PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Alex Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zach Didion (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Alex Mercer has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Mercer
vs
Didion

184 cm
28
182 lbs
16 - 8 - 0

170 cm
29
173 lbs
13 - 18 - 1

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Fury Nutrition Inc.
****160Q Energy for $150****

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 16 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Alex Mercer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 13 - 18 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Zach Didion!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Blasius, Saam Ante and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Didion fails with the takedown.
No luck for Didion with that takedown attempt.
Mercer appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Mercer.
Nice body kick from Didion.
Didion looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mercer is fending him off so far but Didion persists. Nope, Mercer circles away and we're back to standing.
Alex Mercer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zach Didion.
A good leg kick by Didion.
Didion throws a head kick that misses

and Mercer counters with a head kick that drops Didion to the mat! Didion scrambles across the canvas and gets back to his feet, still wobbly!

Didion is rocked!

Didion moves into the clinch successfully.
Didion is still on wobbly legs! Can Mercer finish him?

Didion breaks the clinch.
Didion seems to have recovered his senses.

Mercer tries to keep at a distance but Didion has taken the fight into the clinch.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Didion pulls guard successfully.
Mercer is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Didion is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Didion is trying to control the position from the bottom.
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.

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.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Didion wants to improve his position but instead Mercer has moved into half guard.
Didion wants to control but Mercer is keeping busy.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercer is looking to advance position but Didion won't allow it.
Didion is looking for a sweep. Mercer is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Didion connects with the punch.

Mercer gets tackled into the cage by Didion. Didion maintains the clinch.
Didion tries to circle away but Mercer has him pinned against the cage.
Mercer lands a left hand that snaps the head of Didion backwards.
A short left from Mercer.
Didion fails to pull the fight into his guard.
A bit of stalling here from Mercer.
Didion blocks an elbow strike.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Didion.
Didion working hard to break the clinch.
Mercer lands a left hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Mercer creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
A nice right hand lands inside from Mercer.
Mercer is pressed up against the cage. Didion has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Mercer down to the mat. Mercer avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Didion looks to land a left hand but Mercer moved out of range nicely.
Mercer is looking for a counter combo.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mercer throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Didion throws a right hand that misses
and Mercer counters with a nice uppercut.
Mercer dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Didion. That did some damage!
Didion has his takedown stuffed
and Mercer counters with an outside leg kick.
Mercer on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Didion. Didion obviously looking to wear him down.
Mercer misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Didion clinches.
Mercer taking a breather.
Didion blocks a body shot from Mercer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alex Mercer dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Mercer moves out of range as Didion throws a body kick.
Didion shoots in for a double leg but Mercer sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Didion connects with an inside leg kick.
Mercer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Didion can do to turn this around?
Mercer throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Didion motions for Mercer to come forward. Didion throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Didion misses with a takedown
letting Mercer counter with a right hand.
Didion throws a lazy head kick
and Mercer counters with a low kick, right behind Didion 's knee.
Didion throws a body punch but Mercer moves out of range.
Mercer uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Didion.
Mercer looked to counter with a high kick but didn't commit.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Didion misses with a lunging right hand
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
A slow jab from Mercer misses its intended target.
Didion throws out a counter right but Mercer avoids it with no problem.
Mercer bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Didion is looking to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A nice inside leg kick there by Mercer. That's going to slow Didion down.
Didion throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A slapping body kick lands there for Didion.
Mercer lands with a shot to the body.
Didion scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Didion is really struggling to land any decent head shots against his taller opponent.
Didion tries to clinch
and Mercer counters with an outside leg kick.
Didion misses with a hook
and Mercer counters with a stiff right hand.
Didion cracks Mercer with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Didion lands a glancing blow to the side of Mercer's head.
Didion misses with a combination
and Mercer counters with a nice low kick that buckles Didion's knee momentarily.
Mercer wants to clinch up but Didion keeps it at a distance.
Didion raises up his leg as if looking to counter with a high kick.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mercer circles away from the clinch attempt.
Mercer throws a quick counter head kick but Didion was just out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercer pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A nice side step and Didion releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Didion lands a jab.
Mercer misses with an uppercut
and Didion counters with a stiff right hand.
Mercer throws a sloppy head kick and Didion moves out of range easily.
Didion throws a head kick that misses.
Mercer misses with an attempted mid kick.
Mercer avoids the body shot from Didion.
Didion changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Mercer tries to avoid it but Didion manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Mercer to the ground. Mercer escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Alex Mercer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zach Didion.
Didion throws a right and a left that both miss.
Mercer is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Didion misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Didion tries for a takedown but Mercer circles away easily
and Mercer counters with a big head kick but Didion shrugs it off.
Didion is breathing heavily.
Didion tries to clinch up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercer takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Zach Didion seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Didion throws a lazy right hand but Mercer sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Mercer fires out a quick counter leg kick but Didion just manages to avoid it.
A shot to the liver by Didion. Beautiful body shot.
Didion has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Mercer.
Alex Mercer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Didion tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Mercer throws a sloppy head kick and Didion moves out of range easily.
Mercer looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Didion connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Mercer's hands.
Both fighters circling a little - Mercer finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.

Mercer closes the distance and clinches.
Mercer tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Didion's elbow.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Didion blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

Mercer breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Didion ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Mercer moves away.
Mercer was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer throws a leg kick that misses.
Didion throws a sloppy head kick and Mercer moves out of range easily.
Didion fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Didion gets cracked there but stands up to it.

It looks like Zach Didion has been cut.
Mercer tries a head kick but it misses.
Horrible takedown attempt by Didion or perhaps it was just good defense by Mercer, which made it look bad.
No joy there for Didion, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Didion misses with an uppercut.
Didion closes the distance and clinches up with Mercer, looking for a takedown. Didion pushes Mercer against the cage but Mercer circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Didion blocks the body kick.
Alex Mercer is winning the standup battle so far.
Didion scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Didion throws a head kick that misses.
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 Alex Mercer will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Zach Didion's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Didion throws a lazy right hand but Mercer sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
A shot to the body from Didion misses
and Mercer counters with a stiff right hand.
Mercer throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.

Didion moves into the clinch successfully.
Didion is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Mercer gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Didion's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Didion is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Didion's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Didion throws a hook but Mercer avoids it easily.
Mercer with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Didion's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Mercer connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Didion scrambles back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Didion tries to clinch up but Mercer circles away and keeps his distance.
Didion takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Didion connects with a crisp jab.
Didion scores with a leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Didion will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Good shot there by Mercer.
Mercer throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Mercer cracks Didion on the jaw with a powerful right hand and Didion falls backwards against the cage. Mercer follows up with more strikes that drop Didion to his knees. Mercer keeps the pressure on and the referee jumps in to save Didion! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:20 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Alex Mercer!
A very excited looking Alex Mercer made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.
In defeat, Zach Didion stepped up to the mic, saying 'I am wondering who i get next?'.