PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Atte Kumpulainen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kurt Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Atte Kumpulainen has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Kumpulainen
vs
Liddell

175 cm
20
180 lbs
1 - 4 - 0

177 cm
22
193 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Good chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Atte Kumpulainen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Kurt Liddell!
The judges for this bout are , Jack Bonds and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Liddell avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Kumpulainen moves in looking to clinch but Liddell pushes him off.
Kumpulainen tries to close the distance and clinch but Liddell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kumpulainen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch there but Liddell circles away.
Liddell swats away the attempt to clinch by Kumpulainen.
Liddell swats away the attempt to clinch by Kumpulainen.
Liddell misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Kumpulainen.
Kumpulainen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!

Liddell closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Liddell lands in his opponent's guard.
Liddell in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Liddell makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Liddell trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Liddell throws a big right hand that misses.
Liddell throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Liddell thows a big elbow that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kumpulainen wants to stand but Liddell is controlling the position.
Liddell must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Liddell with a flurry of punches that miss.
Liddell pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Kumpulainen is keeping the position for now.
Liddell throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Horrible takedown by Liddell or perhaps it was just good defense by Kumpulainen which made him look bad.
Kumpulainen doesn't manage to clinch there - Liddell circles away.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch but Liddell is having none of it.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch there but Liddell circles away.
Liddell tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Liddell throws a head kick but Kumpulainen moves out of range.
Liddell looks gassed!
Kumpulainen stuffs the takedown attempt from Liddell. Liddell gets slowly back to his feet.
Kumpulainen fails in his attempt to clinch.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kumpulainen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Liddell shoots in for a takedown but Kumpulainen shows good takedown defense.
Atte Kumpulainen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kurt Liddell.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch there but Liddell circles away.
Liddell shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Kumpulainen pinned against the cage. Kumpulainen gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

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.
Kumpulainen is looking to clinch but Liddell is avoiding it.

Liddell closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.

Liddell tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Liddell has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Liddell scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Kumpulainen to see if he's OK.
Kumpulainen stops Liddell from passing to mount.
Liddell throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Kumpulainen takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Liddell cracks Kumpulainen with a big elbow.
Liddell lands a decent elbow from side control.

Kumpulainen is rocked!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Oh Kumpulainen is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!
Liddell scores with punches from side control.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Liddell scoring with punches and elbows.
Kumpulainen takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Liddell connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Kumpulainen some visible discomfort.

Liddell working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Liddell working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Kumpulainen taking punishment in the form of punches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liddell lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Kumpulainen down.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Kumpulainen on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Kumpulainen seems to have got his legs back now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell throwing strikes but Kumpulainen manages to buck up and roll into a nice reversal - now he's on top in side control!

Kumpulainen stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Liddell shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Kumpulainen keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Liddell drops an elbow to the side of Kumpulainen's head.

Liddell is looking for a kimura here.
Liddell wants to control but Kumpulainen is keeping him busy.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Liddell takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kurt Liddell dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Nice takedown defense from Kumpulainen. No joy for Liddell on that attempt.
Kumpulainen tries to close the distance and clinch up but Liddell swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Liddell looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kumpulainen is looking to clinch.

Kumpulainen clinches with his opponent.
Liddell jumps guard but Kumpulainen stands there with Liddell around his waist. Liddell gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Atte Kumpulainen has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kurt Liddell.
Knees to the body from Kumpulainen.

Kumpulainen jumps guard and drags Liddell to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Liddell throws and elbow that misses. Kumpulainen uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Liddell's guard. Nice move by Kumpulainen!
Liddell not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Liddell looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Kumpulainen has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Liddell is proving hard to escape from.
Kumpulainen won't allow Liddell to sweep him here.
Liddell is breathing heavily.
Liddell wants to control but Kumpulainen passes easily into half guard.
Liddell trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kumpulainen get's back to his feet.
Liddell fails to land the takedown.
Horrible takedown by Liddell or perhaps it was just good defense by Kumpulainen which made him look bad.
Liddell keeps the fight on the outside.
The fight stays on the outside here - Kumpulainen looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

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!
A nice elbow there by Liddell.
Kumpulainen in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Liddell punishing his opponent with strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Liddell thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Liddell working Kumpulainen over with strikes here.
Liddell punching from mount but Kumpulainen doing a good job of avoiding damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kumpulainen is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Liddell landing strikes from the mount and Kumpulainen is in trouble!
Liddell sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Liddell lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Liddell throws a wild left hand from mount and Kumpulainen manages to wriggle his way back to half guard.
Kumpulainen is refusing to be controlled, as Liddell sits in half guard.

Liddell seems to be looking for submissions.
Kumpulainen is not content to let Liddell control the position.
Liddell thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Kumpulainen's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
Kumpulainen tries to kick Liddell off but Liddell keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Liddell not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Nice sprawl there from Kumpulainen as Liddell shoots in.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch but Liddell moves out of range.
Liddell tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Kumpulainen swivels and escapes.
Kumpulainen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Liddell paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kurt Liddell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Liddell decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Liddell not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Liddell working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Liddell missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Liddell working the head and body with strikes.
Ground and pound from Liddell.
Liddell tries to pass the half guard into mount. Kumpulainen knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kumpulainen on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Liddell thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Kumpulainen wants to get back to his feet.

Liddell is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Kumpulainen is just riding it out for now. Liddell eventually gives up the hold.
Liddell looks to land a strike but Kumpulainen avoids it nicely and regains full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Liddell looking to sit in guard and control but Kumpulainen gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Liddell is striking from the bottom but Kumpulainen uses the opportunity to pass into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kurt Liddell showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Liddell shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Liddell raining down shots from the mount!
Kumpulainen is trying to stand.
Liddell dominating with strikes here.
Liddell has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Kumpulainen's face.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kumpulainen is bucking up trying to escape but Liddell cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

It looks like Atte Kumpulainen has been cut.
Liddell is landing with some decent strikes but Kumpulainen is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.
Liddell misses with some ground and pound and Kumpulainen recovers position to half guard.
Liddell stops Kumpulainen from getting back to his feet.
Liddell throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Kumpulainen regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Liddell.
Kumpulainen is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Liddell is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Kumpulainen kicks Liddell off and gets to his feet.
Liddell looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kumpulainen is fending him off so far but Liddell persists. Nope, Kumpulainen circles away and we're back to standing.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch but Liddell moves out of range.
Liddell keeps the fight on the outside.
Kumpulainen tries to close the distance and clinch but Liddell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Kumpulainen tries to clinch up.
Atte Kumpulainen is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kumpulainen paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kumpulainen tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Liddell paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kumpulainen wants to clinch up but Liddell keeps it at a distance.
Liddell swats away the attempt to clinch by Kumpulainen.
Liddell fails miserably with a takedown attempt.
Kumpulainen fails with an attempt to clinch.

Liddell is looking for a takedown. Wow, that's a brutal slam - Kumpulainen is in big trouble! Liddell is landing strikes from the mount and this one is all over! The ref jumps in to save a confused looking Kumpulainen. Poor guy.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Slam). Kurt Liddell!