PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Manu Tuilagi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Tuilagi
vs
Mercer

174 cm
23
175 lbs
9 - 2 - 0

184 cm
22
182 lbs
7 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Decent elbows
Cardio machine

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Good gas tank

Jazzify

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Manu Tuilagi!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Alex Mercer!
The judges for this bout are Aleksei Zolotukhin, Aleksandr Martynov and Ivan Kurochkin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercer throws a solid leg kick but Tuilagi takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Mercer.
A clash of legs there as Tuilagi blocks the low kick.
Mercer throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Tuilagi sees it coming and avoids it easily.
A low kick from Mercer misses
and Tuilagi counters with a nice low kick that buckles Mercer's knee momentarily.
Mercer throws a jab when Tuilagi was well out of range.
We've been hearing reports that Tuilagi has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.

Tuilagi closes the distance and clinches.
Mercer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Tuilagi misses with an elbow over the top.
Tuilagi leaning his opponent against the cage.
Mercer is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Tuilagi is keeping busy.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Tuilagi changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Mercer fights it off and pushes away nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Tuilagi dives in and scores a takedown into Mercer's guard.
Tuilagi is looking to work some ground and pound but Mercer has wrist control.
Tuilagi wants to pass the guard but Mercer is keeping the position.
Tuilagi 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.
Tuilagi sitting in guard here, content to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Tuilagi throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Tuilagi trying to control but Mercer is working from the bottom.
Tuilagi lands a couple of digs.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercer is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Mercer is pulling down on Tuilagi's head to control his posture.

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

Tuilagi takes the fight into the clinch.
Mercer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tuilagi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Mercer avoids it.

Mercer breaks the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Tuilagi tries to clinch there but Mercer circles away.
Tuilagi ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Tuilagi takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Tuilagi.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuilagi trying to control the position but Mercer is working away.
Tuilagi 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.
Mercer tries to bench press Tuilagi off him but Tuilagi keeps the position.
Tuilagi trying to control the position but Mercer is working away.
Tuilagi content to control the pace. The referee will try and keep them active though.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Tuilagi trying to control the position but Mercer is working away.
Tuilagi is really struggling to control Mercer but he's trying to hold on to the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Check out the look on Tuilagi's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Tuilagi fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Tuilagi scoring with punches from side control.
Tuilagi wants to control but Mercer is keeping him busy.
Mercer wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tuilagi moving around in side mount but really he's just happy to control for now.
The strikes coming from Tuilagi are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Manu Tuilagi dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Mercer fails to land with a series of punches.
Mercer looks to land a body kick but Tuilagi moved away.
Tuilagi slips a straight right by Mercer.
A jab from Mercer misses.
Mercer misses with a body shot.
Tuilagi staying out of range there.
Mercer misses with a head kick.
Alex Mercer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Tuilagi tries to close the distance and clinch but Mercer swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Mercer misses the shot to the body.
Tuilagi tries to clinch but Mercer is having none of it.
Mercer throws a low kick, looking for Tuilagi's leg but Tuilagi calmly moves out of range.
Tuilagi throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Mercer's waist but Mercer gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Tuilagi off to one side.
Mercer lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tuilagi throws a right hand that Mercer ducks under and follows up with a left that Mercer also avoids with ease.
Mercer throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Mercer throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Tuilagi tries to clinch up but Mercer circles away and keeps his distance.
Tuilagi is looking to slow Mercer down with leg kicks.
Nice takedown defense from Mercer. No joy for Tuilagi on that attempt.
Mercer lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Tuilagi thumps Mercer with a low kick.
Tuilagi tries to clinch but fails miserably
and Tuilagi takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Tuilagi moves into the clinch.
Tuilagi tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Mercer avoids it.
Tuilagi tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Tuilagi misses with an elbow strike.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Tuilagi pushes off an throws an elbow but Mercer leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Tuilagi tries to land knees in the clinch but Mercer avoids the damage to the body.
Mercer on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Tuilagi using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Mercer has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Mercer looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Mercer blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Mercer is trying to break free.
Tuilagi avoiding damage.
Tuilagi can't get the takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Manu Tuilagi. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Tuilagi has Mercer pressed up against the cage. He's trying to work for a single leg takedown. Tuilagi pulls back from the cage and twists to the side, sending Mercer tumbling to the mat - Tuilagi dives into Mercer's guard.
Mercer wants to stand but Tuilagi is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuilagi wants to control from the top but Mercer keeps moving.
Tuilagi throws a big right hand that misses.
Tuilagi is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Mercer manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Mercer looking to control and managing it successfully.
Tuilagi is squirming around, avoiding Mercer's attempts to control the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Tuilagi is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Mercer looking to control but Tuilagi is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Mercer avoids the attempt from Tuilagi to control.
Tuilagi keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Tuilagi wants to hold on but Mercer pushes him away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Alex Mercer will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Tuilagi tries to clinch up.
Mercer lands a jab to the head.
Tuilagi blocks a jab.
Mercer chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Mercer throws an overhand right that lands on Tuilagi's shoulder, as Tuilagi tries to avoid the shot.
Mercer misses the shot to the body.
Mercer throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Tuilagi tries to clinch up but Mercer circles away and keeps his distance.
Tuilagi gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Tuilagi tries to clinch there but Mercer circles away.
Mercer thows a body shot but no joy.
Mercer misses with a hook.
Mercer scores with a crisp jab that stopped Tuilagi in his tracks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Tuilagi slips a straight right by Mercer.
The sound of bone on bone echoes around the arena as Tuilagi checks a leg kick.
Tuilagi is looking to clinch but Mercer is avoiding it.
Alex Mercer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

