PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Matt Barnett (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Stu Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mercer is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Dirty deeds done dirt cheap AC/DC. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Barnett
vs
Mercer

190 cm
28
240 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

190 cm
21
252 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

Milwaukee's Best 160 SALE $140

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Matt Barnett!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Stu Mercer!
The judges for this bout are Luis Engracia, Thiago Cunha and Paulo Santos.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Barnett looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Mercer!
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Barnett is trying to land an Americana. He has the arm isolated but Mercer is keeping cool and he's avoided the danger for now.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Barnett is trying to get an arm triangle but Mercer is defending well.
Mercer is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Barnett asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Mercer taking punishment in the form of punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer is not content to let Barnett control the position.
Mercer is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Barnett asserts his dominance and retains side control.
Mercer defending against the ground and pound.
Mercer prevents Barnett from moving into mount.
Mercer is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Barnett is controlling him well.

Barnett tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Mercer is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Barnett has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnett misses with the ground and pound.
Mercer is not content to let Barnett control the position.
Mercer dodges the ground and pound from Barnett.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnett trying to control the position but Mercer is working away.
Barnett working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
Mercer parries the strikes from Barnett easily there. Barnett is wary of posturing up too much because it might enable Mercer to escape.
Barnett wants to lay and pray for a moment but Mercer keeps working.
Mercer pushes Barnett away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Barnett gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
We've been informed that Mercer has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Mercer is not content to let Barnett control the position.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Mercer is trying to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer is looking to get back to his feet here but Barnett is keeping cool and he's managed to take Mercer's back.

Barnett has got his arm under Mercer's chin working for the choke… has he got it? It looks pretty tight! Oh! Mercer has spun round into Barnett's guard beautifully! Well done that man!
Barnett 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.
Barnett wants to sweep but no luck.
Barnett controls Mercer momentarily but Mercer frees himself.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Barnett looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Barnett is working hard here to advance position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Barnett 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.

Barnett closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Mercer gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Barnett.
Mercer stops a takedown attempt from Barnett.
Barnett drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Mercer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Barnett. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Barnett has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Mercer after a bit of a struggle.
Mercer struggles to land a body shot inside as Barnett controls his hands.

Mercer pulls Barnett into guard.
Mercer wants to stand up but Barnett is controlling him.
Mercer really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Barnett. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Barnett loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Barnett throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Barnett stops Mercer from standing up.
Barnett wants to control from the top but Mercer keeps moving.
Barnett prevents Mercer from getting back to his feet.

Barnett drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Mercer manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Barnett has Mercer in his guard.
Mercer forces his way into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Mercer stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Barnett to get to his feet.
Barnett looks for a takedown but Mercer sprawls well.
Barnett takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Barnett misses with a wild body shot.
The fight stays on the outside here - Barnett looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Barnett doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Mercer counters with a shoot takedown. Barnett fights it but they end up in guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Mercer stopping the sweep attempt from Barnett.

Mercer gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mercer avoids a punch combination nicely.

Mercer feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Barnett is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Mercer has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Barnett is on him like a limpet, forcing Mercer back against the cage.
Mercer is working for takedown but Barnett is calmly controlling the position for now.
Mercer throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Barnett blocks it with crossed arms.

Mercer turns his back and goes for a hip toss. It's a bit messy but it gets the job done and Mercer manages to end up in side control.
You can see the frustration on Barnett's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Barnett is trying to get back to half guard.

Mercer decides to stand back up. Mercer steps back and let's Barnett get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mercer slips a jab and a cross from Barnett.

Barnett changes levels and drives through with a really nice takedown into side control. Mercer looks really pissed at himself for not defending that better.
Barnett in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.
Mercer is putting a lot of effort into getting back to his feet here.
Barnett tries to score with some ground and pound. Mercer controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Barnett trying to control the position but Mercer is working away.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Barnett working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stu Mercer showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Barnett looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Matt Barnett is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Barnett shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
letting Mercer counter with a right hand.
Barnett misses with a takedown attempt

and Mercer counters with a shoot takedown. Barnett fights it but they end up in guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Matt Barnett. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mercer wants to stand but Barnett is controlling his posture from full guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mercer is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Barnett looking to control.
Mercer wants to stand and escape but instead Barnett has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.
Barnett wants to control from the top but Mercer keeps moving.
Mercer is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Barnett is controlling him.
Barnett trying to control the position from guard on top but Mercer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Barnett working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Barnett tries to free his leg and advance position but Mercer is retaining full guard.

Mercer has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Barnett off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Barnett shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Mercer pinned against the cage. Mercer gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Barnett looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Mercer misses with the combination.
Barnett misses with a takedown

and Mercer counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!

Mercer postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Barnett to stand up.
Barnett fails with the takedown.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Barnett misses with a takedown
and Mercer counters with a series of strikes. Barnett will be more careful next time no doubt.
Barnett takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Mercer with a jab.

Barnett is rocked!
Barnett tries to close the distance and clinch up but Mercer swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Oh Barnett is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!

Mercer dives in and gets a big takedown. He lands in full mount and immediately unloads a series of heavy strikes! Barnett has had enough and taps out.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:24 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Strikes). Stu Mercer!
Stu Mercer very nearly forgot to thank Milwaukee's Best 160 SALE $140 amongst all the excitement of his win but just as the interview came to a close, he screamed their name. Hopefully he'll get a few nice freebies in the mail as a thank you.