PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Francesco Mercuri (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Lenard Skinnard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rumors backstage are that the fighters have been paid to keep it standing but we know that would never happen in MMA!

Mercuri
vs
Skinnard

185 cm
21
185 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

189 cm
20
185 lbs
4 - 1 - 0

Powerful takedowns
Counter striker
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

[WOT] GR Design - Top quality, from $10 to $150 !

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Francesco Mercuri!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Lenard Skinnard!
The judges for this bout are Konstantin Menshow, Viktor Lagutenko and Fedor Mirinova.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercuri misses with a straight right.
Mercuri slips under a jab from Skinnard.
Skinnard ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Mercuri throws the left hand but Skinnard avoids the punch easily.
The fighters circling - Skinnard throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Skinnard lands a jab-cross combination.
Skinnard looks to land a right hand but Mercuri moved out of range.
Mercuri uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Skinnard.

Mercuri closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Mercuri lands in his opponent's guard.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Mercuri pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Skinnard is keeping the position for now.
Mercuri passes easily into side control. Nice work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercuri in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

Mercuri goes for an armbar here - this could be all over! But no, Skinnard has escaped beautifully and is now on top in side control! Oh, that's unlucky for Mercuri but great work by Skinnard.
Mercuri manages to get back to half guard.
Mercuri is looking for a sweep. Skinnard is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Mercuri is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Skinnard's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Skinnard's back!
Skinnard trying to control but not successfully.
Mercuri misses with a punch to the head.
Mercuri 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.
Mercuri not allowing Skinnard to control his hands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercuri throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.

Mercuri has managed to slip his arm under Skinnard's chin. This could be all over... yep, Skinnard is tapping out! Submission win for Mercuri.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:32 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (RNC). Francesco Mercuri!
Francesco Mercuri managed to slip a mention for his sponsors, [WOT] GR Design - Top quality, from $10 to $150 !, into his post fight interview.