PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dick Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Janis Pujins (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Johnson
vs
Pujins

174 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

169 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Big heart

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Inexperienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Dick Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Janis Pujins!
The judges for this bout are Jorge Garcia, Franklyn Lucas and David Schapiro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pujins defends it nicely.
Nice takedown defense from Johnson. No joy for Pujins on that attempt.
Johnson shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Pujins pinned against the cage. Pujins gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Pujins defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Johnson.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dick Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Johnson tries to clinch up but Pujins circles away and keeps his distance.
Pujins throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Horrible takedown by Pujins or perhaps it was just good defense by Johnson which made him look bad.
Pujins takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Johnson blocks a head kick by Pujins.
Johnson tries a head kick but it misses.
Dick Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pujins fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Pujins fails to land the takedown.
Pujins tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Pujins is trying hard to land a takedown here. Johnson sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Pujins forces Johnson back against the cage and clinches.
Pujins looks gassed!

Pujins has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Johnson uses from the top position.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Pujins keeps moving.
Pujins bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Johnson's guard.
Johnson looking for a sweep. Not yet Johnson, not yet.
Johnson can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Pujins controls the pace.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Pujins from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson pulls Pujins in to control the position.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Johnson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Pujins is looking to clinch.
Johnson scores with a kick to the midsection.
Pujins throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.
Johnson looks for the body kick but Pujins saw that one coming.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Pujins tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Johnson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Pujins tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Johnson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Johnson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head kick misses from Johnson.
A head kick from Johnson lands but Pujins takes it in his stride.
Johnson lands with a nice body punch.
Johnson scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Johnson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Pujins shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Johnson as he avoids it easily.
Pujins wants to clinch up but Johnson keeps it at a distance.
Johnson misses with the combination.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Johnson throws a series of punches but Pujins moves out of range.
Johnson lands with a good body shot.
Pujins throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Pujins fails to land the takedown.
Johnson shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Pujins defends it nicely.
Johnson looks for a takedown but Pujins sprawls well.
Johnson has a takedown stuffed.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson misses with a two punch combination.
Pujins has a takedown stuffed.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Dick Johnson will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Johnson keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Pujins is looking to clinch.
Pujins tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Pujins moves into the clinch successfully.

Johnson manages to break the clinch.
Johnson scores with a head kick.
Dick Johnson is winning the standup battle so far.
Johnson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Pujins shoots in for a double leg but Johnson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Pujins takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Pujins throws a body kick the misses
and Johnson counters with a nice body shot.
Pujins is breathing heavily.
Johnson connects with an inside leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Pujins stuffs the takedown.
Johnson tries to clinch but Pujins is having none of it.
Johnson moves into range and connects with a jab.
Pujins tries to score a power double leg takedown but Johnson sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Pujins somewhat.
Dick Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Janis Pujins.
Johnson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Pujins stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Pujins slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Some wild striking there from Johnson.
Johnson keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Johnson dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Pujins. That did some damage!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pujins sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Johnson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Pujins.
Pujins motions for Johnson to come forward. Pujins throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Nice sprawl there from Johnson as Pujins shoots in.
Johnson misses with a head kick.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Pujins sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Johnson wants to clinch.
Pujins closes this distance looking for a takedown but Johnson circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson stalks Pujins and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Pujins's face. Pujins staggers backwards, shaken.
Pujins closes the distance and clinches up with Johnson, looking for a takedown. Pujins pushes Johnson against the cage but Johnson circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Pujins walks forward, straight into a front kick from Johnson.
Johnson is looking to wear down Pujins with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Johnson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Pujins.

Pujins moves into the clinch.
Johnson tries to break free but Pujins pushes him back against the cage.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Johnson is working for takedown but Pujins is calmly controlling the position for now.
Pujins tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Johnson just stands there and leans against the cage.

Johnson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Pujins sprawls well. Pujins wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a head kick.
Johnson misses with a kick to the body.
Both fighters circling a little - Pujins finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Johnson throws out a loose jab but Pujins uses good head movement to avoid it.

Pujins gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Pujins drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Johnson gets the underhooks and prevents it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Pujins jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Johnson walks away with a smile on his face. Pujins gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Johnson looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dick Johnson dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Pujins pushes Johnson up against the cage in a clinch.
Pujins is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Pujins is working for takedown but Johnson is calmly controlling the position for now.
Johnson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Pujins tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Dick Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Janis Pujins.
Johnson has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Pujins avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
Pujins tries to pull guard but Johnson holds him up against the cage and eventually Pujins drops back down to his feet.
Johnson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Johnson is trying to break the clinch but Pujins is controlling him.
Johnson looking for a takedown.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

Pujins pulls guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Pujins swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Johnson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Pujins on the ground.

Pujins looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Johnson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Pujins controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Johnson wants to get up but he can't break Pujins's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Pujins is trying to keep Johnson in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Janis Pujins was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Pujins swats away the attempt to clinch by Johnson.
A nice leg kick lands there from Johnson.
Johnson misses with a series of wild punches.
Johnson lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Johnson throws a body kick that misses.
Dick Johnson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Pujins misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Pujins dodges the punch combination from Johnson.
Nice takedown defense from Johnson. No joy for Pujins on that attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Pujins.
Johnson misses with a few strikes there.
Pujins will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Pujins avoids the head kick by Johnson.
Johnson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Pujins is fending him off so far but Johnson persists. Nope, Pujins circles away and we're back to standing.
Johnson throws the kick towards the body but Pujins avoids it.
Johnson lands a slapping body shot.
Johnson moves in looking to clinch but Pujins pushes him off.
Johnson throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Pujins counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Pujins.
Johnson is trying to push Pujins away but Pujins has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Pujins tries to pull guard but Johnson holds him up against the cage and eventually Pujins drops back down to his feet.

Johnson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Some wild striking there from Pujins.
A head kick from Johnson lands but Pujins takes it in his stride.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pujins wants to clinch up but Johnson keeps it at a distance.

Johnson takes the fight into the clinch.

Pujins ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Pujins no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Pujins works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Janis Pujins has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Dick Johnson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Johnson gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dick 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 Jorge Garcia scores the fight 30:27
Judge Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 30:27

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