PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Danjie Mercado (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Colt McLaren (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mercado comes to the cage accompanied by Pagsubok. Well, the cameraman is lingering on a pretty young lady for a bit too long there. Keep your eyes on the prize buddy or you'll miss the fighter intros!

Mercado
vs
McLaren

168 cm
33
147 lbs
21 - 16 - 0

170 cm
35
151 lbs
26 - 20 - 1

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Cardio machine

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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 21 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Danjie Mercado!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 26 - 20 - 1, fighting out of Hilo, Colt McLaren!
The judges for this bout are Roger Salmon, Jeff Smith and Paul Gruel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercado just misses with a punch to the body.
A jab lands there for McLaren.
Mercado throws a series of punches but McLaren moves out of range.
Mercado sets himself, and McLaren steps forward looking for the clinch! Mercado avoids it this time.
No luck for Mercado with that takedown attempt.
McLaren wants to counter the offense by Mercado and move into the clinch position.
Mercado shoots for a takedown but McLaren saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Mercado misses with a double jab.
Mercado with a body punch. A glancing blow.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Nice uppercut lands for McLaren. That snapped Mercado's head back.
Mercado shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts McLaren as he jumps to the side.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danjie Mercado. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercado is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
McLaren throws a nice looking combination but Mercado bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Mercado is looking for a counter combo.
McLaren throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Mercado.
McLaren connects with a nice looking jab.
McLaren catches Mercado with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Mercado looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
McLaren swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Mercado counters with a right hand to the body.
Mercado lands a jab-cross combination.
Mercado looks for a takedown but McLaren sprawls well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercado closes the distance and clinches up with McLaren, looking for a takedown. Mercado pushes McLaren against the cage but McLaren circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
McLaren blocks a jab.
Left hook, right uppercut from Mercado.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mercado takes a swing at McLaren's ribcage but misses.
Mercado throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around McLaren's waist but McLaren gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Mercado off to one side.
Good exchange - McLaren coming out on top.
McLaren's jab looks to have found its range, popping Mercado under the eye.
Mercado fails with the takedown

and McLaren counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
McLaren lands a body shot.
Mercado takes a shot to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercado fails to pull guard.
McLaren stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
McLaren lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Mercado is trying to push McLaren away but McLaren has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Mercado is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables McLaren to keep the fight standing.
Mercado wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but McLaren has him pressed against the cage.
Mercado tries to pull guard but McLaren won't allow it.
A right hand to the body from McLaren.
McLaren makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
McLaren lands a right hand that snaps the head of Mercado backwards.
Mercado taking a breather.
A left hand lands to the body for McLaren.
Mercado is trying to push McLaren away but McLaren has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Mercado is trying to drag McLaren to the mat but McLaren just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercado is trying to pull guard but McLaren has him pressed against the cage.
A short left from McLaren.
McLaren dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Mercado wants to take the fight to the mat but McLaren manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Mercado's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
McLaren is leaning against Mercado and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
A short right hand to the side of the head by McLaren.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

McLaren escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Mercado misses with a combination

and McLaren counters by clinching up.
Mercado goes for a takedown attempt but McLaren pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
McLaren scores with a nice strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Colt McLaren dominated that round.
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.

Mercado wants to clinch.
McLaren scores with a sloppy right hand. Mercado should have avoided that one.
Mercado shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mercado throws a right hand that McLaren ducks under and follows up with a left that McLaren also avoids with ease.
Mercado tries to clinch up but McLaren circles away and keeps his distance.
Colt McLaren seems to be getting the better of the standup.
McLaren fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Mercado manages to avoid it.
Mercado blocks a jab.
It looked like Mercado was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.

That's one minute gone in the round.
McLaren lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
McLaren stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and McLaren wants it to stay on the feet.
McLaren fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
McLaren's jab looks to have found its range, popping Mercado under the eye.
Mercado staying out of range there.
McLaren lands a lovely overhand right.
Mercado with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling McLaren to score with a decent uppercut.

Mercado is rocked!
Jab by McLaren.
Oh Mercado is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Mercado on the wrong end of a nice hook.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

McLaren changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Mercado looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mercado tries to buck McLaren off but McLaren is having none of it.
Mercado seems to have got his legs back now.
McLaren in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Mercado is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here.
Mercado is looking for a sweep.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Mercado is working hard here to advance position.
Mercado is trying to control McLaren's posture but McLaren avoids it.
Mercado tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but McLaren wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.

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.
The referee asks McLaren politely if he wouldn't mind getting on with it and actually doing something. McLaren prefers to stall for the moment though.
Mercado is looking to reverse the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
McLaren keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
McLaren slaps away a takedown attempt from Mercado, before circling back to the center of the mat.
McLaren wants to counter the offense by Mercado and move into the clinch position.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danjie Mercado. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Mercado throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
McLaren steps in looking to clinch after the strikes miss from Mercado.
Mercado takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
McLaren scores with a sloppy right hand. Mercado should have avoided that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Colt McLaren showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

McLaren ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Mercado shoots in for a takedown but McLaren shows good takedown defense.
Mercado on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Mercado tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but McLaren swivels and escapes.
McLaren tries to counter with a clinch but Mercado shakes him off and moves away.
McLaren throws a nice looking combination but Mercado bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Mercado went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
McLaren thuds a left hand into Mercado's body.
McLaren has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Nice takedown defense from McLaren. No joy for Mercado on that attempt.
McLaren wants to counter the offense by Mercado and move into the clinch position.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Danjie Mercado. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Mercado throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. McLaren was covering up waiting for the punch and Mercado finishes the takedown easily into guard.
McLaren keeping moving, preventing Mercado from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercado throws an elbow that misses. McLaren uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Mercado's guard. Nice move by McLaren!

My spies in Mad Dog Fight Gym inform me that McLaren has been getting involved in the gym's BJJ sparring sessions. Let's see whether that pays dividends!
Mercado tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mercado is trying to control the position from the bottom.
McLaren controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Mercado has an active guard here but McLaren has managed to pass into half guard.
Mercado works his way to full guard. Good work.
Colt McLaren has got the better of the ground game so far.

Mercado isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. McLaren stacks Mercado on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by McLaren!
Mercado is looking for a sweep.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercado manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
McLaren is staying active underneath Mercado, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Mercado in particular looking to stall.
Colt McLaren is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
McLaren trying to control but Mercado postures up.
Mercado not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Mercado throwing shots but McLaren is blocking nicely.
McLaren keeps control of the position for the meantime.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
McLaren regains full guard, whilst avoiding punches from Mercado.
Mercado looking to pass the guard.
Mercado trying to control but McLaren is working from the bottom.
Danjie Mercado has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mercado trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

And that's the end of the fight!
Colt McLaren comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well McLaren 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 Roger Salmon scores the fight 27:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paul Gruel scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Colt McLaren!
Colt McLaren decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.
The defeated Danjie Mercado had this to say: 'Well, what can I say man. He's the better man today. I'll be back. '.