PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Tsuyoshi Nakayama (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lyoto Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Nakayama comes to the cage accompanied by The Vapors - Turning Japanese. Liddell is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by Fatal. I'm sure you'll be fascinated to know that I was talking to some pointless Z list celebrity before the fight and he thought that Lyoto Liddell was going to win. Let's see if he was right.

Nakayama
vs
Liddell

189 cm
28
192 lbs
18 - 8 - 0

185 cm
24
200 lbs
12 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

Conviction
Convicted Trap House

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 18 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Tsuyoshi Nakayama!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Lyoto Liddell!
The judges for this bout are Taro Takaoka, Yuuki Gou and Yukihiro Yamamoto.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nakayama fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Liddell manages to avoid it.
Liddell throws a leg kick but Nakayama moved away.
Nakayama is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Liddell misses the shot to the body.
Some wild striking there from Nakayama.
Nakayama chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Liddell can pounce on him.
Nakayama misses with a series of wild punches.
Nakayama lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Liddell backs up against the cage.

It looks like Lyoto Liddell has been cut.
Nakayama connects with a nice looking jab.
Liddell avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A slow jab from Nakayama misses its intended target.
Nakayama misses with an uppercut. Liddell saw that one coming.

Liddell takes the fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nakayama swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A body shot lands from Nakayama.
Nakayama misses with a punch on the inside.
Nakayama lands a hook to the side of the head.
Nakayama lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
A short uppercut from Nakayama.
Liddell tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
With the fighters up against the cage, Liddell throws an elbow but misses.
Nice body punch from Liddell - that landed with a thud.
Nakayama misses with a hook to the ribs.
Nakayama misses with a punch to the body.
Liddell controlling the action here for a moment.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Liddell creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A shot in the inside from Nakayama.
Nakayama tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Nakayama lands a shot to the body.
Nakayama scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Good body shot from Liddell.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Nakayama scores with a shot to the side of Liddell's head.
Nakayama pushes Liddell back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Liddell looks gassed!
Nakayama doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Liddell looking to stall.
Nakayama misses with a short punch on the inside.
Nakayama swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Liddell lands an elbow inside.
Liddell lands a nice uppercut.
A right hook to the body lands for Nakayama.
Liddell misses with a hook to the ribs.
Still in the clinch, Nakayama scores with a nice short uppercut.
Liddell swings wildly with an uppercut but Nakayama uses good head movement to avoid it.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Liddell working aggressively here.
Liddell prevents a body shot from Nakayama.
Nakayama softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Nakayama lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Liddell.
Nakayama lands a nice uppercut.
A right hand to the body from Nakayama.
Nakayama digs a right hand into Liddell's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Liddell's gas tank.
A right hand to the body from Nakayama.
Nakayama lands a shot to the body.
Nakayama working aggressively here.
Nakayama lands a nice shot to the body.
Liddell blocks a body shot from Nakayama.
Still in the clinch, Nakayama scores with a nice short uppercut.
Nakayama throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Liddells head.
A hook to the body from Nakayama.
Nakayama works on Liddell's body with a couple of short punches.
Nakayama misses with some punches.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Nakayama.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama lands a shot to the body.
Liddell blocks an uppercut.
Nakayama swings wildly with an uppercut but Liddell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nakayama tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Liddell's elbow.
Liddell blocks a body shot from Nakayama.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Nakayama creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Liddell blocking some punches.
Nice body punch from Nakayama.
Nakayama lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Nakayama on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Nakayama is leaning against Liddell and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Nakayama struggles to land a body shot inside as Liddell controls his hands.
A right hook to the body lands for Nakayama.
Nakayama stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Nakayama digs a right hand into Liddell's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Liddell's gas tank.
A nice right hand lands inside from Nakayama.
Nakayama lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Liddell backwards.
A short body shot lands from Nakayama as the two fighters clinch.
Nakayama swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nakayama lands a nice shot to the body.
A right hand to the body from Nakayama.
Nakayama lands a body shot.
Nakayama is working Liddell over against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Nakayama throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Liddells head.
Liddell blocking some punches.
Nakayama lands a shot to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama lands a body punch in the clinch.
A right hand to the body from Nakayama.
Nice body punch from Nakayama - that landed with a thud.
Nakayama is working Liddell over against the cage.
Liddell blocking some punches.
A right hand to the body from Nakayama.
Nice body punch from Nakayama.
Liddell is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Nakayama lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liddell backwards.
Liddell blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Nakayama presses Liddell against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Nakayama lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liddell backwards.
Nakayama tries to work over Liddell's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Nakayama lands a body shot in the clinch.
Nakayama scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Nakayama lands a body shot in the clinch.
Nakayama stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Nakayama stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nakayama digs a right hand into Liddell's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Liddell's gas tank.
A left hand lands to the body for Nakayama.
Nakayama lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liddell backwards.
Nakayama presses Liddell against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Nakayama misses with the head strike.
Nice body punch from Nakayama.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsuyoshi Nakayama dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Lyoto Liddell's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Liddell takes a swing at Nakayama's ribcage but misses.
Nakayama misses with a series of wild punches.
A lazy left from Nakayama finds it's target.
