PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jacques St Croix (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Brian Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

St Croix
vs
Johnson

168 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

168 cm
18
157 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
KO power

ADCC Champion
Counter striker
Solid chin

Blueprint Clothing
The Next Level Nutrition

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 Rio de Janeiro, Jacques St Croix!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brian Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Felipe Paraventi, Alexandre Firmino and Daniel Cesar.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has St Croix pinned against the cage. St Croix gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
St Croix knocks Johnson to the floor with a head kick! Can he finish him!?

Johnson is rocked!

It looks like Brian Johnson has been cut.
Johnson manages to get one leg in to regain half guard.

Johnson looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
St Croix wants to stand but Johnson has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

Johnson actively working from the bottom here.
Johnson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
St Croix wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
St Croix controls from within his opponent's guard.
St Croix wants to stand but Johnson is controlling his posture from full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Croix preventing the sweep.

Johnson looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
St Croix is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
St Croix would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
St Croix trying desperately to get back to his feet here but he's not having any joy at all. He's going to tire himself out if he's not careful.

Johnson working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. St Croix doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. St Croix manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
St Croix tries to stand but Johnson is controlling from the bottom.
St Croix has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Johnson pulls St Croix in close to prevent any damage.
Johnson looking for a sweep. Not yet Johnson, not yet.
St Croix trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Johnson looking for a guillotine here but St Croix defends easily.
St Croix stays in close to Johnson's body and controls the position.
Johnson lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for St Croix!

Johnson with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Johnson looks gassed!

Johnson jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but St Croix manages to avoid the submission attempt.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
St Croix can't do much from the bottom here.
Johnson wants to control but St Croix is keeping him busy.
St Croix is trying to get back to his feet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Johnson wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by St Croix, who protects the arm well.
Johnson wants to lay and pray for a moment but St Croix keeps working.
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 Jacques St Croix will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Brian Johnson's cut.
That's time! Back to the action!

Johnson takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as St Croix throws out the jab.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt - St Croix sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Johnson shoots in for a double leg but St Croix sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
A head kick misses from St Croix.
A jab from St Croix misses.
St Croix stuffs the takedown attempt from Johnson. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
Jacques St Croix has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Brian Johnson.
A head kick from St Croix lands but Johnson takes it in his stride.
St Croix throws a head kick that misses.
St Croix dips to his left and cracks Johnson with an uppercut!

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johnson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? St Croix is fending him off so far but Johnson persists. Nope, St Croix circles away and we're back to standing.
Johnson is breathing heavily.
St Croix throws a head kick that misses.
Jacques St Croix is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

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

Johnson is working for a submission of some sort.
St Croix wants to get back to his feet.

St Croix kicks Johnson off and gets back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
St Croix thows a left - swing and a miss!

Johnson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
St Croix looks like he's trying to stand up.
St Croix tries to get to full guard but Johnson has control of the leg.
Johnson is tying to control. St Croix wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Johnson is looking to advance position but St Croix won't allow it.
St Croix trying to control here.
Johnson with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
St Croix on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if St Croix tries to get out of the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Johnson is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, St Croix has managed to free his arm - good work.
St Croix is looking to escape.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
St Croix lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
St Croix misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Johnson scores with a takedown into St Croix's guard.
Johnson wants to control from the top but St Croix keeps moving.

Johnson drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Johnson jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson stops St Croix from standing up.
Johnson passes St Croix's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
St Croix is looking to escape.
St Croix is controlling Johnson's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Johnson tries to pass to full mount but St Croix defends it.
St Croix looks like he's trying to stand up.
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 Jacques St Croix will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Brian Johnson's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

St Croix connects with a vicious head kick that knocks Johnson to the floor! St Croix dives in looking for the finish!
Johnson is still in real trouble! Can St Croix finish him?
Johnson wants to get back to full guard but St Croix has passed into side control.
St Croix knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Johnson on the ground.
St Croix controlling from mount.
St Croix's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Johnson can't escape the position.
Johnson seems to have recovered his senses.
St Croix wants to control the pace but Johnson is squirming around nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
St Croix is trying to stand up but he's being controlled by his opponent.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Johnson regains half guard.
St Croix stalling away here and it's allowed Johnson to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

That's two 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.
St Croix showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Johnson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
St Croix wants to stand but Johnson has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
St Croix trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson has a closed guard, preventing St Croix from standing up.

St Croix has a momentary lapse of concentration, allowing Johnson to throw up a leg and lock on what appears to be a pretty tight triangle! St Croix is fighting it off but it's all too little too late - Johnson pulls down on the head and he's put St Croix to sleep! This one is all over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:29 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle). Brian Johnson!