Tuilagi rushes Mercer and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Tuilagi throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Mercer blocks it with crossed arms.
Mercer avoiding damage as Tuilagi throws knees to the body.
Mercer dodges an elbow strike from Tuilagi.

Mercer's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Mercer is looking to chop away at Tuilagi's legs.
Mercer throws a leg kick which misses Tuilagi's front leg but catches the back leg as Tuilagi tries to avoid it.
Tuilagi checks the leg kick nicely there.
Mercer throws out a loose jab but Tuilagi uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Mercer misses the target.
Tuilagi is looking to clinch.
Tuilagi moves out of range of the body kick from Mercer.
Mercer scores with a head kick.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Mercer throws a hook to the side of Tuilagi's head but Tuilagi sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Mercer lands a jab to the nose.
Mercer just misses with a punch to the body.
Mercer throws a low kick but it's checked well by Tuilagi.
Mercer lands with a hook. Tuilagi tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Mercer lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

Tuilagi is rocked!
Tuilagi checks the leg kick nicely there.
Oh Tuilagi is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Tuilagi misses with a low kick.
A jab from Mercer misses.
Tuilagi seems to have got his legs back now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Tuilagi ducks under a wild hook from Mercer.
Tuilagi doesn't manage to clinch there - Mercer circles away.
Mercer looks for the body kick but Tuilagi saw that one coming.
Tuilagi takes one on the button.

Tuilagi gets a takedown into half guard.
Tuilagi is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Tuilagi thows a huge punch but Mercer dodges it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer gets full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Tuilagi accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Tuilagi postures up.
Tuilagi is looking to work some ground and pound but Mercer has wrist control.
Manu Tuilagi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Tuilagi throws a big right hand that misses.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Tuilagi throws a big right hand that misses.
Tuilagi cracks Mercer with a solid left hand.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Tuilagi stands up over Mercer, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Tuilagi throws a strike but Mercer rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Mercer preventing the sweep.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Mercer comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Mercer has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 28:29
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alex Mercer!
A pretty intense looking Alex Mercer took the opportunity post-fight to ask for a shot at the title.