PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Anthony Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Kazushi Sakuraba (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighters look pumped up here. Let's hope this is a good fight!

Johnson
vs
Sakuraba

190 cm
25
190 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

185 cm
25
185 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

Dangerous GnP
Excellent boxer
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent boxer
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Anthony Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Kazushi Sakuraba!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Saam Ante and Daniel Blasius.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson wants to clinch.
A left lands for Johnson.
Johnson misses with a looping right.

Johnson darts in and clinches Sakuraba up against the ropes.
Sakuraba changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Johnson fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Johnson scores with a sloppy right hand. Sakuraba should have avoided that one.

It looks like Kazushi Sakuraba has been cut.
Sakuraba uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

It looks like Anthony Johnson has been cut.
Johnson clobbers Sakuraba with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Johnson cracks Sakuraba with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Sakuraba uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johnson.
Kazushi Sakuraba seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Sakuraba drops down looking for an ankle pick but Johnson pulls his leg out and moves away.
Sakuraba avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
A big left from Sakuraba misses.

Sakuraba tries to keep at a distance but Johnson has taken the fight into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a short punch on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
Johnson misses with some punches.

Sakuraba manages to break the clinch.
Johnson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Sakuraba.
The fighters circling - Sakuraba throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Johnson moves in looking to clinch but Sakuraba pushes him off.
Nice defenses there by Johnson.
Sakuraba misses with an uppercut

and Johnson counters by moving into the clinch.
Johnson scores with a shoulder strike.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Johnson.
Johnson misses with a punch on the inside.
Johnson lands a nice uppercut.
Sakuraba tries to pull guard but Johnson won't allow it.
Anthony Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kazushi Sakuraba.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sakuraba.
Still in the clinch, Johnson scores with a nice short uppercut.
Sakuraba looking for a takedown.
Sakuraba looks gassed!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Johnson misses with some punches.
Sakuraba tries to circle away but Johnson has him pinned against the ropes.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Johnson.
Johnson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Johnson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Johnson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
Sakuraba fails to pull guard.
Johnson misses with some punches.
Sakuraba lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of Johnson backwards.
Johnson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sakuraba blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
Sakuraba blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Johnson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Johnson misses with some punches.
Sakuraba tries to circle away but Johnson has him pinned against the ropes.
Johnson swings wildly with an uppercut but Sakuraba uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sakuraba is looking to break free of the clinch but Johnson has double underhooks.
Johnson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Johnson swings wildly with an uppercut but Sakuraba uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sakuraba has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Sakuraba is trying to break the clinch but Johnson has him pressed against the ropes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba blocking some punches.
Sakuraba will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Johnson up against the ropes.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Johnson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Sakuraba is working for takedown but Johnson is calmly controlling the position for now.
Johnson misses with the head strike.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
Johnson lands on the inside with an uppercut.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Johnson tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Sakuraba tries to circle away but Johnson has him pinned against the ropes.
Sakuraba blocks a punch to the side of the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A hook to the body from Sakuraba.
Sakuraba wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Johnson has him pressed against the ropes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Johnson dominated that round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
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.

Johnson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Sakuraba.
Sakuraba misses with a left hand
and Johnson counters with a straight right hand.
Sakuraba throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Johnson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sakuraba uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johnson.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sakuraba swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson throws a jab but it's blocked by Sakuraba.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Sakuraba misses the jab.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Johnson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Sakuraba misses with a straight left.
Sakuraba scores with a sloppy right hand. Johnson should have avoided that one.
Sakuraba slips under a jab.
Johnson moves out of range of the strikes.
Anthony Johnson is winning the standup battle so far.
Johnson moves in looking to clinch but Sakuraba pushes him off.
Johnson keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Sakuraba misses with a straight left.

Johnson closes the distance and pushes Sakuraba back into the ropes.
Anthony Johnson has scored more points in the clinch so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Johnson has a couple of punches blocked by Sakuraba.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.

Sakuraba's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Sakuraba ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson slips under a jab from Sakuraba.
Johnson blocks a jab.
Johnson connects with a looping right hand.
Johnson is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Johnson smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Sakuraba is breathing heavily.
Sakuraba throws the left hand but Johnson avoids the punch easily.
Sakuraba throws a hook but Johnson avoids it easily.

