PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Fabrici Gorfal (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rodrigo Silva (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Gorfal
vs
Silva

175 cm
28
160 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

170 cm
28
158 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Experienced

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
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 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Fabrici Gorfal!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Rodrigo Silva !
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Yasuomi Hirokawa and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gorfal slaps away a takedown attempt from Silva , before circling back to the center of the mat.

Gorfal drives through with a takedown into guard.
Gorfal content to stall in guard here.
Gorfal wants to pass the guard but Silva is keeping the position.
Gorfal throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Gorfal is in a tricky position. We've heard reports from his gym mates at Team Tussle that he's been drilling escapes, so let's see if he can get back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva is pulling down on Gorfal's head. It's preventing any offense from Gorfal, at least for the moment.
Silva working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Gorfal.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gorfal lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Gorfal wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Silva keeping full guard, as Gorfal tries to pass.
Gorfal is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Gorfal scores with a jab to the head.
Silva looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Gorfal is fending him off so far but Silva persists. Nope, Gorfal circles away and we're back to standing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Silva tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Silva throws a body shot but no joy.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Gorfal paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Fabrici Gorfal seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gorfal wants to clinch but Silva slips to the side
and Silva counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Gorfal pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Gorfal shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Silva as he avoids it easily.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Gorfal is defended easily by Silva .
Gorfal looks for a takedown but Silva sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fabrici Gorfal. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gorfal slaps away a takedown attempt from Silva , before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Silva has closed the distance and engaged Gorfal in a clinch.
Gorfal jumps guard but Silva turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Gorfal breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Gorfal throws an overhand right that lands on Silva 's shoulder, as Silva tries to avoid the shot.
Gorfal throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Silva scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Gorfal tries to improve position but can't.
Silva gets to mount! Gorfal was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.
Silva throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Silva looking to control but Gorfal is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorfal is trying desperately to improve position.
Silva looking to control but Gorfal is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Gorfal tries to hold on but Silva postures up.
Silva controlling from the full mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Gorfal wants to control but Silva is having none of it.
Gorfal is trying desperately to improve position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Rodrigo Silva will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Silva gets in close and instigates a clinch.

Silva pulls guard successfully.
Gorfal trying to control but Silva is working from the bottom.
Gorfal stops Silva from standing up.
Gorfal wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
Silva is trying to keep Gorfal in close.
Rodrigo Silva has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Silva tries to land a sweep but no joy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Silva throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Gorfal changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Silva tries to avoid it but Gorfal manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Silva to the ground. Silva escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Gorfal pushes Silva away with a front kick.

Gorfal drives through with a takedown into Silva 's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Gorfal stopping the sweep attempt from Silva .
Silva keeping full guard, as Gorfal tries to pass.
Silva trying to control the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gorfal stops Silva from standing up.
Silva wants to sweep here but Gorfal controlling him for the moment.
Gorfal throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Silva works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Gorfal trying to move into half guard but instead Silva has managed to sweep!

Silva postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Gorfal is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Silva , into his guard.

Gorfal throws a big elbow that misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorfal trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Silva wants to sweep here but Gorfal controlling him for the moment.
Silva managing to control the position.
Gorfal looking to sit in guard and control but Silva gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Silva wants to control from the top but Gorfal keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Silva postures up in Gorfal's guard and throws a big left but Gorfal blocks it.

Gorfal looking for a guillotine here but Silva defends easily.
Gorfal wants to sweep here but Silva controlling him for the moment.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but Gorfal is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Gorfal has his hands on Silva 's head, controlling the position.
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 Fabrici Gorfal will probably get the nod.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Gorfal throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Silva was covering up waiting for the punch and Gorfal finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Gorfal is fighting to break Silva 's control of his arms but Silva is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Silva is on top in guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Gorfal looking for a sweep. Not yet Gorfal, not yet.
Silva looking to control the position here, rather than advance.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Silva thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Silva wants to control from the top but Gorfal keeps moving.
Silva sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Gorfal's guard.
Gorfal is staying active underneath Silva , who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Silva tries to pass the half guard into mount. Gorfal knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Silva looks to land a strike but Gorfal avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Silva controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Gorfal looking to control but Silva passes into half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Silva is looking to stall here but Gorfal recovers full guard.
Silva seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Silva stopping the sweep attempt from Gorfal.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gorfal keeping moving, preventing Silva from controlling successfully.
Silva is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Silva is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

Silva gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Gorfal to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Gorfal trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gorfal trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Silva pushes Gorfal off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Gorfal shoots for a takedown but Silva saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Silva showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Gorfal.
A head kick misses from Gorfal.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Gorfal looking to score a takedown here. Silva is defending well but Gorfal drives through and ends up in Silva 's guard.
Silva preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

And that's the end of the fight!
Fabrici Gorfal showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gorfal has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:29
Judge Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 28:29
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!