Nakayama lands an overhand right.
Nakayama is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Liddell can do to turn this around?
Nakayama throws out a loose jab but Liddell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nakayama throws the left hand but Liddell avoids the punch easily.
Liddell throws a series of punches but Nakayama moves out of range.
Liddell uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Nakayama.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Liddell in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.
Nakayama throws a series of strikes that have Liddell backpedaling.
Nakayama tests Liddell's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Liddell is breathing heavily.
Good leg kick by Nakayama there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell lands with an uppercut that bounces Nakayama off the cage and back into rage.
Tsuyoshi Nakayama seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Nakayama changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Liddell tries to land a leg kick but Nakayama saw it coming and moves away.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Liddell has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Liddell there as he acknowledges the shot.
Liddell cracks Nakayama with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nakayama throws a hook to the side of Liddell's head but Liddell sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nakayama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Liddell.
Liddell doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
A jab from Nakayama does it's job there.
Liddell takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Nakayama slips a jab from Liddell.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddell keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Nakayama works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Nakayama throws the left hand but Liddell avoids the punch easily.
Liddell looks to throw the jab but Nakayama is out of range.
Liddell scores with a leg kick.
Nakayama moves out of range of the leg kick from Liddell.
Nakayama scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Nakayama misses with a double jab
and Liddell counters with a leg kick.
Nakayama swinging wildly here.
Tsuyoshi Nakayama is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Nakayama checks a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Nakayama throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
A jab from Liddell misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from Liddell. Nakayama does a little dance to reset his feet.
Nakayama throws a right and a left that both miss.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Liddell!
Decent striking displayed by Nakayama there.
A nice leg kick lands there from Nakayama.
Liddell wants to clinch up but Nakayama keeps it at a distance.
Nakayama slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Nakayama misses with a double jab
and Liddell counters with a straight right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama misses with a series of wild punches.
Liddell misses with a head kick.
Nakayama darts in trying to clinch
and Liddell counters with a stiff right hand.
Liddell misses with a straight left.
Nakayama fails to land with a series of punches.
Nakayama tries to clinch up.
Nakayama connects with a solid leg kick.
Nakayama rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Liddell moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Nakayama throws a leg kick that is checked
and Liddell counters with a left to the body.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tsuyoshi Nakayama dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Lyoto Liddell's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Decent striking displayed by Nakayama there.
Liddell showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Nakayama.
Nice defenses there by Liddell.
Nakayama walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
Liddell is looking to clinch but Nakayama is avoiding it.
Liddell scores with a leg kick.
Nakayama misses with a low kick.
Nakayama throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Liddell counters with a left to the body.
Liddell misses with a head kick.
A cross from Nakayama lands.
Nakayama misses with a combination
and Liddell counters with an outside leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell takes a swing at Nakayama's ribcage but misses.
Liddell throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Nakayama counters with a straight right hand.
Nakayama throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Nakayama looks to land a left hand but Liddell moved out of range nicely.
A jab from Liddell finds it's way through Nakayama's defenses.
Nakayama checks the leg kick.
Liddell takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Liddell listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Nakayama throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Nakayama takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Liddell connects with a solid leg kick.
Nakayama closes the distance but Liddell moves to the side
and Liddell counters with a body kick that brings a smile to the face of both fighters.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nakayama on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Liddell tries to clinch there but Nakayama circles away.
Liddell throws a shot to the body.
Liddell dodges the punch combination from Nakayama.

Liddell gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Nakayama misses with a hook from the clinch.
Nakayama misses with a punch on the inside.
A body shot lands from Liddell.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Liddell lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Liddell working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Liddell looking to stall.
A right hook to the body lands for Liddell.

Liddell breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Nakayama on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A jab from Nakayama misses.
Liddell keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Liddell throws the left hand but Nakayama avoids the punch easily.
Liddell defending well as Nakayama loads up on a big left hand.
Liddell throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Nakayama tries to clinch up
and Liddell counters with an inside leg kick.
Nakayama jabs Liddell to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Nakayama throws a leg kick but Liddell moved away.

That's four 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.
Nakayama scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Liddell waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nakayama.
Liddell lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.
Liddell tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nakayama looks to land a right hand but Liddell moved out of range.
Nakayama misses with a body shot.
Nakayama misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Liddell.
Lyoto Liddell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Nakayama misses with a low kick.
Liddell lands a high kick!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Liddell has taken the fight to the clinch.
Nakayama tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Tsuyoshi Nakayama is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Nakayama swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Nakayama throws a head punch that misses.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lyoto Liddell comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Nakayama has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Taro Takaoka scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yuuki Gou scores the fight 29:28
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tsuyoshi Nakayama!