PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Francois Faber (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and RZ Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). RZ Silva is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Faber
vs
Silva

182 cm
29
215 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

180 cm
22
215 lbs
7 - 4 - 1

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent 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 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Francois Faber!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 1, fighting out of St Petersburg, RZ Silva!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksandr Martynov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Faber throws a sloppy head kick and Silva moves out of range easily.
Faber uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Silva.
Faber on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Faber pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Faber wants to clinch up but Silva keeps it at a distance.
Silva throws a looping overhand right but Faber ducks down to avoid it.
A head kick misses from Faber.
Faber wants to clinch up but Silva keeps it at a distance.
Faber tries to clinch up.

Faber clinches.
Faber lands a body punch in the clinch.
Silva blocks the elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Faber misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Silva.
Faber pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
A frustrated look appears on Silva's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Faber gets through Silva's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Silva is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
I was talking to Faber's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
With the fighters up against the cage, Faber throws an elbow but misses.
Faber looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Faber missing with knees to the body.
Faber throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Silva managing to block the knees to the body from Faber.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Faber just misses with a elbow thrown towards Silva's brow.
Faber throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Faber is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Silva is defending well for now.
Faber misses with an elbow over the top.
Faber keeps control of Silva as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Faber is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Silva blocks the elbow strike.
Faber misses with a hook from the clinch.
Faber creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva avoids a wild elbow strike from Faber.
Silva blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Faber lands a right hand.
Silva blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Faber throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
With the fighters up against the cage, Faber throws an elbow but misses.
Faber misses with an elbow over the top.
Faber pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Faber missing with knees to the body.
Silva wants to break the clinch but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber throws an elbow that misses.
Silva avoiding damage as Faber throws knees to the body.
Silva on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
A short right from Faber.
Silva avoids a wild elbow strike from Faber.
Silva wants to break the clinch but can't.
Faber has Silva pressed against the cage, preventing Silva from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
With the fighters up against the cage, Faber throws an elbow but misses.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva avoiding damage as Faber throws knees to the body.
Silva wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Silva managing to block the knees to the body from Faber.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francois Faber 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.

Faber tries to clinch there but Silva circles away.
Silva digs a good body shot into Faber's ribs.
Silva misses with a looping left.
Faber slips under a jab from Silva.
Silva tests Faber's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Silva misses with the combination.
Silva checks a low kick from Faber.
That kick from Faber tenderised Silva's leg. Silva is trying to keep his angry face on.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Faber avoids the body shot from Silva.
Silva scores with a body shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Faber looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
RZ Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Silva loads up on a big right hand but Faber slips the punch.
Silva swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Faber.
Faber tries to clinch there but Silva circles away.
Silva misses with a right hand
and Faber counters with an outside leg kick.
A big right from Silva misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Silva misses the target.
Silva scores with a jab to the jaw.
Faber throws a sloppy head kick and Silva moves out of range easily.

Faber forces Silva back against the cage and clinches.
Faber misses with an elbow over the top.
Faber misses with the head strike.
Faber makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Faber misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Silva.
Silva dodges an elbow strike from Faber.
Silva blocks an elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Faber creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Faber throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Silva blocks an elbow strike from Faber.
Faber creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
A left hand lands to the body for Faber.
Faber misses with an elbow strike.
Silva avoids the elbow strike from Faber, against the cage.
Faber pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Faber lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Faber pushes off an throws an elbow but Silva leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Silva manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
With the fighters up against the cage, Faber throws an elbow but misses.
Faber keeps control of Silva as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Silva prevents a body shot from Faber.
Faber throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Faber pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Faber pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Francois Faber dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Good standup being displayed there by Faber as he connects with a hook.
Faber throws a quick inside leg kick.
Faber scores with a leg kick.
Faber lands a head kick. Silva smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Silva takes one on the button.
Silva misses with a jab, cross combination.
Silva uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Faber.
Silva slips under a jab.
Faber lands with a thumping leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Faber counters with a head kick. That will keep Silva thinking before he tries any more sloppy attacks!
Faber throws a sloppy head kick and Silva moves out of range easily.
Silva misses with an uppercut
and Faber counters with an outside leg kick.
Faber feints and then cracks Silva's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Silva down.
Silva throws a right and a left that both miss.
Silva connects with the punch.
Silva scores with a crisp jab that stopped Faber in his tracks.
Silva sizes up Faber with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Faber misses with a head kick.
RZ Silva has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a wild combination.
Silva jabs Faber to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Silva's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Silva duly obliges.
Silva slips a jab and a cross from Faber.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Silva.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Faber turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Silva throws a right hand that Faber ducks under and follows up with a left that Faber also avoids with ease.
Silva fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Faber manages to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws a looping overhand right but Faber ducks down to avoid it.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Faber.
Faber fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Silva has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Silva connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Silva on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Faber. Faber obviously looking to wear him down.
Faber throws a jab when Silva was well out of range.
Faber misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Faber slips a jab from Silva.
Silva throws a combination that misses
and Faber counters with a nice leg kick.
Silva takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva throws out a loose jab but Faber uses good head movement to avoid it.
Faber takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Silva missing with a left hand there. Faber was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Silva cracks Faber with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Silva throws an off balance right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Silva thows a left - swing and a miss!
Silva might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva scores with a nice right hand.
Nice jab there from Faber.
Francois Faber is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Silva avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

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 Francois Faber.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Faber, 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Francois Faber!