PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Xavier Merlin (ranked 1196 p4p, 148 weight class) and Kevin Coburn (ranked 900 p4p, 114 weight class). Kevin Coburn acknowledges the crowd's support as he enters the cage.

Merlin
vs
Coburn

170 cm
22
162 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

174 cm
21
166 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Conviction

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 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Xavier Merlin!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kevin Coburn!
The judges for this bout are Darius Henderson, John Mangel and Skip Squint.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Some wild striking there from Coburn.
Merlin shoots in for a takedown but Coburn shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Merlin closes the distance and clinches up with Coburn, looking for a takedown. Merlin pushes Coburn against the cage but Coburn circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

Merlin shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.

Merlin postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Coburn is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Merlin, into his guard.

Merlin looking for a guillotine here but Coburn defends easily.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Merlin isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Coburn stacks Merlin on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Coburn!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Merlin is looking for a sweep.
Merlin regains half guard.
Coburn is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Coburn slips a nice elbow through Merlin's hands, connecting with Merlin's forehead.
Coburn prevents Merlin from improving his position.
Coburn content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Merlin wants to get back to full guard.
Coburn is thwarting Merlin's attempts to control the position.
Coburn sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Merlin is looking to control Coburn's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Merlin avoid being mounted?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Coburn controlling the pace.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Coburn misses with a straight left.
Kevin Coburn is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Merlin takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Merlin walks into a stiff left hand from Coburn.
Coburn lands with a good body shot.
Coburn misses with a straight right.
Merlin shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Coburn counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Xavier Merlin. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Merlin looking for a kimura from the bottom but Coburn passes into side control!
Coburn controlling the position.
Coburn lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Coburn is staying tight to Merlin's torso, preventing him from escaping.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Merlin looking for a sweep but Coburn has passed into full mount! Oh no!
Merlin really trying hard to get back to half guard here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Coburn dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Coburn throws a hook but Merlin avoids it easily.
Coburn throws a big shot that misses.
Coburn fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Merlin shoots in for a double leg but Coburn sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Merlin goes for a double leg but Coburn avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Coburn continues to drive forward.

Merlin decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Merlin has hold of the far side arm. He's working for the Kimura, can Coburn defend it? Merlin steps over the head and cranks it - Coburn is tapping out! That was textbook stuff right there - nice submission victory for Merlin!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:47 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Xavier Merlin!
Xavier Merlin decided to thank the fans in attendance for making a great atmosphere. It seemed to go down pretty well.