PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ainsley Clearly (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bill Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Clearly
vs
Johnson

185 cm
22
210 lbs
1 - 6 - 0

185 cm
22
199 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Ainsley Clearly!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Bill Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Ben Zyskovitsi and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Clearly looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Clearly missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Clearly missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Johnson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Clearly.
Johnson tries to get to full guard but Clearly has control of the leg.
Johnson is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Clearly throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Clearly sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Johnson defending well though.
Clearly throws a strike but Johnson avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Johnson tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Johnson throws a nice outside leg kick.
Johnson has his takedown stuffed

and Clearly counters with a nice double leg into side control. Johnson won't be happy with that.
Johnson regains half guard, as Clearly was trying to land strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clearly thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Johnson is pressing down on Clearly's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Clearly trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Clearly throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.
Johnson looks gassed!
Clearly throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Clearly accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Clearly landing with the ground and pound.

Johnson wriggles free and stands up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
A jab from Clearly does it's job there.
Ainsley Clearly seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Clearly has managed to clinch.

Clearly lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
Johnson is trying is best to control the position here.
Johnson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Clearly is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
Clearly trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Clearly throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Clearly slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Johnson working a defensive guard here.
Clearly throws and elbow that misses. Johnson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Clearly's guard. Nice move by Johnson!
Clearly is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Johnson is controlling him.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Clearly swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Clearly knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Johnson on the ground.
Clearly utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Clearly dips to his left and cracks Johnson with an uppercut!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Clearly darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Clearly takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.
Clearly with the ground and pound but Johnson uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Clearly throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.
Clearly loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Clearly trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Clearly loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Johnson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Johnson had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Clearly defends it easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ainsley Clearly dominated that round.
That's time! Clearly's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Clearly lands a nice shot that snaps Johnson's head back.
Clearly throws a nice looking combination but Johnson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Johnson with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.

Clearly 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.
Clearly throws a strike but Johnson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Johnson pushes down on Clearly's leg and manages to get into half guard.

Johnson is looking for a kimura but Clearly is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Johnson to get the leverage.
Johnson wants to stand up but Clearly is controlling the position.
Ainsley Clearly overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Johnson trying to mount his opponent but Clearly defends it.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Johnson is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Clearly wants to get back to his feet.
Johnson missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

Clearly kicks off Johnson and gets to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Johnson gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Clearly counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Johnson!
Clearly is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Johnson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Clearly working the ground and pound effectively.
Clearly lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Clearly lands a nice shot to the head.
Clearly throwing strikes here but Johnson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Johnson tries to hold on but Clearly pushes him away.
A nice elbow there by Clearly.
Johnson is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Johnson sneaks a leg back under and regains half guard and is working straight away to try and get back to guard. He hasn't managed just yet though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is staying active underneath Clearly, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Johnson controlling the leg, holding on to half guard.
Nice strikes from Clearly there.
Clearly trying to control from Johnson's half guard. Johnson has other ideas though and has regained full guard.
Clearly throws a big right hand that misses.
Clearly is looking to work some ground and pound but Johnson has wrist control.
Johnson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Clearly.
Clearly throws a big right hand that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Johnson with a lazy takedown attempt
and Clearly counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Clearly lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Johnson fails with the takedown
and Clearly counters with a one-two to the body.
Ainsley Clearly has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bill Johnson.

Clearly shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Johnson's guard.

Johnson had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Clearly defends it easily.
Clearly trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Johnson is pulling down on Clearly's head. It's preventing any offense from Clearly, at least for the moment.
Clearly throws a strike but Johnson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ainsley Clearly dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Clearly misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Johnson darts in trying to clinch

and Clearly counters with a nice double leg into side control. Johnson won't be happy with that.
Johnson avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Clearly.
Clearly working the ground and pound but Johnson is defending the strikes.
An elbow from Clearly crashes against the mat.
The ground and pound from Clearly seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Johnson regains half guard, as Clearly was trying to land strikes.
Clearly thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Johnson to regain full guard.
Clearly has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Clearly lands a couple of digs.
Johnson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Clearly's guard.
Clearly is looking to stand up but Johnson isn't so interested in that idea.
Clearly trying to keep a closed guard but Johnson is proving a slippery customer.

Johnson drops back for a leg here. A bit of a high risk move... He's looking for a kneebar by the looks of things. Now both of them are looking for submissions. Johnson seems to have locked his on tight now - Clearly screams in pain and taps out furiously! It certainly was a high risk move but it's paid off for Johnson, as he picks up the win!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 1:50 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kneebar). Bill Johnson!