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PBP Commentary |
Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Mark Harding (ranked 4327 p4p, 4813 weight class) and Young Bob Merry (ranked 370 p4p, 395 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?
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| 176 cm
25
160
1 - 1 - 0 |
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179 cm
18
160
0 - 1 - 0 |
Decent wrestler
Counter fighter
Granite chin |
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BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful |
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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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mark Harding!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Young Bob Merry!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Chris Edwards and Paul Tew.
The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Merry is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Harding.
Harding thuds his right hand into Merry's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Merry throws a shot from downtown. Harding moves away and avoids it.
Harding avoids the body shot from Merry.
Harding is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Harding misses with a body shot.
Young Bob Merry seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Harding uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Merry.
Merry throws a push kick but Harding slaps the foot to one side.
An attempted straight right counter from Harding misses the target.
Nice cross by Harding.
Harding slips under a jab from Merry.
Merry throws out a loose jab but Harding uses good head movement to avoid it.
Harding is looking to counter punch.
Merry tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Harding was well out of range. Poor timing from Merry.
Harding shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Harding was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harding lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Merry down.
Harding working the head with strikes.
Harding scores with a couple of short elbows.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harding in side control lands a decent elbow.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Harding landing a few strikes.
Harding is working Merry over with some ground and pound from side control.
Harding takes a little break here. Merry wants to take advantage but he is being controlled well.
Harding working the ground and pound but Merry is defending the strikes.
Merry is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Harding landing a few strikes.
Harding connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Merry some visible discomfort.
Harding working away.
Merry on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Harding cracks Merry with a big elbow.
Harding lands a nice forearm strike.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
The strikes coming from Harding are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Merry tries to improve position but can't.
Harding working the ground and pound from side control.
Harding lands some shots froms side control.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Harding cracks Merry with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Harding is working Merry over with some ground and pound from side control.
Merry looks winded!
Harding looks up at the clock and then as Merry takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Harding smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Harding landing strikes.
Harding working the ground and pound.
Merry takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
Merry trying to remain calm as Harding controls from the top position.
Merry really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Harding. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Merry taking a bit of punishment here - Harding scoring with strikes.
Harding works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
Harding is chipping away with strikes.
Harding cracks Merry with a big right hand but Merry just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Harding working the ground and pound.
Merry is working to avoid the ground and pound but Harding connects with a decent elbow.
Merry taking punishment in the form of punches.
Merry takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Harding landing strikes.
Harding working the ground and pound.
Harding in side control lands a decent elbow.
Harding has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Merry taking a bit of punishment here - Harding scoring with strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Harding looks up at the clock and then as Merry takes his cue and looks up at the clock too, Harding smacks him right in the chops with a big elbow! How rude!
Harding connects with a decent looking elbow from side control that caused Merry some visible discomfort.
Merry is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Harding in side control lands a decent elbow.
Harding is putting a hurting on Merry here, landing some big shots from side control.
Harding in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Harding scores with a couple of short elbows.
Harding working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Harding lands a few punches from side control.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Mark Harding dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!
Merry misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Harding.
Harding swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Merry thuds a left hand into Harding's body.
Harding uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Merry.
Merry misses with a jab to the body
and Harding makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Harding uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Merry.
Harding throws out a powerful jab.
Harding drives through and clinches with Merry against the cage.
A short left from Harding.
Harding is working Merry over against the cage.
A hook to the body from Harding.
Merry works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Merry struggles to land a body shot inside as Harding controls his hands.
Harding works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Harding makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Harding lands an uppercut.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Harding lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Harding creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Harding just leaning against Merry, taking a breather.
Merry wants to break the clinch but can't.
Harding avoiding damage.
A shot in the inside from Harding.
Harding gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Merry looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Merry utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Merry can't keep his opponent in guard - Harding advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Merry is breathing heavily.
Harding lands with a punch from half guard.
Harding scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Harding drops an elbow to the side of Merry's head.
