PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Sujith Lawrence (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Mercer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Sujith Lawrence has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Lawrence
vs
Mercer

172 cm
25
164 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
25
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Sujith Lawrence!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Alex Mercer!
The judges for this bout are Roosa Järviläinen, Tarja Halkonen and Marco Blurström.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mercer tries to close the distance and clinch up but Lawrence swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Mercer fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Lawrence, pushing him back against the cage.
Lawrence is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Lawrence can't break the clinch.
Mercer stalling in the clinch but Lawrence improves position.
Mercer jumps guard but Lawrence stands there with Mercer around his waist. Mercer gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.
Mercer misses with an elbow over the top.
Lawrence wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Lawrence tries to circle away but Mercer has him pinned against the cage.
Lawrence is trying to force a seperation but Mercer has the dominant position.

Lawrence manages to break the clinch.
The crowd cheers as Lawrence lands an impressive looking overhand right. Mercer doesn't seem phased though.
Mercer tries to clinch up.
Mercer moves in looking to clinch but Lawrence pushes him off.
Mercer moves in looking to clinch but Lawrence pushes him off.
Lawrence scores with a jab to the head.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mercer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lawrence paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mercer swings for the body but Lawrence moves out of range.
Mercer moves in looking to clinch but Lawrence pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mercer scores with a head kick.
Lawrence keeps the fight on the outside.
Lawrence is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Lawrence misses with a kick to the body.
Mercer buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Nice straight punches there by Lawrence. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Lawrence.
Lawrence looks to land a body kick but Mercer moved away.
Lawrence misses with a head kick.
Lawrence is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mercer.
Lawrence pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Lawrence thows a left - swing and a miss!
Alex Mercer is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Lawrence misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mercer.
Lawrence avoids the head kick by Mercer.
Mercer wants to clinch.
Mercer is looking to clinch but Lawrence is avoiding it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Lawrence circles away from the clinch attempt.
Lawrence stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Mercer is looking to clinch.
Lawrence throws a sloppy head kick
enabling Mercer to counter with a crisp jab.
Mercer throws a sloppy head kick and Lawrence moves out of range easily.
Mercer is looking to clinch but Lawrence is avoiding it.
Mercer tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Lawrence throws the left hand but Mercer avoids the punch easily.
Lawrence throws a sloppy head kick and Mercer moves out of range easily.
Mercer uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Lawrence.
Sujith Lawrence seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Mercer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lawrence paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Mercer fails in his attempt to clinch.
Mercer tries to clinch up.
Lawrence scores with a body shot.

Lawrence takes the fight into the clinch.
Mercer is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Lawrence lands a shoulder strike.
Mercer jumps guard but Lawrence turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Lawrence lands a left hand that snaps the head of Mercer backwards.
Mercer throws an elbow but it misses.
Lawrence presses Mercer against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.

Lawrence tightens his grip and picks Mercer up, before dumping him to the ground. Mercer manages to land in guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Mercer is trying to control the position from the bottom.

Mercer looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Lawrence wants to pass the guard but Mercer is keeping the position.
Lawrence trying to control but Mercer is working from the bottom.
Mercer is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Lawrence might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Lawrence controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Sujith Lawrence wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Lawrence throws a head kick but Mercer moves out of range.
Lawrence takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Lawrence misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Mercer tries to clinch up but Lawrence circles away and keeps his distance.
Mercer tries to clinch but Lawrence moves out of range.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Mercer tries to clinch but Lawrence is having none of it.
Mercer tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Lawrence paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Lawrence takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
A telegraphed right hand from Lawrence misses the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Sujith Lawrence will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Mercer lands a head kick!
Mercer tries to clinch there but Lawrence circles away.

Lawrence clinches with his opponent.
Mercer stalling.
Lawrence wants to break the clinch but can't.

Mercer gets control of Lawrence's arms and successfully pulls guard. Mercer will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Mercer working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Lawrence.
Lawrence is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Mercer working a defensive guard here.

Mercer is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Lawrence tries to stand but Mercer is controlling from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mercer is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Lawrence defends well.
Mercer working a defensive guard here.
Lawrence tries to free his leg and advance position but Mercer is retaining full guard.

Mercer looking for a guillotine here but Lawrence defends easily.
Mercer utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Lawrence wants to control from the top but Mercer keeps moving.
Lawrence throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Lawrence got a little sloppy there for a moment and Mercer has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Lawrence has managed to get both his arms back between Mercer's legs - danger averted.
Mercer is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Lawrence is looking to work some ground and pound but Mercer has wrist control.
Lawrence wanted to stand there but Mercer had control of the position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Mercer has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Lawrence can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Mercer has managed to work for a loose triangle. I think Lawrence should be able to defend this one pretty easily though. Oh, Mercer has tightened it up now! Lawrence should have reacted faster there - he's in big trouble and yes, he's tapped out! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Alex Mercer!
Alex Mercer was full of energy after the big win and talked about how he thinks he can do big things in this sport. The crowd were appreciative of his determination to succeed.