PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Stu Grounder (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Michael Liddell (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Liddell's choice of entrance music: The Viper vs. DJ Mad-E-Fact - Control The Party. Stu Grounder had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 136.1lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Grounder
vs
Liddell

175 cm
20
142 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

193 cm
20
140 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Basic striking
Self confident

BJJ Purple Belt
Decent knees
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Stu Grounder!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Michael Liddell!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Yves DeLean and Gregory Folan.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Grounder takes the fight into the clinch.
Nice body punch from Grounder.
Grounder can't break the clinch.
Liddell drops down looking for an ankle pick but Grounder pulls his leg out and moves away.
Grounder fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Liddell has a takedown stuffed.

Grounder pushes Liddell up against the ropes in a clinch.

Grounder breaks from the clinch.

Grounder shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Liddell trying to control here.
Grounder working Liddell over with strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liddell wants to control but Grounder is keeping busy.
Grounder knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Liddell on the ground.
Grounder is taking a breather. Liddell says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Grounder seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
Grounder is controlling the pace.
Liddell is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Liddell is positioning himself well to prevent Grounder advancing to mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Grounder controlling the action here.
Grounder has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Liddell trying to control but Grounder postures up.
Grounder takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell won't allow Grounder to pass to mount.
Grounder is breathing heavily.
Grounder sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Liddell trying to control but Grounder postures up.
Grounder content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Stu Grounder just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.
Liddell fails with the takedown

and Grounder counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Grounder.
Stu Grounder has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michael Liddell.
Grounder trying to land knees to the body.

Liddell breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Grounder forces Liddell back against the ropes and clinches.
Liddell is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Grounder is keeping busy.
Liddell tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Grounder just stands there and leans against the ropes.
Liddell trying to stall but Grounder improves his position.
Grounder slows down the pace here.

Grounder drags the fight down to the ground.
Liddell won't allow Grounder to get back to his feet.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Grounder looking to hit a scissor sweep but Liddell is one step ahead there.
Liddell trying to control the position from guard on top but Grounder is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Grounder controlling Liddell's posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stu Grounder dominated that round.
That's time! Grounder's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch up but Grounder swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Grounder moves into the clinch successfully.

Grounder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Grounder doesn't manage to clinch there - Liddell circles away.

Grounder moves into the clinch successfully.
Grounder drops down looking for an ankle pick but Liddell pulls his leg out and moves away.

Grounder fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Liddell, pushing him back against the ropes.
Liddell just leaning against Grounder, taking a breather.
Grounder changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Liddell fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Liddell has his takedown stuffed

and Grounder counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Grounder.
Liddell is breathing heavily.
Grounder not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grounder trying to control the position from guard on top but Liddell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Grounder controls from within his opponent's guard.
Liddell looking to control.
Liddell is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Grounder working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Grounder controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Grounder is looking to stand up but Liddell won't let him.
Grounder showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Grounder trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Grounder trying to control the position from guard on top but Liddell is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

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

Grounder rushes Liddell and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Grounder is working for a takedown up against the ropes. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Stu Grounder. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Grounder is pressed up against the ropes. Liddell has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Grounder down to the mat. Grounder avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Grounder is looking to clinch.
Grounder tries to close the distance and clinch but Liddell swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Liddell moves into range and clinches up with Grounder.

Grounder jumps guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grounder has control of Liddell's left arm, preventing Liddell from doing any damage.
Liddell prevents Grounder from getting back to his feet.
Grounder keeping moving, preventing Liddell from controlling successfully.

Grounder manages to escape and get back to his feet.

Grounder pushes Liddell up against the ropes in a clinch.
Grounder lands with a short shot to the head.

Grounder jumps guard.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Grounder keeps moving.
Grounder is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell wants to control from the top but Grounder keeps moving.
Grounder is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Liddell is controlling him.
Liddell lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Grounder looking to hit a scissor sweep but Liddell is one step ahead there.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Grounder shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Liddell but Liddell pushes him off and we're back to square one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stu Grounder dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

A head kick from Liddell lands but Grounder takes it in his stride.
Grounder tries to clinch but Liddell moves away

and Liddell counters by moving into the clinch.
Liddell wants a takedown but no success here.
Grounder stops a takedown attempt from Liddell.
Liddell jumps guard but Grounder stands there with Liddell around his waist. Liddell gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Stu Grounder has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Michael Liddell.
Liddell on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Still in the clinch, Grounder scores with a nice short uppercut.
Liddell fails to pull the fight into his guard.

Grounder escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Liddell tries to keep at a distance but Grounder has taken the fight into the clinch.
Come on Grounder - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

Grounder gets the body lock takedown. After a quick scramble, Liddell regains guard.
Grounder forces his way into half guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Still in half guard, Grounder seems content to control.
Liddell takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Grounder seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Liddell for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grounder wants to stand but Liddell has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

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.
Grounder slows the pace down in half guard.
Grounder wants to get back to his feet.
Grounder content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Liddell wants to control but Grounder is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Liddell looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Grounder wants to get back to his feet.
Liddell is looking for a sweep. Grounder is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Grounder is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Liddell shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Grounder pinned against the cage. Grounder gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Grounder doesn't manage to clinch there - Liddell circles away.
Grounder throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Liddell.
Liddell fails with the takedown

and Grounder holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Liddell.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Liddell drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Grounder gets the underhooks and prevents it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Liddell using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Grounder has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Liddell jumps guard but Grounder stands there with Liddell around his waist. Liddell gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Michael Liddell has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Grounder breaks the clinch.

Grounder instigates a clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Stu Grounder showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Grounder 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 William Peck scores the fight 30:27
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gregory Folan scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stu Grounder!