PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Chuck Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zane Archavin (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Zane Archavin acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Liddell
vs
Archavin

185 cm
27
225 lbs
4 - 7 - 0

216 cm
22
235 lbs
3 - 11 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Knockout power

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 4 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Chuck Liddell!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 11 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zane Archavin!
The judges for this bout are Igor Prikhodko, Sergei Dronov and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Archavin gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Liddell to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Archavin looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!
Archavin can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Liddell controls the pace.

Liddell stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Liddell shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Liddell's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Liddell has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Liddell chips away with some ground and pound.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Liddell controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Chuck Liddell.

Liddell drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
Liddell stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Archavin swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Liddell pushes down on Archavin's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Liddell wants to work for an arm triangle but Archavin is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Liddell connects with a nice short shot to Archavin's temple.
Archavin on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Archavin is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Liddell scores with a couple of nice shots.

Liddell is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Liddell content to control rather than advance.
Archavin is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Liddell is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Liddell seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Archavin tries to roll over but Liddell keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Liddell stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Archavin to get to his feet.
Archavin blocks a head kick by Liddell.

Liddell shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Liddell winds up and cracks Archavin with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Liddell could do with losing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Liddell stalling.
Liddell is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Archavin is defending against the submission attempts here by Liddell.
Liddell wants to control but Archavin is keeping him busy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Liddell seems to be working for a kimura but Archavin defends the submission attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Liddell decides to stand and escape the position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chuck Liddell dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

A momentary lapse in concentration from Archavin enables Liddell to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Archavin manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Liddell's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Liddell looking to pass the guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Liddell's corner is telling him to maintain position.

We're going to have a standup here because Chuck Liddell wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Liddell misses with the combination.
Archavin circles away from the clinch attempt.

Liddell scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.

Archavin is rocked!
Archavin is breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Well, if Liddell is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
Archavin is still in real trouble! Can Liddell finish him?
Liddell lands with a punch from half guard.

Liddell is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Liddell looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Archavin with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Liddell is sitting in half guard. He's postured up and lands a nice elbow. Oh, Archavin is hurt! He's hurt bad - Liddell fires away with more strikes and the referee jumps in to save Archavin from any more punishment! Congratulations to Liddell! Great finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:30 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Chuck Liddell!