PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Mike Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Paul Baeumer (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson comes into the arena with White Reflection by Two Mix blaring out of the sound system. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Johnson
vs
Baeumer

190 cm
22
210 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

182 cm
20
210 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

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 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Mike Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of London, Paul Baeumer!
The judges for this bout are Steven Brown, Sam Margolis and Daniel Bishop.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice sprawl there from Baeumer as Johnson shoots in.

Johnson decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Baeumer is looking to improve his position.
Johnson is tying to control. Baeumer wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but Baeumer defending well.
Johnson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Baeumer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Johnson is keen to just control but Baeumer is a slippery customer.
Baeumer should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Johnson missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Johnson controlling the action here.
Baeumer is refusing to be controlled, as Johnson sits in half guard.
Johnson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Baeumer defending well though.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Baeumer defending well though.

Baeumer manages to escape and get back to his feet!
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Baeumer.
Baeumer tests Johnson's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Baeumer fails in his attempt to clinch.
Baeumer tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Baeumer with a poor takedown

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Baeumer is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Johnson stands up from Baeumer's guard - Johnson perhaps looking for a knockout.
Baeumer swinging wilding here.
Baeumer tries for a takedown but Johnson circles away easily

and Johnson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet but Johnson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Johnson scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
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.
Baeumer looks gassed!
Johnson postures up in Baeumer's guard and throws a big left but Baeumer blocks it.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baeumer keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.
Johnson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Johnson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Johnson trying to control but Baeumer is working from the bottom.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Baeumer ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Johnson moves away.
Baeumer throws a right and a left that Johnson avoids nicely.
Baeumer looks to land a combination. Johnson sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Baeumer.
Johnson closes the distance and clinches up with Baeumer, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes Baeumer against the cage but Baeumer circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Baeumer thuds his right hand into Johnson's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

Johnson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Johnson showed some decent athleticism there.
Johnson seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Baeumer is refusing to be controlled, as Johnson sits in half guard.
Still in half guard, Johnson seems content to control.
Johnson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Johnson dominated that round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Baeumer keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Johnson fails with a takedown attempt.
Baeumer throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Johnson counters with a single leg into guard. Baeumer didn't expect that.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet but Johnson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Johnson drops back looking for a leg! Baeumer is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Baeumer manages to kick Johnson off! Johnson jumps back into Baeumer's guard.
Johnson lands a couple of elbows.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Baeumer has wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Baeumer wriggles free and stands up.
Baeumer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Baeumer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Johnson rushes Baeumer and presses him up against the cage.
Johnson tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Baeumer just stands there and leans against the cage.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Mike Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Johnson drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Baeumer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Johnson tries a knee to the head but Baeumer blocks it.
Baeumer wants to get back to striking at distance but Johnson won't allow it.
Johnson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Baeumer gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Johnson.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Baeumer tries to stall but Johnson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Johnson wants a takedown but no success here.
Johnson drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Baeumer gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Baeumer holding his opponent close, against the cage.
Johnson drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Baeumer gets the underhooks and prevents it.

Johnson gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Baeumer swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Johnson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Johnson tries to free his leg and advance position but Baeumer is retaining full guard.
Mike Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Johnson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Baeumer works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Baeumer keeps moving.
Johnson forces his way into half guard.

Johnson is looking for a kimura here.

Baeumer makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Baeumer misses with a body shot.
Johnson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Baeumer is fending him off so far but Johnson persists. Nope, Baeumer circles away and we're back to standing.
Johnson wants to clinch.
Johnson shoots in and drives through. Baeumer sprawls well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Baeumer swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Baeumer misses with a takedown attempt

so Johnson counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Johnson lands a couple of elbows.
Johnson won't allow Baeumer to sweep him here.
Johnson passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet.
Baeumer tries to strike but it doesn't land.
Baeumer is trying to improve his position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Johnson dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Baeumer fails with the takedown

and Johnson counters with a nice double leg into side control. Baeumer won't be happy with that.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet.
Baeumer struggling a bit here.
Baeumer wants to get back to his feet.
Johnson throwing ground and pound but whilst doing so, he forgets to control position and Baeumer works his way back to half guard. Good composure under pressure.
Johnson is looking to take a break and control but Baeumer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Baeumer on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Johnson content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Johnson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson is tying to control. Baeumer wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Baeumer tries to roll over but Johnson keeps him under control.

Johnson is working for a submission of some sort.
Baeumer is trying to stand up here but Johnson is controlling him well.

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.
Baeumer is trying to get back to full guard.
Johnson moves into full mount! Baeumer won't be happy about that!
Baeumer can't escape the position.
A nice elbow there by Johnson.
Johnson unloads with some shots from mount but Baeumer bucks and avoids them well.
Johnson trying to control but Baeumer is having none of it.
Johnson landing strikes from the mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Baeumer is looking to get to half guard.
Johnson tries to control but Baeumer wriggling away.
Baeumer regains half guard.
Johnson looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Baeumer with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
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 Baeumer's temple.

Johnson seems to be looking for submissions.
Johnson tries to stand but can't do so whilst Baeumer controls his leg.

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.
Johnson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Johnson seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Baeumer does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Baeumer is defending well.
Johnson trying to control from half guard but Baeumer is working away.
Paul Baeumer has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Baeumer throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.

Johnson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Johnson showed some decent athleticism there.

And that's the end of the fight!
Mike 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 Steven Brown scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Daniel Bishop scores the fight 30:27

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