Sakuraba ducks straight into an uppercut from Johnson and tumbles to the canvas! It’s a flash knockdown though - Sakuraba manages to regain guard straight away.

Sakuraba is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Sakuraba is still in real trouble! Can Johnson finish him?
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sakuraba swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Sakuraba seems to have recovered his senses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson advances position into side control!
What's Sakuraba going to do here then? He's in a bit of a pickle.
Sakuraba manages to work his way to half guard, despite Johnson's best efforts.
Sakuraba is not content to let Johnson control the position.
Sakuraba is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Johnson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Johnson's back!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba missing with strikes from the back.
Johnson wants to escape the position.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Sakuraba working for a choke but Johnson reverses nicely into Sakuraba 's guard.
Johnson preventing the sweep.

Johnson drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Sakuraba manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Johnson has Sakuraba in his guard.
Sakuraba prevents Johnson from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba wants to get up but he can't break Johnson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Johnson has his foot on Sakuraba's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Sakuraba works his way back into a safe position though.
Sakuraba stops Johnson from standing up.
Sakuraba throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.
Sakuraba trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Johnson pushes Sakuraba off and scrambles back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Anthony Johnson dominated that second round.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Sakuraba throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Sakuraba uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Johnson.

Johnson rushes Sakuraba and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
Johnson has a couple of punches blocked by Sakuraba.
Johnson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Johnson fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Johnson swings wildly with an uppercut but Sakuraba uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sakuraba goes for a takedown attempt but Johnson pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Johnson slips under a jab.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sakuraba swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson's jab looks to have found its range, popping Sakuraba under the eye.
Sakuraba throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Johnson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Sakuraba uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Sakuraba takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson connects with a right hand. Sakuraba shakes it off.
Sakuraba walks into a left hand.
Johnson lands a glancing blow to the side of Sakuraba's head.
Sakuraba with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Johnson to score with a decent uppercut.

Sakuraba is rocked!
Johnson tries to clinch but Sakuraba moves out of range.
Sakuraba is still on wobbly legs! Can Johnson finish him?
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Sakuraba swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson throws a looping overhand right but Sakuraba ducks down to avoid it.
Sakuraba throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Johnson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Sakuraba looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Sakuraba throws out a loose jab but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Sakuraba rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
enabling Johnson to counter with a crisp jab.
Johnson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

Johnson fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Sakuraba, pushing him back against the ropes.
Johnson working aggressively here.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
Sakuraba seems to have recovered his senses.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Johnson swings away with an uppercut that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Sakuraba.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
Sakuraba tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
A shot in the inside from Johnson.
Johnson swings wildly with an uppercut but Sakuraba uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Johnson swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Johnson gets through Sakuraba's defenses to land a nice punch to the side of the head.
Sakuraba fails to pull guard.
Sakuraba wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Johnson swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Sakuraba drops down looking for an ankle pick but Johnson pulls his leg out and moves away.
Anthony Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Kazushi Sakuraba.
Johnson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Sakuraba.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sakuraba on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Johnson tries to clinch there but Sakuraba circles away.
Sakuraba stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Johnson misses with a straight left.
Johnson lands a jab to the head.
Johnson cracks Sakuraba with an open hand slap.
Sakuraba throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sakuraba swats him away and circles back towards the center.
The fight stays on the outside here - Johnson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
Sakuraba blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Sakuraba blocking some punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson has a couple of punches blocked by Sakuraba.
Johnson throws a punch but it's blocked by Sakuraba.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Sakuraba's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Johnson lands a left hand that snaps the head of Sakuraba backwards.
Sakuraba trying to control the position but instead, Johnson has worked for underhooks and has pushed Sakuraba into the ropes.
Johnson scores with a shot to the side of Sakuraba's head.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Johnson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Sakuraba blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Sakuraba blocks an uppercut.
Johnson misses with the head strike.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Johnson misses with the head strike.
Sakuraba blocking some punches.
Kazushi Sakuraba has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Sakuraba tries for a takedown. No joy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Anthony 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 Aafke Stam scores the fight 30:27
Judge Saam Ante scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Blasius scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Anthony Johnson!
Anthony Johnson decided to go for the less than humble approach in his post fight interview, telling everyone how he is going to conquer the world. The crowd seemed to like it when really that sort of approach could have gone either way.