PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Manny Mercado (ranked 1143 p4p, 2811 weight class) and Javier Arroyo (ranked 156 p4p, 355 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Mercado
vs
Arroyo

168 cm
20
160
4 - 0 - 0

176 cm
20
159
3 - 0 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Cardio machine

BJJ Brown Belt
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Brooklyn Apothecary
Conviction

PWNAGE

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 4 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Manny Mercado!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Javier Arroyo!
The judges for this bout are Elvis Blanc, Ian Loll and Yves DeLean.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercado takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Mercado fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Arroyo looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Mercado throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Arroyo connects with a good right hand that stumbles Mercado. Mercado circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Arroyo tries to land a front kick but Mercado steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Mercado looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Arroyo tries to work over Mercado's front leg with a kick but Mercado checks it.
Mercado half committed to a counter leg kick.
Mercado ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Arroyo moves away.
Arroyo blocks a head kick by Mercado.

Arroyo instigates a clinch.
Mercado lands a right hand that snaps the head of Arroyo backwards.
A right hand to the body from Mercado.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Mercado.
Arroyo misses with the head strike.
Arroyo tries to throw a body punch but Mercado avoids it by throwing Arroyo back against the cage.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Arroyo tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Mercado is pushing Arroyo up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Arroyo lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arroyo lands with a light punch inside.
Mercado misses with some punches.
Come on Arroyo - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Arroyo lands a right hand.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Arroyo.
Mercado throws a punch but it's blocked by Arroyo.
Arroyo is trying to maintain a safe position but Mercado gets an underhook and turns Arroyo into the cage.
Arroyo struggles to land a body shot inside as Mercado controls his hands.
Mercado holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Arroyo tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Mercado smiles and moves away.
Arroyo with a body punch. A glancing blow.
A clash of legs there as Arroyo blocks the low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Arroyo throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Mercado scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

