PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tom Rodriguez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stefan Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Rodriguez
vs
Silva

225 cm
29
185 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

186 cm
25
195 lbs
8 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
KO power

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Knockout power

Vandal Fight Boutique & Laundry

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Tom Rodriguez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Stefan Silva!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, Franklyn Lucas and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Silva tries to clinch but Rodriguez is having none of it.

Rodriguez drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.

Rodriguez stands up.
Silva looks to clinch

and Rodriguez moves into the clinch.
Rodriguez blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Silva with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Silva looking to throw knees to the head but Rodriguez is blocking nicely.
Rodriguez is looking for a takedown.
Silva is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Silva tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Rodriguez really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Rodriguez gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Silva looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Rodriguez thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Silva's head.
Rodriguez has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rodriguez throws a strike but Silva avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Silva utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rodriguez throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Silva has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Rodriguez will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Stefan Silva hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Rodriguez circles away from the clinch attempt

and Rodriguez counters by clinching up.
Rodriguez avoiding damage as Silva throws knees to the body.
Rodriguez is trying to force a seperation but Silva has the dominant position.
Rodriguez tries to score a body lock takedown but Silva shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Rodriguez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Silva using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Rodriguez has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.

Rodriguez has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Silva is trying to keep an underhook but Rodriguez manages to get the takedown into half guard.

Rodriguez wants to work for an arm triangle but Silva is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rodriguez not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rodriguez is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Silva defends it well.
Rodriguez working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Silva's thigh. Silva counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Silva wants to sweep but no luck.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Rodriguez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Silva works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Rodriguez is looking to work some ground and pound but Silva has wrist control.
Rodriguez postures up in Silva's guard and throws a big left but Silva blocks it.
Silva seems keen to control Rodriguez's posture.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Silva is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rodriguez is aware though and is defending well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tom Rodriguez dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Silva wants to clinch.
Rodriguez seems to be moving with more speed, compared to his last bout. He must have been working on that in the gym.
Silva tries to clinch up

and Rodriguez counters with a single leg into guard. Silva didn't expect that.
Rodriguez throwing strikes from guard but Silva blocks nicely.
Rodriguez in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Rodriguez drops back, looking for a kneebar! Silva looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Silva looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Silva!
Silva is looking to take a break and control but Rodriguez is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Rodriguez tries to improve position but can't.
Silva is staying tight to Rodriguez's torso, preventing him from escaping.
Silva cracks Rodriguez with a big right hand but Rodriguez just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Silva cracks Rodriguez with a big right hand but Rodriguez just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Silva in side control lands a decent elbow.
Rodriguez gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Silva with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Silva trying to control from half guard but Rodriguez is working away.
Silva stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rodriguez looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Silva winds up and cracks Rodriguez with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Rodriguez actively working from the bottom here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The fighters are battling for position here. Rodriguez manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Silva accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Silva controls from within his opponent's guard.

Rodriguez is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Silva has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Rodriguez is proving hard to escape from.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Silva not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Rodriguez is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Silva defends well.

Rodriguez is looking for a triangle but Silva pushes his legs off easily.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Silva slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rodriguez has momentary wrist control but Silva slips an elbow through the middle.
Silva showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Silva's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Stefan Silva.
Silva throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Rodriguez shoots and misses
and Silva counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Rodriguez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Rodriguez keeps the fight on the outside.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Silva is looking to clinch but Rodriguez is avoiding it.
Rodriguez shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Silva counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stefan Silva showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Silva tries to clinch but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Silva closes the distance looking to clinch

and Rodriguez counters by moving into the clinch.
Rodriguez goes for a takedown attempt but Silva pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but Rodriguez swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Silva is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Rodriguez's half guard.
Rodriguez is not content to let Silva control the position.
Rodriguez tries to roll over but Silva keeps him under control.
Silva is taking a breather. Rodriguez says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rodriguez actively working from the bottom here.

Rodriguez actively working from the bottom here.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Silva takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Tom Rodriguez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Silva controlling the action here.
Silva lands strikes from half guard.
Silva sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Rodriguez looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Silva controlling the action here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Let's hope that Silva has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Stefan Silva hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Silva tries to clinch but Rodriguez moves out of range.
Silva tries to clinch but Rodriguez is having none of it.
Silva fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Rodriguez wants a takedown.
Silva with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Silva throws a knee to the head but misses.
Rodriguez is trying to pull guard but Silva turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tom Rodriguez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rodriguez has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Silva avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Rodriguez has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Silva avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Silva throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Rodriguez blocks it with crossed arms.
Rodriguez tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Silva just stands there and leans against the cage.
Rodriguez is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Silva gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Silva lands an elbow inside.
Silva throws an elbow but it misses.
Nice elbow from Silva.
Rodriguez goes for a takedown attempt but Silva pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Silva walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Rodriguez checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses the shot to the body.
Stefan Silva is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Silva doesn't manage to clinch there - Rodriguez circles away.
Silva tries to clinch but Rodriguez moves out of range.
Silva misses with a few strikes there.
Rodriguez with a poor takedown
and Silva counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Silva fails in his attempt to clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Silva moves in looking to clinch but Rodriguez pushes him off.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Silva fails to land with a series of punches.

Silva gets a clinch.
Rodriguez drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Silva lands an elbow that stopped Rodriguez in his tracks for a moment.

And that's the end of the fight!
Stefan Silva comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Silva has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Columbo Gatti scores the fight 28:29
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 28:29
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stefan Silva!
Stefan Silva seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.