PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Wanderlei Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Richie Wheeler (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Silva
vs
Wheeler

180 cm
20
195 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

174 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Likes ground

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Wanderlei Silva!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Richie Wheeler!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Franklin, Robert Twigg and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Silva clinches with his opponent.
Silva with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Silva lands a knee to the head.
Wheeler misses with a body punch.
Wheeler wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Silva has him pressed against the cage.

Wheeler breaks from the clinch.

Silva 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.
Wheeler is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
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. Wheeler connects with a nice short shot to Silva's temple.

Silva looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Wheeler stops Silva from getting back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva tries to get to full guard but Wheeler has control of the leg.
Silva is trying to stand.
Wheeler missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Silva is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Silva makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Silva closes the distance and clinches up with Wheeler, looking for a takedown. Silva pushes Wheeler against the cage but Wheeler circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

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.

Wheeler scores a takedown into full mount!
Silva is breathing heavily.
Wheeler avoids the attempt from Silva to control.
Wheeler lands a heavy elbow.
Wheeler won't let Silva get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.
Wheeler scores with a couple of good head shots there.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wheeler lands a big shot there that rocks Silva but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Silva is in a horrible position here. Wheeler smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wheeler working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Silva tries to get back to half guard but can't.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
BOOM! Wheeler connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Silva tries to lock up and control but Wheeler gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Wheeler with a couple of short strikes.
Wheeler unloading with bombs!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wheeler takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Silva bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Wheeler is on top in guard.
Wheeler trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

Silva manages to escape and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Richie Wheeler dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Wheeler swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Wheeler will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A nice combination there by Wheeler.
Wheeler looks to clinch

and Silva counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Silva throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Silva has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Wheeler works to full guard.
Silva wants to stand but Wheeler has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
Wheeler throws some shots to the body, keeping his opponent honest.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva wants to get up but he can't break Wheeler's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Silva wants to stand and escape but instead Wheeler has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Wheeler connects with a couple of short punches.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Silva lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Wheeler!

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.
Wheeler wants to try and get back to his feet.
Wheeler throwing hammer fists to the chest of Silva. What's that going to do exactly?
Silva lands a big shot there that rocks Wheeler but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Wheeler wants to improve position but instead he's given up his back.

Silva is working hard for the rear naked choke here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Wheeler is displaying good submission defense - not really looking in danger of submitting to the rear naked choke at the moment. That could change in an instant of course if Silva gets his way!
Silva is trying to stick to Wheeler's back but Wheeler is turning into Silva. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Silva's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Wheeler.
Silva is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Wheeler wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Wheeler lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Silva controls Wheeler momentarily but Wheeler frees himself.

Silva manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Wheeler lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Wanderlei Silva will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Silva on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Wheeler. Wheeler obviously looking to wear him down.

It looks like Wanderlei Silva has been cut.
Wheeler tries a head kick but it misses.
Wheeler feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Silva's calf.
Wheeler shoots in looking for a takedown. Silva tries to sprawl out of it but Wheeler keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Silva manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Wheeler moves in looking to clinch but Silva pushes him off.
A nice inside leg kick there by Silva. That's going to slow Wheeler down.
Silva throws a head kick but Wheeler moves out of range.
Wheeler tries to clinch but Silva moves out of range.
Wheeler tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Silva paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Wheeler tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Silva counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Wheeler misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Silva is looking to clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Wheeler lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up but Wheeler swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Wheeler throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Wheeler plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!

Silva is rocked!
Wheeler lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Wheeler.
Oh Silva is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Wheeler will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Silva tries to clinch
and Wheeler counters with a series of strikes. Silva will be more careful next time no doubt.
Silva wants to clinch but Wheeler slips to the side
and Wheeler counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Left hook, right uppercut from Wheeler.
Wheeler connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Wheeler lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Silva gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Wheeler counters with a nice double leg into side control. Silva won't be happy with that.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Silva tries to wriggle free to get back to his feet but he's given up his back! Oops.
Wheeler keeps control of the position as Silva tries to break free.
Silva seems to have got his legs back now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva is trying to get back to his feet but Wheeler has full control of the position and if anything, Silva has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Silva tries to roll but Wheeler sticks to his back.
Wheeler lands strikes to the head.
Wheeler has the hooks in. Silva is trying to push off one leg but he has to do so cautiously to avoid being submitted.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Wheeler lands a punch that was close to the back of the head but the ref thinks it's OK.
Wheeler punishes Silva with strikes from the back mount.
Silva is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Silva is working hard here to advance position.

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.
Silva wants to get back to his feet.
Wheeler scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.
Wheeler keeps control of the position as Silva tries to break free.
Wheeler gets his hooks in and is throwing strikes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Richie Wheeler comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Wheeler 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 Daniel Franklin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 28:29
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Richie Wheeler!