PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Norberto Lancaster (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters really staring each other down here, as James Mercer enters the cage!

Lancaster
vs
Mercer

190 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

195 cm
25
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Norberto Lancaster!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, James Mercer!
The judges for this bout are Yukihiro Yamamoto, Taro Takaoka and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Mercer fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Lancaster, pushing him back against the cage.

Mercer manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Lancaster postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Mercer looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Mercer has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Lancaster throws a strike but Mercer rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Lancaster is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Mercer is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer preventing the sweep.
Mercer controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Lancaster is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Mercer is aware though and is defending well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Lancaster utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Mercer missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Mercer slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Sloppy strikes there by Mercer.

Mercer decides to stand back up. Mercer steps back and let's Lancaster get back to his feet.

Mercer has taken the fight to the clinch.

Mercer pulls guard effortlessly.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercer has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Lancaster has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Mercer tries to land a sweep but no joy.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Lancaster accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Mercer bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lancaster's guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Mercer is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Lancaster throws a couple of weedy looking strikes off his back.

Mercer stands up from Lancaster's guard - Mercer perhaps looking for a knockout.

Mercer pushes Lancaster up against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercer wants to break the clinch but can't.
Lancaster drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Mercer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Lancaster avoids a wild elbow strike from Mercer.
Mercer looking to throw knees to the head but Lancaster is blocking nicely.
Lancaster wants a takedown but no success here.
Mercer has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
Lancaster is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Norberto Lancaster. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mercer has picked Lancaster up - he's going for a ride! Mercer dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Mercer sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Lancaster defending well though.
Mercer works his foot free and advances to mount.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mercer controlling his opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Mercer dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Lancaster avoids the head kick by Mercer.
Lancaster takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Mercer blocks a head kick by Lancaster.

Lancaster shoots in and bounces Mercer off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.

Mercer has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Lancaster off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Lancaster enables Mercer to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Lancaster manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.
Mercer postures up in Lancaster's guard and throws a big left but Lancaster blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Mercer sitting in guard, not really doing much.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

Mercer gets to his feet. Lancaster looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mercer closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Lancaster is trying to pull guard but Mercer turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Lancaster tries to pull guard but Mercer holds him up against the cage and eventually Lancaster drops back down to his feet.

Mercer successfully pulls guard.
Mercer managing to control the position.
Lancaster with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mercer wants to sweep here but Lancaster controlling him for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lancaster postures up in Mercer's guard and throws a big left but Mercer blocks it.
Mercer bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Lancaster's guard.
Mercer slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Mercer missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mercer content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Mercer engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.

Mercer gets to his feet. Lancaster looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Lancaster throws a front kick aimed at Mercer's knee but Mercer avoids it well.

Mercer dives in and scores a takedown into Lancaster's guard.
Mercer has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Mercer works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Lancaster knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Mercer on the ground.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Lancaster looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
Mercer missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
James Mercer has got the better of the ground game so far.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mercer in particular looking to stall.
Mercer not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Lancaster really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Mercer is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Lancaster sees it coming and defends easily.

Mercer decides he's had enough of the ground and stands up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

James Mercer showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Mercer throws a chopping leg kick but Lancaster manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Mercer throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

Mercer has managed to clinch.
Mercer effectively controlling the action here.
Mercer stops a takedown attempt from Lancaster.

Mercer is trying to trip Lancaster. He has hold of a leg but Lancaster is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Mercer persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
Lancaster working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mercer.

Mercer stands up and waves to Lancaster to follow him.
Mercer closes the distance and lands a one-two.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mercer changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Lancaster looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

Mercer decides to stand up, so the ref orders Lancaster to his feet.
Lancaster shoots in for a takedown but Mercer shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Lancaster looking to land some kicks to the body here.

Mercer gets the takedown into side control.

Mercer decides to stand back up. Mercer steps back and let's Lancaster get back to his feet.

Lancaster tries to keep at a distance but Mercer has taken the fight into the clinch.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Mercer tightens his grip and picks Lancaster up, before dumping him to the ground. Lancaster manages to land in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercer with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mercer looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Mercer is pushing down on Lancaster's leg trying to pass to half guard. Lancaster is fighting to maintain full guard but Mercer has managed to sneak the leg through.
Lancaster keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Lancaster is looking to improve his position.
Lancaster avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Mercer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mercer wants to work for an arm triangle but Lancaster is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Lancaster is looking to improve his position.
Lancaster pushes Mercer off looking to stand but Mercer dives back in and keeps control.
Lancaster has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Mercer is working away from the top position though.
Still in half guard, Mercer seems content to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. James Mercer hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.

Mercer dives in and scores a takedown into Lancaster's guard.
Mercer advances position into side control!

Mercer stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Mercer clinches with his opponent.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Mercer throws a knee to the head but misses.
Lancaster goes for a takedown attempt but Mercer pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Norberto Lancaster has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
James Mercer is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Norberto Lancaster. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mercer closes the distance and pushes Lancaster back into the cage.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Mercer comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Mercer 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 Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 27:30
Judge Taro Takaoka scores the fight 27:30
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... James Mercer!