PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Dmitri Shogenov (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zeke Johnson (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.

Shogenov
vs
Johnson

190 cm
21
190 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
22
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Intelligent

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Dmitri Shogenov!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Zeke Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Fedor Mirinova, Aleksandr Martynov and Dmitry Maklakov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Johnson tries to keep at a distance but Shogenov has taken the fight into the clinch.
Johnson wants to stall.

Shogenov manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Shogenov is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Shogenov tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Johnson not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Shogenov has his hands on Johnson's head, controlling the position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Shogenov closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Shogenov prevents Johnson from standing back up.
Johnson is trying to get back to full guard.
Johnson has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Johnson manages to get to full guard.
Shogenov stopping the sweep attempt from Johnson.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Shogenov from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shogenov slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Shogenov trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

Dmitri Shogenov has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown but Shogenov shows good takedown defense.
Johnson misses with a head kick.
Johnson misses with a few strikes there.
Shogenov keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
A head kick by Shogenov misses
and Johnson counters with a straight right hand.
Johnson shoots for a takedown but Shogenov saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Dmitri Shogenov has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Zeke Johnson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Shogenov shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Shogenov showed some decent athleticism there.
Johnson looks gassed!
Shogenov is looking to pass Johnson's guard but actually Johnson recovers to full guard.
Shogenov slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Shogenov wants to stand and escape but instead Johnson has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Shogenov looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Shogenov will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.

Shogenov throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Johnson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shogenov is pulling down on Johnson's head to control his posture.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dmitri Shogenov dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

A good leg kick by Shogenov.
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Dmitri Shogenov is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

Shogenov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

Shogenov clinches up against the cage.
Johnson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Johnson is trying to break the clinch but Shogenov has him pressed against the cage.

Shogenov has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Johnson regains guard immediately.
Johnson trying to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Shogenov from controlling successfully.
Shogenov passes Johnson's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Shogenov content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Johnson wants to get back to full guard but Shogenov has passed into side control.
Shogenov throwing strikes but missing, from side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Shogenov stands up and we're back to a striking position.
Johnson is looking to land body kicks.

Shogenov has taken the fight to the clinch.
Johnson tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Johnson leaning his opponent against the cage.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
Shogenov wants to break free but Johnson has control.

Shogenov pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a combination that misses

and Shogenov counters with a takedown into side control.
Johnson gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Shogenov with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Dmitri Shogenov overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Shogenov wants to control but Johnson is keeping him busy.
Shogenov trying to control the pace.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Shogenov is thwarting Johnson's attempts to control the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Dmitri Shogenov.

Shogenov gets the takedown into side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Shogenov throws an elbow but Johnson slips to the side and avoids it well.
Shogenov has control of an arm but Johnson manages to advance to Shogenov's back!
Johnson trying to control.
Shogenov covering up well under a series of strikes from Johnson.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Shogenov wants to escape the position.
Johnson misses with a punch to the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dmitri Shogenov 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!

Johnson misses with a low kick as Shogenov jumps back.
Johnson keeps the fight on the outside.
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Shogenov takes the fight into the clinch.
Johnson stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Shogenov drags the fight down to the ground.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Shogenov keeps moving.
Shogenov wants to sweep but no luck.
Shogenov keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Zeke Johnson wasn't active enough on the ground.

Johnson lands a left and a right that send Shogenov crashing to the mat, dazed. Johnson thinks about following him to the mat but decides to wave him back up to his feet!

It looks like Dmitri Shogenov has been cut.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Shogenov tries to bum rush Johnson with a series of wild strikes but Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Zeke Johnson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Johnson dives in and grabs Shogenov's left leg, looking for a takedown. Shogenov pushes down on Johnson's head and hops out.

Shogenov closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Johnson to the mat! Johnson manages to get full guard.
Shogenov slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Shogenov throws a big elbow that misses.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Shogenov trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
It looks like the ref is thinking about a standup.
Shogenov throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Shogenov from controlling successfully.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Dmitri Shogenov wasn't doing enough on the ground.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Shogenov crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Johnson - the referee stops the clock and Shogenov gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Johnson. Shogenov manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.

Shogenov gets a takedown into half guard.
Shogenov passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Johnson!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson tries to improve his position but instead Shogenov has taken his back!
Zeke Johnson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson rolls and manages to get back to half guard. Nicely done.
Shogenov stops Johnson from getting back to his feet.
Johnson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Shogenov is working away from the top position though.
Shogenov is looking to advance position but Johnson won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is looking to improve his position.
Shogenov throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Johnson is refusing to be controlled, as Shogenov sits in half guard.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Shogenov's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Johnson connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Shogenov scrambles back to his feet.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Shogenov manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Johnson on his heels. He'll look to pass Johnson's guard now, I'm sure.
Dmitri Shogenov is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Shogenov looking to sit in guard and control but Johnson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Zeke Johnson.
I think Shogenov has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 29:28
Judge Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dmitri Shogenov!