UFC London results: Claudio Silva battered on feet but takes verbal submission from Danny Roberts

LONDON – Claudio Silva (13-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) was battered on the feet for the better part of three rounds but found a way to take home a victory over Danny Roberts (16-4 MMA, 5-3 UFC).

The welterweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC on ESPN+ 5 event at The O2 in London. It streamed on ESPN+.

Silva took the center to start and nearly swept his opponent off his feet with a low kick. It was clear he was looking to pressure from the start, but Roberts showed solid footwork in evading any real offense. Eventually, Silva changed tactics, shooting inside and driving the action to the floor, where he took top position, slowly advancing his way to side control. Silva kept the pressure high but couldn’t find much success until he was able to step over to mount with one minute remaining. He tried setting up an arm-triangle from there, but Roberts swept to the top with seconds remaining and was able to secure his only real offense of the round.

Silva looked tired to open the second, and Roberts tagged him with a big shot. But a wobbly Silva was able to jump forward and drag the action to the floor. Roberts turned to escape, but Silva was able to move over to mount. Referee Keven Sataki briefly intervened to warn for toes in the cage. On the restart, Silva again looked for the arm-triangle, but Roberts was able to escape from the hold and move back to the feet, where he again staggered his opponent, only to have Silva take him down again and eventually move to the back. As Roberts moved to escape, Silva turned for a triangle but couldn’t lock the legs in place before the bell.

Roberts again capitalized on the feet in the start of the third, and this time he was able to follwo to the floor and take top position. Punches and elbows sliced Silva open, but the Brazilian turned to the leg and started looking to attack the limb. Roberts was able to pull free, but Silva turned to the arm and locked the submission in place. With his arm extended, Roberts tried to pull free and seemed to escape, but Sataki stepped in and declared the contest over via verbal submission. Roberts later admitted to grunting but said he was out of the hold at the time of the stoppage.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 5 results include:

• Claudio Silva def. Danny Roberts via verbal submission (armbar) – Round 3, 3:37
• Jack Marshman def. John Phillips via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Arnold Allen def. Jordan Rinaldi via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28)
• Marc Diakiese def. Joe Duffy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Saparbek Safarov def. Nico Negumereanu via unanimous decision (29-26, 29-26, 29-27)
• Dan Ige def. Danny Henry via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:17
• Molly McCann def. Priscila Cachoeira via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-
• Mike Grundy def. Nad Narimani via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:42

For complete coverage of UFC on ESPN+ 5, check out the UFC Events section of the site.