PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Brian Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zack Hitana (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson kept the crowd waiting but all that was forgotten when his ring entrance music started. The incomparable musical genius that is Revenge by Danger Mouse. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Johnson
vs
Hitana

168 cm
22
157 lbs
7 - 3 - 0

170 cm
21
160 lbs
11 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Very quick

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

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 7 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brian Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Zack Hitana!
The judges for this bout are Edson Gomes, Leandro Rodrigues and Mauricio Rocha.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hitana tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson lands with a nice body punch.
Johnson jabs at Hitana's body.
Johnson wants to clinch up but Hitana keeps it at a distance.
Johnson checks the leg kick nicely there.
Hitana scores with a nice head shot.
Hitana tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Johnson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Johnson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hitana stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Hitana takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Johnson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Hitana misses with a wild body shot.
Johnson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Hitana stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Hitana tries to clinch up.
Johnson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Johnson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Hitana moves away.

Johnson closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Johnson scores with a couple of short elbows.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hitana tries to improve position but can't.
Hitana can't do much from the bottom here.
Sloppy strikes there by Johnson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hitana is trying to control Johnson's posture but Johnson avoids it.
Hitana is trying to get back to half guard.
Hitana can't do much from the bottom here.
Johnson in side control lands a decent elbow.
Johnson 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.
Hitana is trying to improve his position.
Johnson controlling the position from side mount.
Hitana is trying to control Johnson's posture but Johnson avoids it.
Johnson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Hitana keeps working.
You can see the frustration on Hitana's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Hitana tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Johnson working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.
Hitana is trying to get back to half guard.
Hitana defending against the ground and pound.
Johnson is chipping away with strikes.
Hitana seems a little lost for a moment, as Johnson dominates the positioning.
Hitana tries to improve position but can't.
Johnson is putting a hurting on Hitana here, landing some big shots from side control.
Hitana avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Johnson.
Hitana tries to buck Johnson off but Johnson is having none of it.
Hitana struggling a bit here.
Johnson trying to control the position but Hitana is working away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson working the ground and pound.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hitana tries to contro but end up mounted... ooooh, that's bad.
Hitana tries to hold on but Johnson pushes him away.
Hitana in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Johnson cracks Hitana with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Hitana tries to hold on but Johnson pushes him away.
Johnson fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

Hitana is rocked!
Johnson controlling the position easily from mount.
Johnson tries to control but Hitana wriggling away.
Johnson landing strikes from the mount.
Johnson with shots to the head and body - Hitana looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson controlling the position easily from mount.
Hitana is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Hitana is in a horrible position here. Johnson smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Johnson breaks from Hitana's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Hitana is still in real trouble! Can Johnson finish him?
Hitana tries to reverse the position but Johnson maintains control.
Hitana seems to have recovered his senses.
Johnson content just to control the position here.
Johnson landing punches.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hitana is in all sorts of trouble here.
Hitana gets back to half guard.
Ground and pound from Johnson.
Johnson controlling the action here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brian Johnson dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Hitana lands a head kick. Johnson smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Hitana misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Johnson.
Hitana chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Hitana tries to score with a low kick but Johnson moves his leg out of the way.
Johnson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Johnson throws a right and a left that Hitana avoids nicely.

Hitana has taken the fight to the clinch.
Johnson lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Hitana backwards.
Johnson working aggressively here.
Hitana using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Johnson has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Johnson tries to throw a body punch but Hitana avoids it by throwing Johnson back against the cage.
Hitana missing with knees to the body.
Hitana missing with knees to the body.
Johnson prevents a body shot from Hitana.
Hitana misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Johnson.
Johnson lands a body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is working Hitana over against the cage.
Hitana pushes off an throws an elbow but Johnson leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
A short left from Johnson.
Johnson lands with a short head shot on the inside.
Hitana throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Johnson blocks it with crossed arms.
With the fighters clinched against the cage, Johnson creates a bit of distance for himself and scores with a nice uppercut.
Johnson makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Hitana throws an elbow but it misses.
Johnson on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Johnson lands a nice shot to the body.
Johnson on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Johnson has a couple of punches blocked by Hitana.
Hitana misses with a knee to the head.
Hitana misses with a hook to the ribs.
With the fighters up against the cage, Hitana throws an elbow but misses.
Johnson lands a body shot.
Hitana throws a head punch that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Hitana trying to land knees to the body.
Johnson lands a shoulder strike.
Johnson blocks an elbow strike from Hitana.
Hitana misses with an elbow strike.
Hitana tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Johnson avoids it.
A head punch on the inside from Hitana fails to land.
A nice left hand lands by Johnson.

