PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rodrigo De Lima (ranked 1767 p4p, 188 weight class) and Felipe Silva (ranked 3134 p4p, 285 weight class). De Lima comes to the cage accompanied by Linkin Park - Numb. Silva has chosen Ratamahatta - Sepultura as his entrance music. Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

De Lima
vs
Silva

178 cm
26
145 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

180 cm
25
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Purple Belt
Good elbows
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Rodrigo De Lima!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Felipe Silva!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Alan Glass and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Lima looks to land a combination but Silva avoids it well.

De Lima drives through with a takedown into guard.
De Lima trying to control the position from guard on top but Silva is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

De Lima drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Silva manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now De Lima has Silva in his guard.

Silva must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Silva is stalling in the full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Lima trying to control the position here.
De Lima continues to stall.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
De Lima has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two 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.
This is a sustained period of stalling by De Lima.
De Lima is trying to keep Silva in close.

De Lima is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
De Lima looking to hit a scissor sweep but Silva is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Lima pulls Silva in to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
De Lima showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Silva.
Silva misses with a series of wild punches.
Silva throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and De Lima counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Silva looks to land a right hand but De Lima moved out of range.
Silva scores with a crisp jab that stopped De Lima in his tracks.
Silva throws a combination that misses
and De Lima cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A left and a right from Silva both land. Nice combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Silva misses with a straight right.
Silva falls off balance throwing a combination
and De Lima counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but De Lima paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Silva loads up on a big right hand but De Lima slips the punch.
De Lima misses with a series of wild punches.
Silva connects with a good right hand that stumbles De Lima. De Lima circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
De Lima dodges the punch combination from Silva.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Silva misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
De Lima looks to land a combination but Silva avoids it well.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Felipe Silva will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Silva misses with a combination
letting De Lima counter with a right hand.
Silva tries to close the distance and clinch but De Lima swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

De Lima drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
De Lima wants to control from the top but Silva keeps moving.
De Lima wants to pass the guard but Silva is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
De Lima is working hard here to advance position.
Silva has his hands on De Lima's head, controlling the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in De Lima's guard.

De Lima has an omoplata and is looking to use it perhaps as a submission or perhaps to transition. Silva is in a bit of discomfort here, but he's managed to free himself and has dived into side control! That didn't work out too well for De Lima.
De Lima tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Silva wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
De Lima looks to move to half guard but instead Silva has passed into mount! Damn!
De Lima tries to hold on but Silva postures up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Lima is squirming around, avoiding Silva's attempts to control the action.
De Lima is looking to improve his position but Silva isn't that keen on the idea.
Silva can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as De Lima is looking to escape.
De Lima tries to reverse the position but Silva maintains control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Lima sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

De Lima looking for submissions off his back.
Silva is looking to advance position but De Lima won't allow it.
Silva takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
De Lima slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Rodrigo De Lima overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Silva trying to control the position from guard on top but De Lima is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
De Lima wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Silva is now in half guard.
De Lima is doing well to control the position and prevent Silva from advancing to side control.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
De Lima moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
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 Rodrigo De Lima will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Silva misses with a two punch combination.
De Lima seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Silva misses with a few strikes there.

De Lima changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Silva looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Silva is trying to improve his position.

De Lima is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Silva is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Silva wants to control but De Lima postures up.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

De Lima thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
De Lima wants to lay and pray for a moment but Silva keeps working.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Silva is looking for a sweep.

De Lima is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Silva has escaped the position, nice work there.

De Lima wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Silva, who protects the arm well.

De Lima working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

That's two 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 is looking for a sweep.
De Lima is looking to take a break and control but Silva is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

De Lima working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
De Lima working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Lima is looking to take a break and control but Silva is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

De Lima thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Silva can't do much from the bottom here.
De Lima controlling the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Felipe Silva is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four 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 throws a left and a right that both miss
and De Lima cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Felipe Silva seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
De Lima gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Silva.
Silva looks to land a combination but De Lima avoids it well.
Silva throws an overhand right that lands on De Lima's shoulder, as De Lima tries to avoid the shot.
De Lima looks to throw the jab but Silva is out of range.
Silva swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Felipe Silva seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Silva looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Silva drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Silva misses with a double jab
and De Lima counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
De Lima looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Silva takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Silva moves in looking to clinch but De Lima pushes him off.
It looked like De Lima was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
De Lima avoids the body shot from Silva.
A little feinted left hand from De Lima on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rodrigo De Lima showed his dominance in that final round.
I think De Lima 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:28
Judge Alan Glass scores the fight 30:27
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rodrigo De Lima!
Rodrigo De Lima decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.