PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kevin Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rez Kandinsky (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Johnson
vs
Kandinsky

183 cm
23
224 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

180 cm
21
222 lbs
5 - 3 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ White Belt
Good low kicks
Powerful

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 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kevin Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Rez Kandinsky!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Daniel Blasius and Paul Aken.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kandinsky misses with a hook. Johnson ducked under it nicely.
A big right from Kandinsky misses.
Kandinsky misses with a right hand
and Johnson counters with a lovely shot to the body.
Kandinsky throws a looping overhand right but Johnson ducks down to avoid it.
Kandinsky cracks Johnson with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Kandinsky sprawls well. Kandinsky wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Kandinsky dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Kandinsky throws a sloppy body shot
and Johnson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Johnson throws a combination that misses
and Kandinsky counters with a straight right hand.
Kandinsky throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Johnson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Kandinsky.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a wild combination.
Johnson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Kandinsky.
Kandinsky swings and misses with a shot to the body

and Johnson counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Kandinsky's guard now.
Johnson cracks Kandinsky with a solid left hand.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Kandinsky can do anything to dispel that myth.
Johnson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Kandinsky works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Johnson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Johnson wants to control from the top but Kandinsky keeps moving.
Johnson is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Johnson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Kandinsky has wrist control.
Kandinsky keeping full guard, as Johnson tries to pass.
Johnson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Kandinsky's guard.
Johnson is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Johnson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Johnson trying to control the pace.
Johnson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Kandinsky is trying to get back to full guard.
Ground and pound from Johnson.
Johnson throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Johnson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Kandinsky defending well though.
Johnson scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Johnson wants to control but Kandinsky is keeping him busy.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Johnson connects with a nice short shot to Kandinsky's temple.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Johnson scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kevin Johnson dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Johnson looks to land a left hand but Kandinsky moved out of range nicely.
Johnson misses with a shot to the body
and Kandinsky counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Johnson avoids the body shot from Kandinsky.
Kandinsky misses with a hook to the body
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Johnson fails with the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Kandinsky throws a looping overhand right but Johnson ducks down to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Kandinsky misses with a lunging right hand
and Kandinsky takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Johnson with a jab.
Rez Kandinsky is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Kandinsky can pounce on him.
Nice defenses there by Kandinsky.
Johnson misses with a lunging right hand
and Kandinsky counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Johnson thinking.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kandinsky takes a jab right on the kisser.
Kandinsky throws a solid leg kick but Johnson takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Kandinsky.
A looping hook to the body misses from Kandinsky. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Johnson looks to score with a jab to the body but Kandinsky is just out of range.
Kandinsky pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Kandinsky is looking to slow Johnson down with leg kicks.
Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Kandinsky.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a combination
and Kandinsky counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Kandinsky throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Johnson counters with a nice uppercut.
Kandinsky moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Johnson misses with a right hand
and Kandinsky counters with a low kick, right behind Johnson 's knee.
Kandinsky dodges the punch combination from Johnson.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kandinsky misses with a left hand
and Johnson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Johnson misses with a hook to the body
and Kandinsky counters with a three punch combo that has Johnson backing up. Johnson nods at Kandinsky to acknowledge the strikes.

Kandinsky gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Kandinsky keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.
Johnson landing some decent shots from guard.
Johnson slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Kevin Johnson will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Kandinsky swings widly with a right hand
and Johnson makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Kandinsky keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Johnson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johnson shoots for a double leg takedown but Kandinsky sprawls well. He's pushed Johnson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Johnson throws a loose over hand right and dives in with a double leg takedown. Kandinsky tries to sprawl but it's too late and the fighters hit the mat. Johnson is in Kandinsky's guard.
Johnson throws a big right hand that misses.
Johnson looking to pass the guard.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Kandinsky is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Johnson stands and throws Kandinsky's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Kandinsky is looking to reverse the position.
Johnson in side control lands a decent elbow.
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.
Johnson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Kandinsky for as long as he can get away with.
Johnson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Kandinsky to see if he's OK.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson cracks Kandinsky with a big right hand but Kandinsky just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Johnson is putting a hurting on Kandinsky here, landing some big shots from side control.
Johnson scores with a couple of short elbows.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Johnson misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Kandinsky takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Kandinsky avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Johnson.
Johnson is maintaining the dominant position - no doubt Kandinsky will start to get frustrated soon if he's not already.
Johnson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Kandinsky keeps working.
Johnson working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.
Johnson is looking to take a break and control but Kandinsky is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Johnson scores with a couple of short elbows.
Rez Kandinsky has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson working the body and head with strikes.
Kandinsky takes a big shot right to the temple there but he's taken it well.
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.
Johnson staying calm.
Kandinsky is trying to stand back up. He's worked his way up against the cage but Johnson has just dragged him back down to the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson works to advance to full mount. Kandinsky defends for a few seconds but eventually he succumbs.
Kandinsky in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Johnson controlling from mount.

Johnson working for a submission but Kandinsky is keeping him at bay.

Johnson with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson dominating with strikes here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kevin Johnson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Johnson, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 29:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:26
Judge Paul Aken scores the fight 30:26

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