PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Lucaerys Strong (ranked 3732 p4p, 3424 weight class) and Devon Merchant (ranked 414 p4p, 380 weight class). Merchant has chosen HonestKey- Pass as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Strong
vs
Merchant

190 cm
25
275
2 - 4 - 0

190 cm
20
260
2 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Counter fighter
Good gas tank

Honest Apparel ($30 SPECIAL ALL Shorts!)

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Lucaerys Strong!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Devon Merchant!
The judges for this bout are Dillan Fox, Steve Smith and Trevor Gratis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Strong moves in looking to clinch but Merchant pushes him off.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Merchant! But no joy.
Merchant misses with a body shot.
Merchant looks to land a left hand but Strong moved out of range nicely.
Strong looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Merchant swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Merchant circles away from the clinch attempt.

Merchant fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Strong sprawls well initially but Merchant persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Merchant working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Merchant lands a nice short elbow.
Merchant has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Merchant working over Strong with some ground and pound. Strong looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Strong blocking the ground and pound attempt from Merchant.
Merchant slips a nice elbow through Strong's hands, connecting with Strong's forehead.
Strong is trying to control but can't.
Merchant working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Merchant missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Merchant not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Merchant lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Merchant landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Strong is trying to get back to full guard.
Merchant not landing any meaningful shots this time.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Merchant lands a nice short elbow.
Strong wants to get back to full guard but Merchant has mounted him!
Merchant is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Strong can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Strong tries to lock up and control but Merchant gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Strong knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Merchant on the ground.
Merchant tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Merchant lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Strong hang on?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Strong tries to hold on but Merchant postures up.
The referee warns Strong that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.
Merchant lands with some strikes.
Merchant looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Merchant drops a big elbow. That's hurt Strong! More shots from Merchant and the ref steps in! The fight is over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:40 of round 1, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Devon Merchant!
An out of breath Devon Merchant thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.