PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Joe Hanner (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Noah Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hanner kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Little Weapon. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Hanner
vs
Liddell

180 cm
22
211 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

188 cm
20
205 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

Decent wrestler
Counter striker
Prefers ground

BJJ White Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Joe Hanner!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Noah Liddell!
The judges for this bout are Joseph Jones, Columbo Gatti and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Liddell fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Hanner is out of range.
Hanner fails with a takedown attempt.
Hanner misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Liddell misses with a leg kick.

Hanner scores with a takedown into Liddell's guard.
Hanner throws a big right hand that misses.
Liddell wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hanner pushes down on Liddell's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Liddell is trying to escape back to his feet but Hanner uses the scramble to pass into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Hanner lands some shots froms side control.
Hanner scoring with punches and elbows.
The strikes coming from Hanner are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Liddell gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Hanner landing punches.
Hanner has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Liddell's face.
Liddell looks gassed!
Hanner putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Hanner working the ground and pound effectively.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Hanner postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Liddell looks a forlorn figure.
Hanner lands a heavy elbow.
Liddell really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hanner. 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 two minutes gone in the round.
Hanner connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Liddell is wriggling around trying to escape.
Hanner with a couple of short strikes.
Liddell is working to get back to half guard.
The referee warns Liddell that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Hanner landing strikes from the mount.
Hanner scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Liddell in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Hanner punishing his opponent with strikes.
Liddell takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Hanner cracks Liddell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hanner lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanner fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Hanner scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Liddell?
Hanner raining down shots from the mount!
Hanner lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Hanner lands a big shot there that rocks Liddell but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
BOOM! Hanner connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Hanner raining down shots from the mount!
Liddell is bucking up trying to escape but Hanner cracks him with another couple of good strikes.

Hanner has hold of Liddell's left arm, perhaps looking for a submission. The two fighters tussle over control of the isolated limb and Liddell manages to get his arm back to his side and away from danger.
Hanner lands with some strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanner lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Liddell wants to hold on but Hanner pushes him away.
Hanner with the ground and pound from mount.
Hanner lands a big shot there that rocks Liddell but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Hanner working Liddell over with strikes here.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
A nice elbow there by Hanner.
Hanner has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Liddell's face.
Hanner with a couple of short strikes.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hanner lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Liddell hang on?
Liddell is in a horrible position here. Hanner smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Hanner punishing his opponent with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Hanner.
Hanner blocks a leg kick.
No joy there for Liddell, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hanner takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Liddell defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Hanner.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Hanner closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Hanner lands in his opponent's guard.
Hanner content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hanner lands a couple of elbows.
Liddell is breathing heavily.
Hanner with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Hanner scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hanner lands a couple of digs.
Hanner is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Hanner scoring with punches to the head and body.
Hanner lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Hanner with a nice head shot there.
Hanner 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.
Hanner lands a couple of digs.
Joe Hanner overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hanner scoring with some ground and pound.
Hanner trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Hanner throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Liddell works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
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.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanner makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Liddell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hanner chips away with some ground and pound.
Hanner is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Liddell can do to turn this around?
Hanner is working Liddell over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Hanner is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Liddell utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hanner cracks Liddell with a solid left hand.
Hanner cracks Liddell with a solid left hand.
Hanner is looking to work some ground and pound but Liddell has wrist control.
Hanner throwing strikes but missing.
Liddell wants to get back to his feet but Hanner is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hanner working some strikes from top position.
Hanner passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Hanner is putting a hurting on Liddell here, landing some big shots from side control.
Liddell takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Liddell takes a nasty elbow to the side of the head.
Hanner working away.
Hanner is chipping away with strikes.
Hanner advances to mount.
Liddell tries to hold on but Hanner pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hanner postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Liddell looks a forlorn figure.
Liddell tries to reverse the position but Hanner maintains control.
Hanner has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Liddell's face.
Hanner avoids the attempt from Liddell to control.
Hanner cracks Liddell with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
A nice elbow there by Hanner.
Hanner lands with some strikes.
Hanner landing shots from mount.
Hanner could do with loosing a few pounds - he looks very soft around the mid section, to put it politely.
Liddell is bucking up trying to escape but Hanner cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Hanner scoring with strikes but Liddell is staying in there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Hanner dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Excellent takedown into side control there by Hanner.

Hanner looking for an arm triangle but it's way too loose to do anything.
Liddell wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Hanner grinds an elbow into Liddell's temple.
Hanner looks up at the clock and then as Liddell takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Hanner smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Hanner landing a few strikes.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Liddell taking punishment in the form of punches.
Liddell can't do much from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Hanner in side control lands a decent elbow.
Hanner creates a bit of distance and throws down some hard shots.
Hanner working the ground and pound.
Liddell is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Hanner is controlling him well.
Hanner cracks Liddell with a big right hand but Liddell just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Liddell wants to get back to his feet.
Liddell is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hanner scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Liddell to see if he's OK.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hanner lands some shots froms side control.
Hanner scoring with punches from side control.
Hanner working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Liddell wants to get back to his feet but Hanner drags him back down.
Liddell taking punishment in the form of punches.
Liddell on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Hanner working the head and body with strikes.
Hanner working the head with strikes.
Hanner looks up at the clock and then as Liddell takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Hanner smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Liddell takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Liddell on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Liddell taking punishment in the form of punches.
Liddell is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Hanner landing a few strikes.
Liddell takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
Noah Liddell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Hanner lands some shots froms side control.
Hanner passes to full mount! That's big trouble for Liddell!
Hanner lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Hanner landing shots from mount.
Hanner has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Liddell's face.
Liddell can't escape the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell is trying to stand.

Hanner has control of Liddell's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Liddell regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Liddell tries to buck Hanner off but he can't manage it.
Hanner lands with some strikes.
Hanner lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Hanner blocks Liddell's feeble attempts to strike from the bottom.
Hanner lands with some strikes.
Hanner is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Liddell can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Joe Hanner is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Hanner cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

And that's the end of the fight!
Joe Hanner showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Hanner, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Joseph Jones scores the fight 30:25
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 30:25
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Joe Hanner!