PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Malcolm King (ranked 1570 p4p, 1324 weight class) and Anthony Merel (ranked 215 p4p, 181 weight class). King comes into the arena with YoungBoy Never Broke Again â€“ White Teeth blaring out of the sound system. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

King
vs
Merel

185 cm
26
171
10 - 6 - 0

171 cm
26
152
8 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

Urban Fighter

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Malcolm King!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Anthony Merel!
The judges for this bout are John Kavanagh, Russell Pearce and Dean Styles.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A swing and a miss from King.
Nice defenses there by King.
Merel throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Merel lands a nice shot that snaps King's head back.
Merel has been spending a lot of time sparring his boxing in the run up to the fight, trying to sharpen up those hands and look for a knockout.
Merel misses with a looping left.
Merel on the wrong end of a nice hook.
King connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
King with a jab.
King lands a nice looking body shot.
Anthony Merel seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Merel lands a lovely overhand right.
Merel throws a lazy right hand but King sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
King 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!
King throws out a leg kick but Merel moves out of range and King only half commits.
King fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Merel manages to avoid it.
King takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Merel pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A jab from Merel misses.
King throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Merel tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
King tries to land a leg kick but Merel saw it coming and moves away.
King throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
King uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Merel.
Merel sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Merel throws a hook but King avoids it easily.
King fires out a quick counter leg kick but Merel just manages to avoid it.
King scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Merel doesn't seem bothered though.
King fails to land with a series of punches.
Merel goes for a double leg but King avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as King continues to drive forward.
King cracks Merel with an open hand slap.
A jab from King finds it's way through Merel's defenses.

It looks like Anthony Merel has been cut.
King looks to land a right hand but Merel moved out of range.
King uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Merel.
Merel is trying hard to land a takedown here. King sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Merel connects with a body shot that sends King's belly button to the back.
Merel on the wrong end of a nice jab.
This has been an exciting period of action!
King staying out of range there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
King throws a low kick but it's checked well by Merel.
Merel is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Merel getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
King attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
A little jabbing left from Merel on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Merel slips under a jab from King.

King closes the distance and clinches.
King looking to stall.
Merel digs a right hand into King's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on King's gas tank.
Merel presses King against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
King is looking to control Merel's arms but Merel gets an underhook and turns him. Now King has his back to the cage.
King lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Merel throws a punch but it's blocked by King.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for King.
King makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

Merel's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Merel shoots in and drives through. King sprawls well.
Malcolm King has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Anthony Merel.
King uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Merel.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Merel throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
King loads up on a big right hand but Merel slips the punch.
Merel misses the jab.
King fails with an attempt to clinch.
King cracks Merel with an open hand slap.
King swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
And Merel tries to counter it with a takedown but King pushes his down on his head and steps out.
King is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
King keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

King gets caught napping as Merel dives in and scores a takedown. King manages to retain guard.
King avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
King will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now King is on top in guard.

King controlling from the top position.
Merel 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.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
King stays in close to Merel's body and controls the position.

Merel is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Merel is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and King defends well.
King controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Malcolm King dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Anthony Merel's cut.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

King lands a body shot.
Merel throws a hook to the side of King's head but King sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Merel misses with a hook to the body
and King cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
King misses with a straight left.
King scores with a sloppy right hand. Merel should have avoided that one.
A head kick by King misses
and Merel counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
It looks like King has been trying to sharpen up his punching technique, as it looks crisper than last time we saw him.
King throws a sloppy body shot
and Merel counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
King looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Merel changes levels for a counter takedown but doesn't follow through with his attempt.
King misses the shot to the body.
Merel walks into a left hand.
Merel scores with a jab to the body.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
King misses with an uppercut

and Merel counters with a nice double leg into side control. King won't be happy with that.
King is looking to regain half guard here but Merel keeps moving and retains side control.
King wants to control but Merel postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Merel is working King over with some ground and pound from side control.
Merel throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.
King is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Merel asserts his dominance and retains side control.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
King being controlled for a moment.
King tries to bench press Merel off him but Merel keeps the position.
King on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
King is looking for a sweep.
You can see the frustration on King's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Merel scores with punches from side control.
King sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
King trying to control from the bottom.
King wants to improve his position but Merel is controlling well.

Merel is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. King doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Merel.
King holds on for dear life, maintaining half guard for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
King tries to roll over but Merel keeps him under control.
Well, if Merel is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.
King avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Merel.
Merel has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Merel tries to pass the half guard into mount. King knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
King pushes Merel off but Merel dives into side control.

That's four 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.
Merel lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
King tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Merel happy to just control the position for now.
Merel misses with the ground and pound.
Merel tries to score with some ground and pound. King controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
King is looking for a sweep.
King manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nice strikes from Merel there.
Merel lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Merel slips a nice elbow through King's hands, connecting with King's forehead.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Merel showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Anthony Merel's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

King tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Merel was well out of range. Poor timing from King.
Merel jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
King motions for Merel to come forward. King throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
King getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
King throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
King throws a hook but Merel blocks it.
Merel throws out a loose jab but King uses good head movement to avoid it.
King fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Merel has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Merel thuds a left hand into King's body.
King slips a jab from Merel.
Merel just misses with a punch to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Merel fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
King moves away from the strike by Merel.
King walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
King ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Merel throws a sloppy body shot
and Merel takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Merel blocks a low kick nicely.
Merel lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
King uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Merel.
Merel avoids the body shot from King.
Merel is clearly trying to counter these attacks from King with a body shot.
King tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Merel connects with a single shot there.

King is rocked!
A big left from Merel misses.
Oh King is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
A low kick from King misses
and Merel scores with a counter punch that sends King to the canvas! Merel smells blood - he's punishing King with more strikes and the ref has stopped it! King has no idea where he is - he's tackled the ref... oh dear, poor guy, the crowd is in hysterics!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:32 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Anthony Merel!
A victorious Anthony Merel thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.