Andrew Sanchez vs. Bruno Silva

Round 1
In this middleweight preliminary headliner, “El Dirte” Sanchez (12-6, 5-4 UFC) will try to make it dirty against brutal Brazilian knockout artist Silva (20-6, 1-0 UFC). Many do not expect this fight will last long, and referee Keith Peterson will try to redeem himself from a few earlier missed infractions by tamping down the nonsense in the Apex. The gloves get touched, and Silva begins to stalk the American down right out of the gate. Sanchez turns the tables thanks to herky-jerky movement, bobbing his head down and faking to strike, but Silva quickly walks through this and unloads a brutal combination of punches to the body and head. A few body shots lead to an uppercut that snaps Sanchez’ head back, and Sanchez’ face is already marked up. Sanchez circles away to regain his composure, and Silva slings a body kick that lands with an audible pop. A big overhand right from Silva misses, allowing Sanchez to shoot in low for a single. Silva defends himself by linking his fingers illegally into the fence, but Sanchez rips his legs out and puts him on his back. Silva looks to his corner as Sanchez holds him pinned with his seat on the floor and back to the cage, before “El Dirte” makes it dirty by dragging Silva’s back to the mat. Sanchez in half guard tries to get some ground-and-pound off, and Silva scoots his back up to the fence so he can hope to wall-walk. Sanchez triangles his foe’s legs out beneath him with a move some call the “Dagestani handcuff” even though it existed long before Khabib Nurmagomedov competed inside the Octagon, and Silva appears frustrated as he starts talking to his corner. His corner gives him advice he apparently does not like, as he shakes his head, all while Sanchez puts him flat on the ground again so he can start unloading with ground-and-pound. Silva fights back with swinging elbows from his back, and he kicks off the chest to push Sanchez back. This momentary break allows Silva to burst back to his feet, and Sanchez runs ahead to stick to Silva like glue. Sanchez trips out the leg briefly, but “Blindado” is able to power back up although he cannot break the grip. A knee from Sanchez pounds into Silva’s cup with 20 seconds left in the ground, and Silva is none too pleased. Silva recovers after 35 seconds, and he runs out when they resume to throw a high kick. Sanchez counters him with a side kick that smashes Silva into the cup again, and Silva is hurt badly as he falls to the ground yelling and slamming his hand on the mat. Miraculously, he only needs 30 more seconds to get his bearings after that display of pain, and when the action resumes, he sprints with a right hand but the round ends before he can reach the target.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez

Round 2
Sanchez begins the round with a few reaching punches, and his jittery movement gives Silva pause from loading up on anything. When the Brazilian does this, swinging wildly and missing, Sanchez grabs hold of him and slams him down to the mat. Silva manages to work his way up, and “El Dirte” kicks out Silva’s foot repeatedly to return him to the ground. Sanchez hits a single, and Silva catches him with a right hand but still lands on the mat. The Brazilian springs into action, unloading with a furious barrage of elbows from his back that may have hurt Sanchez. “El Dirte” gathers his thoughts as Silva returns to his feet, and Silva grabs the fence to stop a subsequent takedown try. The fence grab is unsuccessful, as Sanchez twirls him around and puts him down again. Silva gets back up only to have his feet sucked out beneath him and returned to the mat. In half guard, Sanchez sits up to saw his elbow back and forth on the chin of his opponent. Silva squirms his way with his back to the wall, and he signals to Peterson to do something, but Sanchez is still working and advancing position. Through sheer force of will, Silva pops back up, and he is only upright for two seconds before Sanchez drops him right back down on his head. Once more, “Blindado” fights his way back up, and he tries to throw a big punch only to get bowled over. The American lands a single strike to force Silva to turn to his knees, but Silva once again able to stand. Sanchez unloads with a few punches before the round ends.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez
Tyler Treese scores the round: 10-9 Sanchez

Round 3
The gloves get touched to begin the last round, and Silva throws caution to the wind as he walks the American down to try to unload on him. Silva lands to the head and body, and a fatiguing Sanchez with his back to the fence defends by using a front kick that collides with the cup. The third groin strike draws a point deduction for Sanchez, and Silva needs to catch his breath with another 30-second break. Silva is energized by this, and he blitzes his opponent with punches. Silva rips the body and goes to the head, and he has a knee crash straight into Sanchez’ chin. Silva continues to slam his fists into his gassing foe’s midsection, and he just misses with a big uppercut. Sanchez cannot deliver much in the way of offense on his own side, as Silva ignores the strikes and wrecks Sanchez’ body. A liver kick leads to a few punches, and Sanchez bounces off the wall from the blows but is still in the fight. Silva’s offense suddenly falls off a cliff as he might have used everything he had to stop the fight, and Sanchez clips him with a left hand. Sanchez backs Silva off with a few punches, but a switch suddenly flips in the head of the Brazilian, who charges. “El Dirte” defends himself and backs away into the fence, which allows Silva to stalk him down and blast him with vicious punches to the head and body.
The body shots open up ones to the head, and Silva strings a 10-piece combination together as Sanchez bends over, barely on his feet and taking huge damage. This lengthy barrage of unanswered blows is enough for Peterson to call a stop to the fight, awarding Silva the huge comeback win after likely losing both of the first two rounds.
After his victory, Silva is awarded his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and he celebrates with his team.

The Official Result
Bruno Silva def. Andrew Sanchez R3 2:35 via TKO (Punches)