PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Stu Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Diego Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mercer comes into the arena with Dirty deeds done dirt cheap AC/DC blaring out of the sound system. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Mercer
vs
Sanchez

190 cm
24
252 lbs
10 - 7 - 0

191 cm
23
272 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

REAR NAKED CHOKE NUTRITION

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 10 - 7 - 0, fighting out of London, Stu Mercer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Diego Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Jack Bonds.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A shot to the liver by Sanchez. Beautiful body shot.
Sanchez ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mercer moves away.
Sanchez missing with a left hand there. Mercer was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Sanchez is looking to clinch.

Mercer shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Mercer showed some decent athleticism there.
Sanchez tries to roll over but Mercer keeps him under control.
Mercer scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The fighters are battling for position here. Sanchez manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mercer postures up.
Mercer working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sanchez's head.
Mercer content to stall in guard here.
Sanchez is pulling down on Mercer's head. It's preventing any offense from Mercer, at least for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Sanchez pulls Mercer in close to prevent any damage.
Mercer throwing strikes from guard but Sanchez blocks nicely.
Sanchez is controlling Mercer's posture.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Sanchez looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanchez, not yet.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Mercer lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Mercer has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Mercer is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Sanchez keeping full guard, as Mercer tries to pass.
Mercer stops Sanchez from standing up.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Mercer lands with a straight right. Sanchez didn't see that one coming.
Sanchez swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Sanchez's coach down at Weed Nation was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on Sanchez's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Sanchez just misses with a punch to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sanchez has closed the distance and engaged Mercer in a clinch.

Mercer breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Mercer closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.

Mercer decides to pull guard.
Sanchez looking to sit in guard and control but Mercer gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Mercer's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Sanchez is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Mercer stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sanchez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sanchez is trying to keep Mercer in close.
Mercer is looking to stand up but Sanchez won't let him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez is pulling down on Mercer's head. It's preventing any offense from Mercer, at least for the moment.
Mercer seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.
Mercer postures up in Sanchez's guard and throws a big left but Sanchez blocks it.
Sanchez manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Mercer manages to get himself to full guard.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Sanchez chips away with some ground and pound.
Sanchez throwing strikes from guard but Mercer blocks nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stu Mercer dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Mercer scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Mercer wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sanchez keeps working.
Sanchez can't do much from the bottom here.
Sanchez tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Mercer wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Stu Mercer overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sanchez keeps trying to improve his position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mercer trying to control the action but Sanchez is working from the bottom.
An elbow from Mercer crashes against the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Sanchez is looking to control Mercer's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sanchez avoid being mounted?
Mercer missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Mercer is just content to waste time from the top position. Sanchez takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Mercer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sanchez can do to turn this around?
Sanchez controls Mercer momentarily but Mercer frees himself.
Sanchez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Mercer trying to control but Sanchez is working from the bottom.
Sanchez looking for a sweep. Not yet Sanchez, not yet.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Sanchez takes the fight into the clinch.
Sanchez lands a left hand.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Sanchez.
Sanchez keeps control of Mercer as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sanchez throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Mercer blocks an uppercut.
It really doesn't seem like the step up in weight is hurting Mercer here at all. He's more than holding his own against the bigger man.

Mercer pulls guard.
Sanchez throwing strikes from guard but Mercer blocks nicely.
Mercer is pulling down on Sanchez's head. It's preventing any offense from Sanchez, at least for the moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez trying to control the position from guard on top but Mercer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Sanchez is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Sanchez would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Sanchez missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Mercer closes the distance and clinches.
Mercer blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Mercer prevents the takedown attempt.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Sanchez.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Mercer.

Mercer is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Sanchez can't fight it off and eventually Mercer manages to take the fight to the floor. Sanchez looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Sanchez bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Mercer's guard.

The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mercer is looking to stand up but Sanchez isn't so interested in that idea.
Mercer keeping moving, preventing Sanchez from controlling successfully.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Stu Mercer will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. This is the final round!

Sanchez moves in looking to clinch but Mercer pushes him off.
Mercer slaps away a takedown attempt from Sanchez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Sanchez lands a nice hook to Mercer's body. Mercer takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
A punch combination from Mercer misses.
Sanchez 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 Sanchez off to one side.
Sanchez moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Mercer loads up on a big right hand but Sanchez slips the punch.
Sanchez is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Mercer rather than just go for the knockout.
Sanchez misses with an uppercut.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sanchez looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Stu Mercer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mercer swings away with a body shot that misses
and Sanchez connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

Mercer pushes Sanchez up against the cage in a clinch.

Sanchez has hold of one of Mercer's legs. Mercer is fighting the takedown attempt but Sanchez gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mercer wants to stand up but Sanchez is controlling him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sanchez with a flurry of punches that miss.
Sanchez trying to control the position from guard on top but Mercer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sanchez throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sanchez throws a big elbow that misses.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Diego Sanchez has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Sanchez is looking to work some ground and pound but Mercer has wrist control.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Mercer takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.

It looks like Stu Mercer has been cut.
Sloppy strikes from Mercer. Those never looked like landing.
Sanchez works the jab nicely.
Sanchez throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Diego Sanchez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Mercer throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Sanchez.
Mercer circles away from the clinch attempt.
Sanchez connects with a looping right hand.
Mercer bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Sanchez moves into range and clinches up with Mercer.
A short uppercut from Mercer.
Sanchez has a couple of punches blocked by Mercer.
Mercer wants to break free but Sanchez has control.

Sanchez manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercer stopping the sweep attempt from Sanchez.
Mercer wants to control from the top but Sanchez keeps moving.
Mercer stopping the sweep attempt from Sanchez.

Sanchez wriggles free and stands up.

Mercer manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Sanchez on his heels. He'll look to pass Sanchez's guard now, I'm sure.
Mercer stopping the sweep attempt from Sanchez.
Sanchez keeping moving, preventing Mercer from controlling successfully.
Mercer throws a big right hand that misses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer trying to control but Sanchez is working from the bottom.
Sanchez wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Mercer is looking to work some ground and pound but Sanchez has wrist control.
Mercer working in close now, lands a nice elbow to the side of Sanchez's head.
Sanchez keeping moving, preventing Mercer from controlling successfully.
Mercer won't allow Sanchez to sweep him here.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Stu Mercer is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

Mercer looking to score a takedown here. Sanchez is defending well but Mercer drives through and ends up in Sanchez's guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Diego Sanchez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Mercer 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 Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Stu Mercer!
A loyal slave to those sponsorship dollars, Stu Mercer made sure he mentioned Milwaukee's Best 160 (85% laundry), along with how happy he was to win his fight.