PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Jie Liu (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Antti Rannanjarvi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rannanjarvi has chosen Stonehenge by Spinal Tap as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Liu
vs
Rannanjarvi

173 cm
22
162 lbs
7 - 1 - 0

195 cm
29
169 lbs
25 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Jie Liu!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 25 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, Antti Rannanjarvi!
The judges for this bout are William Peck, Ian Loll and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rannanjarvi chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Liu can pounce on him.
Rannanjarvi moves away from the strike by Liu.
Jie Liu seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Rannanjarvi uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Liu has time to react.
Rannanjarvi ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Liu moves away.
Liu looks to land a left hand but Rannanjarvi moved out of range nicely.
Rannanjarvi takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Liu misses the body punch
and Rannanjarvi finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Rannanjarvi throws a sloppy head kick and Liu moves out of range easily.
Rannanjarvi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Liu misses with an attempted mid kick.
Liu has his hands up protecting his head but a hook from Rannanjarvi finds it's way round the side to connect with Liu's head.
Liu throws a head kick that misses.
Rannanjarvi on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Rannanjarvi thows a body shot but no joy.
Rannanjarvi throws a sloppy head kick and Liu moves out of range easily.
Rannanjarvi wants to clinch but Liu slips to the side
and Liu finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rannanjarvi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Rannanjarvi swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Rannanjarvi tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liu throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rannanjarvi tries to land a leg kick but Liu saw it coming and moves away.
Liu takes a kick to the side of the head.
Rannanjarvi takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.

Rannanjarvi drives through and clinches with Liu against the cage.
Rannanjarvi misses with a hook from the clinch.
Liu lands a shoulder strike.
Liu makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Rannanjarvi misses with a short punch on the inside.
Rannanjarvi misses with a punch to the body.
Rannanjarvi lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Liu backwards.
Liu misses with some punches.
Liu lands an uppercut.
Liu lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Rannanjarvi misses with some punches.
Rannanjarvi is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Liu is defending well for now.
Liu doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rannanjarvi blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Liu lands a left hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liu avoiding damage as Rannanjarvi throws knees to the body.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Rannanjarvi creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Liu lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Rannanjarvi working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Liu working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Rannanjarvi scores with a knee to the head.
Rannanjarvi can't find room to land a body shot as Liu controls the action.
Liu trying to control the position but instead, Rannanjarvi has worked for underhooks and has pushed Liu into the cage.
Liu scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Rannanjarvi is looking to break free of the clinch but Liu has double underhooks.
Rannanjarvi lands a left hand.
Liu misses with a punch on the inside.
Liu blocks the elbow strike.
Rannanjarvi lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Liu doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Rannanjarvi using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Liu has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Liu working aggressively here.
Liu is trying to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liu avoids a wild elbow strike from Rannanjarvi.
Liu lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Rannanjarvi backwards.
Rannanjarvi tries a knee to the head but Liu blocks it.
Liu looking to slow down the pace here.
Liu lands a hook that snaps the head of Rannanjarvi backwards.
Rannanjarvi misses with a knee to the head.
Rannanjarvi tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Rannanjarvi lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Liu fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Liu.
A head punch on the inside from Liu fails to land.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Rannanjarvi.
Liu misses with a punch on the inside.
Liu lands a left hand.
Rannanjarvi misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Liu blocking some punches.
Liu is pushing Rannanjarvi up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Liu avoiding damage as Rannanjarvi throws knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi tries to work over Liu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Liu blocks an uppercut.
Liu is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Liu manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Liu.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rannanjarvi landing knees to the head.
Rannanjarvi tries to work over Liu's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Nice body punch from Rannanjarvi - that landed with a thud.
Rannanjarvi working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Rannanjarvi lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Liu backwards.
Rannanjarvi struggles to land a body shot inside as Liu controls his hands.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Liu is looking to take this one to the mat.
Rannanjarvi missing with knees to the body.
Rannanjarvi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Liu avoids it.
Rannanjarvi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Liu pushes Rannanjarvi back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Liu throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Rannanjarvi on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Rannanjarvi throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Rannanjarvi throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
A head kick misses from Rannanjarvi.
Good leg kick by Liu there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Rannanjarvi looks to score with a jab to the body but Liu is just out of range.
Liu misses with a low kick.
Rannanjarvi throws a big shot that misses.
Rannanjarvi moves out of range as Liu throws a body kick.
Rannanjarvi misses the jab.
Liu lands a glancing blow to the side of Rannanjarvi's head.
Rannanjarvi throws a good cross that connects.
Liu lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Liu checks a leg kick.
Rannanjarvi misses with a body kick.
Liu throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liu throws an off balance right hand
and Rannanjarvi counters with a body kick that stops Liu in his tracks momentarily.
Rannanjarvi tries to clinch up
and Liu finishes the little exchange by landing a big kick to the body.
Liu fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

Liu dives in and scores a takedown into Rannanjarvi's guard.
Liu won't allow Rannanjarvi to sweep him here.
Liu trying to control the position from guard on top but Rannanjarvi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Liu tries to free his leg and advance position but Rannanjarvi is retaining full guard.
Rannanjarvi is trying to control the position but Liu postures up.
Liu distracts Rannanjarvi with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Liu passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Rannanjarvi can't do much from the bottom here.
Liu scoring with punches and elbows.
Liu 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.
Rannanjarvi defending against the ground and pound.
Rannanjarvi is looking to regain half guard here but Liu keeps moving and retains side control.
Liu misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Liu looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Rannanjarvi is avoiding damage well.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liu lands some shots froms side control.
An elbow from Liu crashes against the mat.
You can see the frustration on Rannanjarvi's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Liu throws an elbow but Rannanjarvi slips to the side and avoids it well.

