva thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
McDonald is trying to stand up here but Silva is controlling him well.
Silva is looking to take a break and control but McDonald is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Silva thows a huge punch but McDonald dodges it nicely.
McDonald wants to get back to his feet.
McDonald keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Silva controlling the action here.
Silva trying to control the action but McDonald is working from the bottom.

That's four 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.
McDonald looks like he's trying to stand up.

Marcus Silva has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Silva drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Silva working away.
Silva prevents McDonald from escaping the position.
Silva content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
Silva working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcus Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
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 Andi Peters scores the fight 28:29
Judge Gordon Ramsey scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Skinner scores the fight 28:29

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