It looks like Javier Arroyo has been cut.
Mercado swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Arroyo.
Arroyo fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Mercado looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Arroyo has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Mercado.
Mercado moves out of range of the leg kick from Arroyo.
Mercado takes one to the side of the head.
Mercado chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Arroyo uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Mercado.
Arroyo drops his hands momentarily and Mercado takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Mercado throws a hook but Arroyo avoids it easily.
Mercado moves out of range of the strikes.
Mercado is looking to chop away at Arroyo's legs.
Mercado is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Mercado has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Mercado there as he acknowledges the shot.
Arroyo scores with a kick to the body.
Mercado jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Mercado tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Arroyo was well out of range. Poor timing from Mercado.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Arroyo.
Arroyo scores with the left hand. Mercado knows he should have avoided that one.
Mercado throws a sloppy head kick and Arroyo moves out of range easily.
Arroyo avoids the body shot from Mercado.
Arroyo has been working his punching technique in the buildup to the fight and it appears to be paying off.
Arroyo slips under a jab.
Mercado checks a low kick from Arroyo.
Arroyo ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Arroyo fails in his attempt to clinch.
A big left from Mercado misses.
Mercado tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Arroyo waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Mercado.
Arroyo misses with a looping right.
Mercado thows a left - swing and a miss!
Mercado takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Mercado connects with a leg kick.
Arroyo lands a head shot.
Arroyo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mercado takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Arroyo misses with a body shot.
Arroyo takes a swing at Mercado's ribcage but misses.
The fight stays on the outside here - Arroyo looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Mercado pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Mercado takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Arroyo moves out of range of the body kick from Mercado.
Mercado walks into a jab.
Mercado pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mercado checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Mercado is looking to land body kicks.
Mercado walks forward, straight into a front kick from Arroyo.
Arroyo misses with a wild body shot.
Mercado has a nice red mark on his side after a thudding body kick by Arroyo.
Mercado fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Nice shot by Arroyo.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Javier Arroyo will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Javier Arroyo's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Mercado misses with an uppercut.
Arroyo connects with a jab.
Arroyo fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Mercado has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Mercado throws an off balance right hand
and Arroyo counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Mercado throws a body shot but no joy.
Mercado lands a nice looking body shot.
Javier Arroyo seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Mercado checks a leg kick.
Mercado throws a hook but Arroyo avoids it easily.
An inside leg kick lands from Mercado.
Arroyo scores with a nice head shot.
Mercado misses with a series of wild punches.
Arroyo throws a jab but it's blocked by Mercado.
Mercado slips under a jab.
A jab from Arroyo does it's job there.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Arroyo sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
A clash of legs there as Mercado blocks the low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arroyo thows a left - swing and a miss!
Mercado explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
Mercado looks to land a left hand but Arroyo moved out of range nicely.
Mercado jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Arroyo jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mercado half committed to a counter leg kick.
Mercado with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
A looping hook to the body misses from Mercado. Arroyo does a little dance to reset his feet.
A nice leg kick lands there from Arroyo.
Arroyo smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Mercado lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Arroyo circles away quickly and effectively.
Mercado throws a poor cross that misses
and Arroyo counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Mercado, as that shot connected.
Mercado throws a low kick but Arroyo moves out of range easily.
Arroyo connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Mercado's hands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mercado walks into a straight right hand from Arroyo.
Mercado dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Arroyo. That did some damage!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercado thumps Arroyo with a low kick.
Arroyo fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Arroyo throws a leg kick but Mercado sees it coming and moves out of range.
Arroyo's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Arroyo scores with the left hand. Mercado knows he should have avoided that one.
Mercado lands a jab to the head.
Arroyo has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Arroyo scores with a punch to the head.
Arroyo tries to work over Mercado's front leg with a kick but Mercado checks it.
Arroyo lands a jab to the head.
Mercado throws a body kick despite being completely out of range
and Mercado takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Arroyo misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mercado.
Mercado throwing a counter right hand but Arroyo manages to avoid it.
Mercado swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mercado lands a jab to Arroyo's midsection.
Mercado looks to land a right hand but Arroyo moved out of range.
Mercado lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Arroyo tests Mercado's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Arroyo dips to his left and cracks Mercado with an uppercut!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Arroyo blocks the body kick.
Arroyo thumps Mercado with a low kick.
Arroyo throws a body punch but Mercado moves out of range.
Mercado looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Mercado takes a swing at Arroyo's ribcage but misses.
Arroyo throws the kick towards the body but Mercado avoids it.
Arroyo throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Mercado takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Mercado checks a low kick from Arroyo.
It looked like Mercado wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Mercado motions for Arroyo to come forward. Mercado throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nice shot by Arroyo.
Arroyo scores with a nice head shot.
Arroyo has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Mercado.
Arroyo throws a good cross that connects.
Arroyo looks to score with a jab to the body but Mercado is just out of range.
Arroyo will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercado looks to land a body kick but Arroyo moved away.
Mercado throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Arroyo connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Mercado's hands.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Arroyo misses with a looping right.
Mercado fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A nice leg kick from Mercado, right into the meat of the thigh.
Arroyo lunges at Mercado with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Mercado's hand.
Arroyo uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Mercado has time to react.
Arroyo scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Arroyo misses with an attempted mid kick.
The crowd cheers as Arroyo lands an impressive looking overhand right. Mercado doesn't seem phased though.
Arroyo tries to clinch there but Mercado circles away.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mercado chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Mercado lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Arroyo circles away quickly and effectively.
Mercado takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
A nice combination there by Arroyo.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Javier Arroyo showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Javier Arroyo's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Mercado throws a series of punches but Arroyo avoids them all with ease.
A slapping leg kick lands for Mercado.
Mercado scores with a head kick.
Mercado keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Arroyo.
Mercado checks the leg kick.
Mercado lifts his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
Mercado swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Arroyo misses with a leg kick.
Mercado loads up on a big right hand but Arroyo slips the punch.
Arroyo misses with a body kick.
Arroyo tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Mercado is able to avoid easily.
Arroyo connects with a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Arroyo lands a leg kick that knocks Mercado off balance momentarily.
Mercado moves forwards but Arroyo connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Arroyo works Mercado's body with a nice hook.
Mercado explodes with a nice body kick and back out of range. Nice work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Arroyo lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Arroyo tries to clinch
and Mercado counters with a low kick, right behind Arroyo 's knee.
Arroyo moves in looking to clinch but Mercado pushes him off.
Arroyo punishes Mercado's body with a nice straight punch.
Arroyo tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Mercado manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Arroyo takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Mercado throws a body punch but Arroyo moves out of range.
Arroyo tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Arroyo takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
A nice leg kick lands there from Mercado.
A clash of legs there as Mercado blocks the low kick.
Mercado tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Arroyo walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Arroyo lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Arroyo swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Mercado seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.
Arroyo works the jab nicely.
Arroyo misses with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Arroyo avoids a punch combination nicely.
Mercado throws a right and a left that Arroyo avoids nicely.
Arroyo checks a leg kick.
Arroyo bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Mercado's head backwards.
Arroyo fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Mercado checks it well.
Mercado throws a big shot that misses.
It seemed like Arroyo was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Arroyo ducks under a wild hook from Mercado.
Mercado tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Mercado connects with a solid leg kick.
Arroyo misses with a kick to the body.
Arroyo misses with a straight right.
Arroyo misses with an uppercut. Mercado saw that one coming.
Arroyo moves into range and connects with a jab.
Arroyo jabbing away but nothing is landing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercado checks a low kick from Arroyo.
Arroyo throws a hook but Mercado avoids it easily.
Mercado uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Arroyo.
Arroyo chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Mercado fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
That kick from Mercado tenderised Arroyo's leg. Arroyo is trying to keep his angry face on.
Mercado throws a body shot but no joy.
Mercado steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Arroyo.
Good work by Arroyo as he checks the leg kick.
Mercado defending well as Arroyo loads up on a big left hand.
Mercado tries to land a front kick but Arroyo steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Arroyo lands a jab.
Mercado tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Arroyo avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
A low kick from Mercado is predictable there
and Arroyo counters with an inside leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercado scoring well with a low kick there.
Arroyo works the jab nicely.
Mercado takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Mercado was looking to counter that last move with a shot to the body but he didn't commit.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mercado misses with a head kick.
Mercado misses the jab.
Arroyo avoids the head kick by Mercado.
Mercado tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Manny Mercado has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Javier Arroyo is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Mercado lunges at Arroyo with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Arroyo's hand.
Arroyo thuds a left hand into Mercado's body.
Arroyo throws a low kick but it's checked well by Mercado.
Mercado misses with a hook
and Arroyo counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Arroyo scores with a jab to the jaw.
Mercado on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Arroyo. Arroyo obviously looking to wear him down.
Mercado misses with a low kick.
Mercado takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Javier Arroyo.
Well Arroyo has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Elvis Blanc scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ian Loll scores the fight 27:30
Judge Yves DeLean scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Javier Arroyo!
Javier Arroyo seemed lost for words in his post fight interview but he remembered to thank his fans and directed everyone to his website.