PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Rafael Habanero (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dan Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Habanero comes to the cage accompanied by NERD - Rockstar. Liddell is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by George Straits- The Fireman. Rafael Habanero had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Habanero
vs
Liddell

196 cm
28
203 lbs
15 - 3 - 1

190 cm
26
215 lbs
18 - 4 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Firebird Designs

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the light heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 15 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rafael Habanero!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 18 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dan Liddell!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Stewart Dunkirk and Gwen Towbar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Liddell misses with a straight right.
Habanero scores with a leg kick.
Habanero defending well as Liddell loads up on a big left hand.
Habanero throws a jab when Liddell was well out of range.
Habanero throws a nice inside leg kick.
Habanero swings widly with a right hand
and Liddell counters with a stiff right hand.
Liddell throws an overhand right that lands on Habanero's shoulder, as Habanero tries to avoid the shot.
Liddell looks to land a right hand but Habanero moved out of range.
The fighters circling - Habanero throws out the jab but it was never going to land.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell tries to clinch but Habanero is having none of it.
Liddell gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Habanero.
Habanero feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Liddell's calf.
Liddell slips under a jab from Habanero.
Liddell missing with a left hand there. Habanero was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Liddell throws a leg kick
and Habanero counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rafael Habanero is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Habanero lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
Habanero connects with a leg kick. Liddell looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Habanero lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Liddell misses with an uppercut. Habanero saw that one coming.
Habanero throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Habanero throws a jab when Liddell was well out of range.
Habanero swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Liddell fails in his attempt to clinch.
Habanero defending well as Liddell loads up on a big left hand.
Habanero throws a right hand that misses
and Liddell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Habanero swings for the body but Liddell moves out of range.
Liddell swings widly with a right hand
and Habanero counters with a right hand to the body.
Liddell tries to clinch up.
Liddell checks a leg kick.
Habanero throws a leg kick that misses.
Liddell misses with an uppercut
and Habanero makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Habanero connects with a body shot.
Rafael Habanero seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Habanero lands a front kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Habanero.
Habanero lands a nice looking kick to the body. Liddell takes a step back to recover.
Habanero is looking to slow Liddell down with leg kicks.
Liddell tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Habanero chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Habanero connects with the punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Habanero dominated that round.
That's time! Habanero's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Habanero throws a good cross that connects.
Habanero misses with a double jab
and Liddell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Liddell blocks a leg kick.
Habanero scores with a decent looking hook.
Habanero smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Habanero with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Habanero connects with a solid leg kick.
Liddell's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Liddell throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Habanero counters with a left to the body.
Habanero chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Liddell's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Liddell duly obliges.
Liddell misses with a wild combination.
Habanero walks forward, straight into a front kick from Liddell.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Habanero throws an off balance right hand
and Liddell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Habanero throws a nice looking combination but Liddell bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Habanero enables Liddell to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Habanero manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Liddell wants to stand but Habanero has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Habanero utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Liddell stopping the sweep attempt from Habanero.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Liddell working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Liddell would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's four 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.
Liddell thows a big elbow that misses.
Habanero trying to keep a closed guard but Liddell is proving a slippery customer.
Habanero utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Liddell wants to stand but Habanero is controlling his posture from full guard.
Liddell must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Habanero keeping moving, preventing Liddell from controlling successfully.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Liddell loads up on a big right hand but Habanero slips the punch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dan Liddell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Liddell avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Habanero thumps Liddell with a low kick.
Habanero is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Habanero moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Liddell takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Habanero misses the shot to the body.
Liddell on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Habanero lands a right hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell ducks right into an uppercut from Habanero.
Habanero cracks Liddell with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Habanero thows a leg kick but Liddell checks it
and Liddell counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Liddell takes one to the side of the head.
Liddell ducks under a wild hook from Habanero.
Liddell fails to land the takedown.
Habanero scores with a nice body kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Habanero loads up on a big right hand but Liddell slips the punch.
Habanero throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Habanero ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Habanero misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Liddell.
Rafael Habanero is winning the standup battle so far.
Habanero misses with an uppercut
and Liddell counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Habanero rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Liddell moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Habanero throws a head kick that misses.
Liddell slips a straight right by Habanero.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Habanero.
Habanero throws a low kick but it's checked well by Liddell.
Habanero cracks the inside of Liddell's front leg.
Liddell wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Habanero tests Liddell's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Liddell avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Habanero misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Habanero lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Habanero clearly takes that round.
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.

Habanero slips under a jab from Liddell.
Habanero throws a low kick, looking for Liddell's leg but Liddell calmly moves out of range.
A leg kick checked by Liddell.
Habanero lands a head kick!
Liddell throws a hook to the side of Habanero's head but Habanero sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Liddell throws a poor cross that misses
enabling Habanero to counter with a crisp jab.
Habanero checks a low kick from Liddell.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Habanero avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Habanero keeps the fight on the outside.
Habanero throws a jab but it's blocked by Liddell.
Liddell closes the distance looking to clinch
and Habanero counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Habanero throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

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.
Habanero swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Liddell misses with a body punch
and Habanero counters with an outside leg kick.
A good leg kick by Habanero.
Habanero throws a series of punches but Liddell moves out of range.
Liddell slips a straight right by Habanero.
Habanero connects with a solid leg kick.
Habanero turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Habanero loads up on a big right hand but Liddell slips the punch.
Habanero misses with a looping right.
Liddell takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Habanero feints and then cracks Liddell's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Liddell down.
Habanero lands a nice looking body shot.
Liddell takes one to the chin there.
Liddell is trying hard to land a takedown here. Habanero sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell checks a leg kick.
Habanero motions for Liddell to come forward. Habanero throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Liddell slips under a jab.
Habanero misses the jab.
Habanero tests Liddell's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Habanero misses with a low kick as Liddell jumps back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rafael Habanero had his way with Dan Liddell in that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Habanero lands a nice hook to Liddell's body. Liddell takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Liddell throws a push kick but Habanero slaps the foot to one side.
Habanero misses with a wild combination.
Liddell walks forward, straight into a front kick from Habanero.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Liddell fails with an attempt to clinch.
A left lands for Habanero.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A slow jab from Habanero misses its intended target.
Liddell throws a shot to the body.
Habanero lands a body shot.
Habanero throws a half hearted mid kick.
Liddell is looking to clinch.
Liddell connects with the punch.
Dan Liddell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Liddell throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Habanero with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Habanero lands a nice leg kick that just misses Liddell's sensitive parts.
Habanero's jab looks to have found its range, popping Liddell under the eye.
Habanero fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Liddell has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Habanero throws a body kick the misses
and Liddell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Liddell takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Habanero.
Liddell throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Liddell tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Habanero counters with an outside leg kick.
Rafael Habanero is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Habanero avoids a punch combination nicely.
Liddell closes the distance looking to clinch
and Habanero counters with a slapping leg kick.
Habanero scores with the left hand. Liddell knows he should have avoided that one.
Liddell takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Liddell takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

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 Rafael Habanero.
I think Habanero 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge George Francis scores the fight 49:46
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 48:47
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 49:46

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rafael Habanero!
Rafael Habanero retains his light heavyweight title!