PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ulfric Taque (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chuck Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Taque
vs
Liddell

200 cm
25
280 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
225 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

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 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Ulfric Taque!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Chuck Liddell!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Sergei Dronov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Liddell feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Liddell cracks Taque with a solid left hand.
Liddell has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Taque is proving hard to escape from.
Liddell is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Taque avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Taque looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Taque keeps moving.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Chuck Liddell wasn't active enough on the ground.
Taque swats away the attempt to clinch by Liddell.

Taque decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Taque wants to control but Liddell is keeping him busy.
Taque is looking to advance position but Liddell won't allow it.
Taque thows a huge punch but Liddell dodges it nicely.
Taque not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Liddell gets full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Taque drops back looking for a leg! Liddell is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Liddell manages to kick Taque off! Taque jumps back into Liddell's guard.
Taque will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Liddell is trying to keep Taque in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Taque trying to control but Liddell is working from the bottom.
Liddell has control of Taque's left arm, preventing Taque from doing any damage.
Taque landing with the ground and pound.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Liddell can do anything to dispel that myth.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Liddell with a couple of shots from the bottom there - nothing Taque can't handle though.

Taque 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.

Liddell has his foot on Taque's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Taque works his way back into a safe position though.
Liddell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Taque. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Taque missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Liddell wants to sweep here but Taque controlling him for the moment.
Liddell is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Liddell keeping moving, preventing Taque from controlling successfully.

Taque drops back looking for a leg! Liddell is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Liddell manages to kick Taque off! Taque jumps back into Liddell's guard.
Taque seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Liddell is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell pulls Taque in close to his closed guard and prevents Taque from doing any damage or advancing position.
Liddell keeping moving, preventing Taque from controlling successfully.
Liddell preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.

Liddell shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Liddell was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Liddell is stalling here but it's allowed Taque to get half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Liddell is looking to advance position but Taque won't allow it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Chuck Liddell will probably get the nod.
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.

Nice sprawl there from Liddell as Taque shoots in.
Taque pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Liddell back to the cage. Taque follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

It looks like Chuck Liddell has been cut.
Liddell is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Taque moves into range and connects with a jab.
No joy there for Taque, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taque swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nice uppercut there from Taque.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liddell defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Taque.
Taque lands a jab-cross combination.
Liddell will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Taque fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ulfric Taque. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Liddell throws a leg kick that misses.
Liddell looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Taque is fending him off so far but Liddell persists. Nope, Taque circles away and we're back to standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Taque working for a triangle but Liddell defends it easily.
Liddell trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Taque keeps moving.
Taque utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Taque keeps moving.

Chuck Liddell has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.

Liddell closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Taque defending against the ground and pound.
Chuck Liddell has got the better of the ground game so far.

Liddell stands up and beckons Taque to his feet.
Liddell is looking to clinch but Taque is avoiding it.

Taque tries to sprawl but Liddell drives through with a takedown into half guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Taque misses with some strikes from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Liddell is controlling the pace.

Chuck Liddell has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Taque takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell wants to clinch up but Taque keeps it at a distance.
Liddell is looking to clinch but Taque is avoiding it.
Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch up but Taque swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Ulfric Taque seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Liddell is looking for a takedown here. He's shot in and has managed to get it, finishing up in Taque's half guard.
Liddell wants to free his trapped foot but Taque is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Liddell is stalling here. Taque is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Liddell seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Taque has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Taque tries to score with some ground and pound. Liddell controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Chuck Liddell will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Chuck Liddell's cut.
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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Taque misses with a takedown

and Liddell counters with a shoot takedown. Taque fights it but they end up in guard.

Liddell avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Liddell stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Taque swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Liddell trying to control the position from guard on top but Taque is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Taque can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Liddell controls the pace.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Chuck Liddell.
Liddell slaps away a takedown attempt from Taque, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Taque swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

Liddell drives through with a takedown into Taque's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Taque keeps moving.
Liddell looking to sit in guard and control but Taque gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Taque postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Liddell looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Taque missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Ulfric Taque has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Liddell wants to stand and escape but Taque is having none of it.
Liddell takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Liddell trying to control the position.
Liddell has Taque pulled in close to control his posture.
Taque stands and throws Liddell's legs to the side, diving into side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Taque scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Liddell to see if he's OK.
Taque scores with punches from side control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell is looking for a sweep.
The step up in weight doesn't seem to be a problem for Liddell. He's performing admirably here against the bigger man.
Check out the look on Taque's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!

Taque is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Liddell is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
Liddell pushes Taque away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Taque gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Liddell is not content to let Taque control the position.
Taque working the head with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell wants to control but Taque postures up.
Taque lands an elbow.
Liddell regains half guard, as Taque was trying to land strikes.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Liddell is looking for a sweep. Taque is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Taque has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Liddell defend it? Taque steps over the head and cranks it - Liddell is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Taque!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Ulfric Taque!