PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Lawerence Griffith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and James Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The fight MMA fans around the world have waited their entire lives for!

Griffith
vs
Mercer

191 cm
24
178 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

195 cm
25
170 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Lawerence Griffith!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, James Mercer!
The judges for this bout are Ivan Kurochkin, Igor Prikhodko and Konstantin Menshow.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Griffith shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Griffith was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Griffith tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Griffith is trying to get an arm triangle but Mercer is defending well.
Mercer is trying to improve his position.
Mercer is trying to control Griffith's posture but Griffith avoids it.
Griffith wants to stand but Mercer has his arm trapped.

Griffith decides to stand back up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer shoots for a double leg takedown but Griffith sprawls well. He's pushed Mercer's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Mercer is looking to score with low kicks.

Mercer closes the distance and clinches.
Griffith looking to slow down the pace here.
Mercer goes for a takedown attempt but Griffith pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.

Griffith drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Griffith tries to get to his feet but he's trapped momentarily.

Griffith decides to take the fight back to the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Griffith checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Mercer shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Griffith sprawls well. Griffith wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Mercer gets slowly back to his feet.
Lawerence Griffith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Mercer.
Mercer looks winded!
Mercer shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Griffith counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.

Griffith closes the distance and pushes Mercer back into the cage.
Griffith pressing his opponent against the cage.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Mercer breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Mercer tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Griffith was well out of range. Poor timing from Mercer.
Mercer doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Griffith instigates a clinch.
Mercer prevents Griffith from breaking the clinch.
Griffith tries to stall but Mercer uses the opportunity to gain a better position.

Mercer's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Mercer tries for a takedown but Griffith sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Mercer jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mercer throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Griffith's waist but Griffith gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Mercer off to one side.
Griffith throws a body punch but Mercer moves out of range.
Griffith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Mercer paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Griffith fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
The fight stays on the outside here - Griffith looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Griffith shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Griffith trying to stand up but can't free himself from Mercer's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Griffith trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Lawerence Griffith dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Griffith ducks down and throws a hook to the body.

Mercer has taken the fight to the clinch.
Mercer stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Griffith taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Griffith gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Griffith is trying to force a seperation but Mercer has the dominant position.
Griffith taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
Griffith can't break the clinch.
Mercer stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

Mercer escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer lands with a nice body punch.

Mercer throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Griffith tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Mercer is in Griffith's guard.
Mercer is breathing heavily.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Mercer accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Griffith is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Mercer trying to control but Griffith is working from the bottom.
Mercer is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Mercer has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Griffith is proving hard to escape from.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mercer trying to control the position from guard on top but Griffith is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

James Mercer has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Mercer doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Griffith counters by moving into the clinch.
Mercer tries to pull guard but Griffith holds him up against the cage and eventually Mercer drops back down to his feet.
Griffith content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Griffith jumps guard and drags Mercer to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Mercer wants to control from the top but Griffith keeps moving.
Mercer is looking to work some ground and pound but Griffith has wrist control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffith is looking to stand up but Mercer isn't so interested in that idea.
Griffith is controlling Mercer's posture.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

OK we're going to have a standup here. James Mercer hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
Mercer avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mercer takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Griffith stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Griffith wants it to stay on the feet.
Lawerence Griffith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Mercer.

Griffith gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer slows down the pace here.
Mercer is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Griffith gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.

Griffith successfully pulls guard.
Mercer prevents Griffith from getting back to his feet.
Griffith keeping moving, preventing Mercer from controlling successfully.

Griffith is scooting his butt against the cage and has managed to get back to his feet. Mercer presses him back against the cage, presumably looking to take the fight back to the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
A bit of stalling here from Griffith.
Griffith is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
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 Lawerence Griffith will probably get the nod.
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. And we move into the final round!

Mercer closes the distance and clinches.
Mercer tries to score a body lock takedown but Griffith shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Mercer is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Griffith is defending well.
Griffith looking to stall.
Mercer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Griffith's efforts to push away.
Griffith wants to break free but Mercer has control.
Griffith just leaning against Mercer, taking a breather.
Griffith seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Mercer pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Mercer takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Mercer breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
James Mercer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Griffith jabs at Mercer's body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Griffith. No joy for Mercer on that attempt.
Lawerence Griffith has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of James Mercer.
Mercer shoots in for a double leg but Griffith sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Griffith closes the distance and pushes Mercer back into the cage.
Mercer being controlled against the cage.
Mercer prevents Griffith from breaking the clinch.

Griffith gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Griffith is controlling the pace.
Mercer felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Mercer wants to control but Griffith is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Griffith sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Griffith seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Griffith is controlling the pace.

We're going to have a standup here because Lawerence Griffith wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Griffith on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Griffith.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Mercer has closed the distance and engaged Griffith in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Griffith wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mercer has him pressed against the cage.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Mercer fails to pull guard.
Griffith is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Griffith drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Mercer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Griffith tries to break the clinch but Mercer is controlling the position.

Mercer has hold of one of Griffith's legs. Griffith is fighting the takedown attempt but Mercer gets the trip and lands the takedown into guard.
Lawerence Griffith overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Griffith is looking to stand up but Mercer isn't so interested in that idea.
Griffith controls Mercer momentarily but Mercer frees himself.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Griffith has momentary wrist control but Mercer slips an elbow through the middle.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Griffith is trying to keep Mercer in close.

And that's the end of the fight!
Lawerence Griffith showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Griffith has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Ivan Kurochkin scores the fight 30:27
Judge Igor Prikhodko scores the fight 30:28
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Lawerence Griffith!