Liu is looking for a kimura. He might have it! No, Rannanjarvi has escaped the position, nice work there.
Liu wants to lay and pray for a moment but Rannanjarvi keeps working.
Liu working the ground and pound but Rannanjarvi is defending the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liu in side control, throwing shots but Rannanjarvi defends.
Rannanjarvi is trying to get back to half guard. He's pushing on Liu's leg. He's managed it. Nice work.
Liu throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Liu moves into full mount! Rannanjarvi won't be happy about that!
Liu thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Rannanjarvi taking shots to the head.
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!
Rannanjarvi is in a horrible position here. Liu smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Liu wants to control the pace but Rannanjarvi is squirming around nicely.
Rannanjarvi is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Rannanjarvi tries to hold on but Liu postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jie Liu dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Liu swings for the body but Rannanjarvi moves out of range.
Rannanjarvi takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Liu throws a left and a right that both miss
and Rannanjarvi counters with a good low kick that Liu was not able to check.
Rannanjarvi walks forward, straight into a front kick from Liu.
Liu throws a push kick but Rannanjarvi slaps the foot to one side.
Liu lands with a kick to the temple. Rannanjarvi shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Rannanjarvi fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Liu looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Nice uppercut there from Liu.
Liu throws a low kick, looking for Rannanjarvi's leg but Rannanjarvi calmly moves out of range.
Rannanjarvi takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
A solid leg kick lands there for Liu.
Rannanjarvi throws a low kick but Liu moves out of range easily.
Liu scores with a push kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Liu scores with a push kick.
Rannanjarvi blocks a low kick nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Liu stuns Rannanjarvi with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Liu on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Liu misses with a hook.
Liu lands with a kick to the ribs.
Jie Liu is winning the standup battle so far.
Rannanjarvi takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Rannanjarvi takes one to the side of the head.
Antti Rannanjarvi is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Liu checks a leg kick.
Liu avoids a punch combination nicely.
Liu listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Liu lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Rannanjarvi motions for Liu to come forward. Rannanjarvi throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rannanjarvi lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Rannanjarvi showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Liu.
Nice body kick there by Liu.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi throws a body kick that misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liu lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Liu fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Rannanjarvi manages to avoid it.
Liu just misses with a punch to the body.
Liu lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
A head kick misses from Rannanjarvi.
A bone on bone clash there as Rannanjarvi blocks the leg kick.
Liu avoids the body shot from Rannanjarvi.
Liu shoots in for a takedown but Rannanjarvi shows good takedown defense.
Rannanjarvi has developed a nice purple lump on his ribcage, as a result of some heavy body kicks from Liu.
Rannanjarvi is looking to chop away at Liu's legs.
Rannanjarvi slips a straight right by Liu.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Liu, as that shot connected.
Liu throws a half hearted mid kick.
Liu throws a body kick the misses
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice body shot.
Liu throws a nice head kick!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rannanjarvi throws a head kick but Liu moves out of range.
Rannanjarvi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Liu throws out the jab.
Liu feints and then cracks Rannanjarvi's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Rannanjarvi down.
Liu throws a head kick but Rannanjarvi moves out of range.
Liu swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Rannanjarvi counters with a left to the body.
Rannanjarvi throws a nice head kick!
Liu connects with a looping right hand.
A head kick misses from Rannanjarvi.
Liu throws a combination. Rannanjarvi tries to block but a couple of punches get through.
Liu looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Liu blocks a head kick by Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Rannanjarvi jabs at Liu's body.
Liu uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Rannanjarvi.
Good leg kick by Liu there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Rannanjarvi throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Liu ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rannanjarvi moves away.
Liu tries to work over Rannanjarvi's front leg with a kick but Rannanjarvi checks it.
Liu shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Rannanjarvi eats them both and turns towards Liu to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Liu throws a lazy head kick
and Rannanjarvi counters with a nice kick to the body.
Rannanjarvi slips a straight right by Liu.
Liu pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Liu looks to throw the jab but Rannanjarvi is out of range.
Rannanjarvi fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Rannanjarvi is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Liu rather than just go for the knockout.
Liu blocks a head kick by Rannanjarvi.
Rannanjarvi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Rannanjarvi cracks Liu with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
A jab from Liu does it's job there.
Liu connects with an inside leg kick.
Liu connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Rannanjarvi's hands.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jie Liu showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Liu has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 29:28
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 29:28
Judge Trevor Gratis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jie Liu!