Johnson tightens his grip and picks Hitana up, before dumping him to the ground. Hitana manages to land in guard.
Johnson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Hitana avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Johnson controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Hitana is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hitana works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hitana keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Johnson lands a couple of decent looking shots.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Johnson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Hitana.
Brian Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Johnson lands with a good body shot.
Johnson misses with a wild combination.
Hitana throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Johnson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Hitana.
Hitana takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Johnson scores with a hook.
Hitana misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Johnson.
Hitana throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
A good leg kick by Hitana.
Johnson lands with a cross.
A jab from Johnson finds it's way through Hitana's defenses.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hitana fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
Johnson misses with a double jab.
Johnson swings for the body but Hitana moves out of range.
Johnson is looking to wear down Hitana with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hitana looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Hitana with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Johnson to score with a decent uppercut.
Johnson misses with a wild body shot.
Johnson lands with a nice body punch.
Johnson dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Johnson is defended easily by Hitana.
Hitana takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Johnson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Hitana tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Johnson counters with a left to the body.
Johnson misses with a jab to the body
letting Hitana counter with a right hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Brian Johnson dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Johnson throws a body punch but Hitana moves out of range.

Johnson shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Hitana's guard.
Johnson cracks Hitana with a solid left hand.
Hitana keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.
Hitana keeping full guard, as Johnson tries to pass.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Hitana keeps moving.
Johnson sitting in guard here, content to control.
Hitana wants to sweep but no luck.
Johnson thows a big elbow that misses.
Hitana looking for a sweep. Not yet Hitana, not yet.
Hitana utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Hitana stuns Johnson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Johnson cracks Hitana with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Hitana tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Johnson was well out of range. Poor timing from Hitana.
Hitana uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Johnson.
Johnson lands a nice looking body shot.
Hitana throws a nice looking combination but Johnson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hitana bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Johnson throws the left hand but Hitana avoids the punch easily.
Hitana swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Hitana thows a body shot but no joy.
Johnson takes a swing at Hitana's ribcage but misses.
Hitana misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Johnson.
Hitana on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Hitana throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Hitana throws a body punch but Johnson moves out of range.
Hitana tries to clinch up but Johnson circles away and keeps his distance.
Zack Hitana is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
No joy there for Johnson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Hitana lands a jab to Johnson's midsection.

That's two 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.
Johnson scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Hitana doesn't seem bothered though.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Johnson!
Hitana takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
Johnson lands with a straight right. Hitana didn't see that one coming.
Hitana throws a front kick aimed at Johnson's knee but Johnson avoids it well.
Hitana tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Johnson stuns Hitana with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Hitana throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Johnson.
Johnson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Johnson checks the leg kick.
Hitana swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
A shot to de liver by Johnson. Beautiful body shot.
Johnson misses with the combination.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Johnson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Hitana tries to score with a low kick but Johnson moves his leg out of the way.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson scores with a nice right hand.

Johnson scores with a takedown into Hitana's guard.
Hitana tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hitana trying to keep a closed guard but Johnson is proving a slippery customer.
Hitana keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.
Johnson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Hitana has momentary wrist control but Johnson slips an elbow through the middle.
Johnson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Johnson lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Johnson working some strikes from top position.
Johnson preventing the sweep.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hitana takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Hitana controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Nice shot lands for Johnson.
Zack Hitana has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson lands a slapping body shot.
Johnson moves out of range of the body kick from Hitana.
Johnson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Johnson avoids the body shot from Hitana.
Johnson throws a shot to the body.
Johnson stuns Hitana with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Johnson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Hitana throws a sloppy head kick and Johnson moves out of range easily.

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

And that's the end of the fight!
Brian Johnson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Johnson 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 Edson Gomes scores the fight 30:27
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 30:27
Judge Mauricio Rocha scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Brian Johnson!