PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Garlin Liddle (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Allessandro Vasiliev (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Vasiliev comes into a darkened arena with his song building. "The Hand That Feeds" by NIN kicks in, the lights come on and the crowd goes wild! What a showman! Garlin Liddle is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples... Tweaking his own nipples that is.

Liddle
vs
Vasiliev

192 cm
21
270 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

199 cm
23
248 lbs
4 - 4 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

Decent wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Garlin Liddle!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Allessandro Vasiliev!
The judges for this bout are Arvi Lind, Tarja Halkonen and Ben Zyskovitsi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Vasiliev moves out of range of the leg kick from Liddle.
Liddle goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Liddle shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
enabling Vasiliev to counter with a crisp jab.

It looks like Garlin Liddle has been cut.

Vasiliev shoots in and gets a takedown into Liddle's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vasiliev pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Liddle is keeping the position for now.

Liddle looking for a guillotine here but Vasiliev defends easily.
Vasiliev won't allow Liddle to sweep him here.
Vasiliev is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Vasiliev won't allow Liddle to sweep him here.
Vasiliev slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Allessandro Vasiliev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Vasiliev tries to clinch there but Liddle circles away.
Liddle throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Vasiliev counters with a shoot takedown. Liddle fights it but they end up in guard.
Liddle on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Liddle tries to get out of the position.

Vasiliev got a little sloppy there for a moment and Liddle has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Vasiliev has managed to get both his arms back between Liddle's legs - danger averted.
Liddle is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Vasiliev trying to stand up but can't free himself from Liddle's guard.

Liddle escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Vasiliev gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Liddle is breathing heavily.
Vasiliev prevents Liddle from getting back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Vasiliev sitting in guard here, content to control.
Liddle keeping full guard, as Vasiliev tries to pass.

Vasiliev is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Liddle tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Liddle is working hard here to advance position.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Liddle looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Liddle preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Vasiliev really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Liddle. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Vasiliev preventing the sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Liddle looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Vasiliev passes into side control.
Liddle gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Liddle is squirming around, avoiding Vasiliev's attempts to control the action.
Liddle is wriggling around trying to escape.
Vasiliev controlling from the full mount.
Liddle is working to get back to half guard.
Vasiliev controlling from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Allessandro Vasiliev has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Liddle misses with a double jab

and Vasiliev counters with a nice double leg into guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Vasiliev trying to control the position from guard on top but Liddle is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vasiliev pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Liddle is keeping the position for now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Allessandro Vasiliev dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Garlin Liddle's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Liddle gets caught flat footed, as Vasiliev shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Liddle working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Vasiliev doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Vasiliev manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Liddle lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Vasiliev!
Liddle with the ground and pound from mount.
Poor strikes thrown by Liddle there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Vasiliev tries to hold on but Liddle pushes him away.
Liddle looking to ground and pound but Vasiliev is blocking nicely.
Liddle thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Liddle throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddle throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Liddle sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Vasiliev is in all sorts of trouble here.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Vasiliev. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Liddle unloads with some shots from mount but Vasiliev bucks and avoids them well.
Liddle breaks from Vasiliev's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Liddle scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Vasiliev?
Liddle avoids the attempt from Vasiliev to control.
Liddle looking to control but Vasiliev is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Vasiliev is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Vasiliev wants to control but Liddle is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddle tries to control but Vasiliev wriggling away.
Vasiliev wants to hold on but Liddle pushes him away.
Liddle can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Vasiliev is looking to escape.
Vasiliev tries to hold on but Liddle postures up.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Vasiliev is desperately trying to improve his position but Liddle has a good base and remains in mount.
Liddle looking to control but Vasiliev is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Vasiliev is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Liddle 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.
Vasiliev wants to control but Liddle is having none of it.
Liddle wants to control the pace but Vasiliev is squirming around nicely.

Liddle working for a submission but Vasiliev is keeping him at bay.
Vasiliev tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Vasiliev wants to control but Liddle is having none of it.
Liddle tries to control but Vasiliev wriggling away.

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.
Liddle pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Vasiliev is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Liddle trying to control but Vasiliev is having none of it.
Vasiliev is trying to escape the mount.
Vasiliev wants to hold on but Liddle pushes him away.
Vasiliev is working to get back to half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Garlin Liddle dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Garlin Liddle's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Vasiliev lands a nice shot that snaps Liddle's head back.
Vasiliev looks to throw a body kick
and Liddle makes the exchange count by landing a cracking kick to the body. Vasiliev really felt that one!
A left and a right from Liddle both land. Nice combination.

Liddle drives through with a takedown into guard.
Vasiliev wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Liddle postures up in Vasiliev's guard and throws a big left but Vasiliev blocks it.
Vasiliev keeping moving, preventing Liddle from controlling successfully.

Vasiliev is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Liddle defends well.
Allessandro Vasiliev has got the better of the ground game so far.
Liddle postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Liddle avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Vasiliev has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Liddle can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Liddle stands up from Vasiliev's guard - Liddle perhaps looking for a knockout.
Vasiliev circles away from the clinch attempt

and Vasiliev counters by clinching up.
Vasiliev tries to break free but Liddle pushes him back against the cage.
Liddle keeps control of Vasiliev as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Vasiliev is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Vasiliev has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Liddle uses from the top position.

Liddle gets to his feet - Vasiliev follows without any prompting.
Vasiliev with a poor takedown

and Liddle counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Vasiliev's guard now.
Liddle trying to control the position from guard on top but Vasiliev is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Vasiliev trying to keep a closed guard but Liddle is proving a slippery customer.
Liddle trying to stand up but can't free himself from Vasiliev's guard.
Vasiliev keeping moving, preventing Liddle from controlling successfully.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Liddle wanted to stand there but Vasiliev had control of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Garlin Liddle just wasn't active enough.
Vasiliev shoots in but no luck this time.
Liddle fails with the takedown
and Vasiliev counters with a nice body shot.
Vasiliev misses with a jab, cross combination.
Liddle has his takedown stuffed

and Vasiliev counters with a takedown into side control.
Vasiliev trying to control the action but Liddle is working from the bottom.

Vasiliev stands up and beckons Liddle to his feet.
Garlin Liddle seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Vasiliev fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Vasiliev gets a clinch.
Vasiliev lands a body shot in the clinch.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Vasiliev slowing the pace effectively.
Vasiliev looking for a takedown.
Garlin Liddle has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Allessandro Vasiliev.
Vasiliev prevents the takedown attempt.

Vasiliev successfully pulls guard.
Vasiliev looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Liddle won't allow Vasiliev to sweep him here.
Vasiliev is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Liddle trying to control but Vasiliev is working from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Allessandro Vasiliev.
Well Vasiliev has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Arvi Lind scores the fight for Allessandro Vasiliev!
Judge Tarja Halkonen scores the fight for Allessandro Vasiliev!
Judge Ben Zyskovitsi scores the fight for Allessandro Vasiliev!

Allessandro Vasiliev wins by unanimous decision!