PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ryan Bader (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Charlie Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Bader comes to the cage accompanied by "Darth Bader". I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Charlie Liddell was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Bader
vs
Liddell

188 cm
20
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

187 cm
21
210 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ryan Bader!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Charlie Liddell!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Lou da Vinci and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bader circles away from the clinch attempt.
Bader is trying hard to land a takedown here. Liddell sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
No luck for Bader with that takedown attempt.
Bader shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Liddell pinned against the cage. Liddell gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Bader. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Bader tries to clinch there but Liddell circles away.
Bader tries to clinch but fails miserably
letting Liddell counter with a right hand.

Liddell gets caught flat footed, as Bader shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.
Bader postures up.

Bader drops back looking for a leg! Liddell is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Liddell manages to kick Bader off! Bader jumps back into Liddell's guard.
Liddell looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Liddell is controlling Bader's posture.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell working a defensive guard but Bader manages to pass into side control anyway.

Bader is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Liddell has escaped the position, nice work there.
Bader fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Liddell struggling a bit here.
Liddell gets back to half guard.
Liddell wants to get back to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Bader thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Liddell's head.
Liddell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Bader. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Liddell tries to roll over but Bader keeps him under control.

Bader is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Liddell has managed to free his arm - good work.
Liddell trying to control but Bader postures up.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Bader fails in his attempt to clinch.
Liddell keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Bader shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Liddell as he avoids it easily.
Bader is breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell lands a two punch combo.
A big left from Bader misses.

Bader darts in and clinches Liddell up against the cage.
Liddell tries to circle away but Bader has him pinned against the cage.
Bader swings wildly with an uppercut but Liddell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Liddell wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bader has him pressed against the cage.
Liddell working hard to break the clinch.
Liddell has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Liddell wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Bader has him pressed against the cage.

Bader has clasped his hands together around Liddell's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Liddell struggling a bit here.
Liddell regains half guard.
Liddell trying to hold on to Bader's head to control him but Bader postures up.
Liddell moves into full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bader in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Bader in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Bader has gone for a leg lock! Liddell slips out almost immediately though and dives into Bader's guard.
Liddell has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Bader is proving hard to escape from.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Charlie Liddell will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Bader tries to close the distance and clinch but Liddell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Bader throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Liddell was covering up waiting for the punch and Bader finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Liddell looking to control.
Bader looking to pass the guard.
Bader wants to stand but Liddell has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

Bader gets to his feet. Liddell looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Bader avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bader avoids a kick to the body.
Bader shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Liddell counters with a stiff right hand.
Liddell throws a body kick that misses.
Liddell throws a combination. Bader tries to block but a couple of punches get through.

Liddell closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Bader is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Liddell is defending well for now.
Bader is looking to control Liddell's arms but Liddell gets an underhook and turns him. Now Bader has his back to the cage.
A short uppercut from Bader.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bader.
Bader is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Liddell pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Bader manages to break the clinch.
Bader ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Liddell tries to clinch there but Bader circles away.
Liddell throws a combination. Bader tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Liddell scores with a one two! Bader had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddell lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Bader throws a leg kick but Liddell sees it coming and moves out of range.
Liddell throws a head kick but Bader moves out of range.
Liddell misses with a straight right.
Bader tries to clinch but Liddell moves out of range.
Liddell looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Liddell throws a hook but Bader avoids it easily.
Bader walks into a jab.
Bader darts in trying to clinch
letting Liddell counter with a right hand.
Bader has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Bader. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Liddell throws a chopping leg kick but Bader manages to avoid taking any serious damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bader dodges the punch combination from Liddell.

Bader looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Liddell!
Liddell wriggling around on the bottom manages to avoid the strikes thrown by Bader.
Bader breaks from Liddell's wrist control and lands an elbow.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Liddell is working to get back to half guard.
Bader trying to control but Liddell is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bader thowing shots but they're missing.
Bader manages to capitalize on a mistake by Liddell to take his back!
Bader trying to control momentarily.
Liddell is really stuck here.
Bader somehow managing to miss with a strike from the back.
Liddell tries to break free.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Charlie Liddell will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Bader gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Liddell counters with a one-two to the body.
Bader throws a head kick that misses.
Bader shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Liddell pinned against the cage. Liddell gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Liddell looks for the body kick but Bader saw that one coming.
Bader has a takedown stuffed.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ryan Bader. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Liddell misses with a head kick.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Liddell connects with a jab.
Bader looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Liddell throws a nice looking combination but Bader bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Bader misses with a takedown

and Liddell counters by moving into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell working hard to break the clinch.
Bader throws a knee to the head but misses.
Liddell looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Bader has Liddell pressed against the cage, preventing Liddell from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Liddell wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Bader lands a body punch.
Bader tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Liddell smiles and moves away.
Liddell throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Liddell tries to bum rush Bader with a series of wild strikes but Bader uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Liddell keeps the fight on the outside.
Nice takedown defense from Liddell. No joy for Bader on that attempt.
Liddell displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Bader tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Liddell holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Ryan Bader has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddell has had enough of the clinch but Bader keeps him there for the moment.
Liddell blocks an uppercut.
Liddell has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Liddell wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Liddell tries to break the clinch but Bader is controlling the position.
Liddell can't break the clinch.
Liddell tries to break free but Bader pushes him back against the cage.

Bader breaks the clinch.
Bader wants to clinch but Liddell slips to the side
and Liddell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Bader tries to clinch but Liddell is having none of it.
Liddell throws a series of punches but Bader moves out of range.
Bader shoots in for a takedown but Liddell shows good takedown defense.

Bader has taken the fight to the clinch.
Liddell is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Liddell wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Bader lands an elbow that stopped Liddell in his tracks for a moment.

Bader escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bader lands a head kick!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Liddell gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Bader lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Bader 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.
Liddell looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Liddell keeping moving, preventing Bader from controlling successfully.
Liddell is trying to keep Bader in close.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bader content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Liddell working a defensive guard here.
Bader working some strikes from top position.
Charlie Liddell is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Bader thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.
Liddell is trying to keep Bader in close.
Bader postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Ryan Bader.
I think Liddell has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:29
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:30
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a majority draw!