PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Jeffrey Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mauricio Rua (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mauricio Rua will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Johnson
vs
Rua

189 cm
18
208 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

185 cm
20
205 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Syndicate Drugs

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jeffrey Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mauricio Rua!
The judges for this bout are Chris Downing, Cecil Peabody and Stewart Dunkirk.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rua fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Johnson avoids it really well and circles away.

Johnson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Rua napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Rua tries to bench press Johnson off him but Johnson keeps the position.
Rua wings away with a couple of strikes but they don't land.
You can see the frustration on Rua's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Johnson postures up a little and throws a couple of hammerfists but they don't connect properly.
Rua sneaks back into half guard.
Rua works his way to full guard. Good work.
Johnson is breathing heavily.

Rua looking for a guillotine here but Johnson defends easily.

Johnson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Rua is looking for a triangle but Johnson pushes his legs off easily.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rua has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Johnson can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Johnson lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Rua is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Rua has momentary wrist control but Johnson slips an elbow through the middle.
Johnson preventing the sweep.
Rua controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Rua is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Rua is looking for a triangle but Johnson pushes his legs off easily.

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.
Johnson landing some decent shots from guard.
Johnson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Rua keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.

Rua is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Johnson is aware though and is defending well.

Rua looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Rua looking for submissions from the bottom but instead Johnson passes into half guard.
Johnson lands with a punch from half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Rua slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Johnson tries to free his leg and advance position but Rua is retaining full guard.
Johnson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Rua on the ground.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Rua keeps moving.

Johnson got a little sloppy there for a moment and Rua has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Johnson has managed to get both his arms back between Rua's legs - danger averted.
Johnson postures up.
Rua working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Johnson.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Rua is keeping the position.

Rua is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Johnson is aware though and is defending well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rua escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Johnson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

Rua has his foot on Johnson's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Johnson works his way back into a safe position though.
Johnson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

Rua manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Johnson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Rua.
Rua misses with a takedown attempt
letting Johnson counter with a right hand.
Rua misses with a takedown

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into side control. Rua won't be happy with that.
Jeffrey Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mauricio Rua.
Rua regains half guard.
Rua manages to get to full guard.
Johnson looking to pass the guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Mauricio Rua will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Rua has his takedown stuffed

and Johnson counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Rua's guard now.
Johnson scoring with punches to the head and body.

Rua had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Johnson defends it easily.

Johnson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Jeffrey Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Rua is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Johnson is trying to get back to full guard.

Rua is working for a submission of some sort.
Rua is trying to control. Johnson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rua wants to stand up but Johnson manages to regain full guard.

Rua is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Rua trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson wants to sweep here but Rua controlling him for the moment.

Rua thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Johnson misses with a body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Rua tries for a takedown but Johnson circles away easily
letting Johnson counter with a right hand.
Rua fails with the takedown

and Johnson counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Jeffrey Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Mauricio Rua.

Rua actively working from the bottom here.
Rua regains full guard. Nicely done.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!

Rua looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

Johnson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Rua is looking for a triangle but Johnson pushes his legs off easily.
Rua utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Rua has wrist control.
Johnson postures up.

Rua is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Rua had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Johnson defends it easily.

Rua is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Johnson defends well.

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

That's four 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.
Rua is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Johnson is trying to get back to full guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rua trying to control the action but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Rua controlling the action here.

Rua is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Johnson has managed to free his arm - good work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rua missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jeffrey Johnson dominated that second 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. This is the final round!

Rua scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Rua wants to stand up but Johnson is controlling the position.

Rua is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Rua trying to control from half guard but Johnson is working away.

Rua is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Johnson has managed to free his arm - good work.
Johnson is controlling Rua's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Rua is trying to control the action in half guard but Johnson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson wants to improve his position but Rua is controlling well.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Rua fails with the takedown
and Johnson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Rua tries for a takedown but Johnson circles away easily

and Johnson counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Rua's guard now.

Rua is looking for a triangle but Johnson pushes his legs off easily.
Rua is trying to keep Johnson in close.

Johnson avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Rua escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Johnson gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Johnson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Rua is looking for a triangle but Johnson pushes his legs off easily.
Johnson working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Johnson is working Rua over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.
Johnson trying to control but Rua is working from the bottom.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rua is on top in guard.
Johnson trying to keep a closed guard but Rua is proving a slippery customer.
Rua trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rua preventing the sweep.
Johnson can't keep his opponent in guard - Rua advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.

Rua is working for submissions here but there's nothing on.
Johnson is looking to control Rua's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Johnson avoid being mounted?

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Johnson tries to clinch but Rua is having none of it.

Johnson 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.
Johnson with a nice head shot there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Rua swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Johnson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Rua is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Johnson defends well.
Johnson works over Rua with some ground and pound from guard.
Johnson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Rua keeps moving.

Rua working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Johnson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Johnson manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Johnson landing with the ground and pound.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Mauricio Rua.
I think Rua has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 28:29
Judge Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Mauricio Rua!