Harding looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Merry with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harding lands strikes from half guard.
Harding winds up and cracks Merry with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Harding seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Harding landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Harding controlling the pace.
Harding working the head and body with strikes.
Harding looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Harding lands strikes from half guard.
Mark Harding overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Harding lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Harding lands strikes from half guard.
Harding controlling the pace.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harding working Merry over with strikes.
Harding slips a nice elbow through Merry's hands, connecting with Merry's forehead.
Harding is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Merry can do to turn this around?
Harding working Merry over with strikes.
Harding seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Ground and pound from Harding.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Harding in particular looking to stall.
Harding slips a nice elbow through Merry's hands, connecting with Merry's forehead.
Harding is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Harding working over Merry with some ground and pound. Merry looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Harding lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Merry is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Harding scores with a couple of nice shots.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harding looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Harding working Merry over with strikes.
Merry is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Harding scores with a couple of nice shots.
Harding winds up and cracks Merry with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Harding seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Merry is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Harding scores with a couple of nice shots.
Merry taking some punishment here, with Harding in his half guard.
Harding frees up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Harding working away from the top, dropping strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.
Mark Harding dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!
Merry throws a poor cross that misses
and Harding counters with a right hand to the body.
Young Bob Merry has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Merry misses with a straight right.
A swing and a miss from Merry.
Merry throws a leg kick that misses.
Harding rushes Merry and presses him up against the cage.
Harding lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
Harding lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Harding stalling the fight.
Harding scores with a shoulder strike.
Harding softening up his opponent with strikes, against the cage.
Harding scores with a shot to the side of Merry's head.
Harding digs a right hand underneath Merry's ribcage. Merry let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Merry takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Harding scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Harding wants a takedown.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A short body shot lands from Harding as the two fighters clinch.
A right hand to the body from Harding.
A short right from Harding.
That's one minute gone in the round.
Merry wants to stall.
A body shot lands from Harding.
Harding will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Merry up against the cage.
Nice body punch from Harding.
Harding effectively controlling the action here.
Harding digs a right hand into Merry's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Merry's gas tank.
Harding's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Harding stalling.
Merry swings wildly with an uppercut but Harding uses good head movement to avoid it.
Harding pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
That's two minutes gone in the round.
Merry throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Young Bob Merry seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Merry with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Harding to score with a decent uppercut.
Merry closes the distance and clinches.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Harding.
Harding presses Merry against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Harding blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Merry tries to stall but Harding uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Harding has clasped his hands together around Merry's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Merry taking a bit of punishment here - Harding scoring with strikes.
Harding lands some shots froms side control.
Harding lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Merry down.
Harding remains in side control and seems content to stay there. It's a versatile position from which he can work both strikes and submissions, whilst maintaining that control, so maybe he'll sit here for a while.
Harding landing strikes.
That's three minutes gone in the round.
Harding working the head and body with strikes.
Harding landing strikes.
Harding lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Merry down.
Check out the look on Harding's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Harding cracks Merry with a big elbow.
Harding working the ground and pound from side control.
Harding working the head with strikes.
Harding works a knee to the body and follows up with a nice elbow to the head.
A lull in the action here as Harding stalls from top position.
Harding lands a nice forearm strike.
Mark Harding is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
That's four minutes gone in the round.
Harding lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Merry down.
Harding cracks Merry with a big right hand but Merry just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Harding grinds an elbow into Merry's temple.
Harding in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Harding landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Merry on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Harding working the ground and pound.
And that's the end of the fight!
Mark Harding showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Harding, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 William Gold scores the fight 30:24
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:26
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 30:26
In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Mark Harding!
After winning the bout, Mark Harding thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.
Young Bob Merry was interviewed post fight and said 'I have lots more time to get to the top.'.
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| S |
C
A |
G |
S |
C
B |
G |
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S |
C |
G |
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energy
A | B |
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hype
A | B |
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pop
A | B |
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mgr
A | B |
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FIGHT
RATING
62% |
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