PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Abiodun Rashidi (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dwayne Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rashidi comes to the cage accompanied by Earth: The Oldest Computer. The key to victory for Abiodun Rashidi has got to be keeping the fight on the feet.

Rashidi
vs
Johnson

225 cm
23
265 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

187 cm
25
220 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good takedowns
Brawler
Granite chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Abiodun Rashidi!
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, Dwayne Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Lou da Vinci and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Rashidi shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Johnson napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Johnson gets back to half guard.
Johnson tries to get to full guard but Rashidi has control of the leg.
Johnson is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Rashidi's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Rashidi's back!

Johnson working for a choke but Rashidi reverses nicely into Johnson 's guard.
Rashidi knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Johnson on the ground.

Johnson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Rashidi gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Johnson bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Rashidi's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Rashidi is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Johnson trying to control but Rashidi is working from the bottom.
Johnson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Rashidi works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson looking to sit in guard and control but Rashidi gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Rashidi wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson has a closed guard, preventing Rashidi from standing up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rashidi is fighting to break Johnson's control of his arms but Johnson is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Rashidi from controlling successfully.
Rashidi looking to sit in guard and control but Johnson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Rashidi keeps moving.
Johnson might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Rashidi haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rashidi working a defensive guard here.
Johnson tries to free his leg and advance position but Rashidi is retaining full guard.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Rashidi has wrist control.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rashidi is looking to clinch but Johnson is avoiding it.
Johnson 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 looks winded!
Rashidi tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Johnson manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Johnson throws a jab but it's blocked by Rashidi.
Rashidi uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Johnson.
Rashidi misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rashidi displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Johnson throws out the jab.
Johnson swats away the attempt to clinch by Rashidi.
Johnson looks to throw the jab but Rashidi is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Rashidi gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Johnson wants to get back to striking at distance but Rashidi won't allow it.

Rashidi has clasped his hands together around Johnson's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Rashidi tries to move to mount but Johnson blocks the move with his legs.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Johnson is not content to let Rashidi control the position.
Rashidi tries to stand but Johnson is controlling his head.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rashidi tries to advance to mount but Johnson denies him.
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 Abiodun Rashidi will probably get the nod.
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 gets caught flat footed, as Rashidi shoots in with a quick takedown into guard.

Johnson is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Rashidi defends well.
Johnson is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Rashidi pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Johnson is keeping the position for now.
Rashidi wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Abiodun Rashidi has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Rashidi moves in looking to clinch but Johnson pushes him off.

Rashidi shoots in and gets a takedown into Johnson's guard.
Rashidi wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Rashidi postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Johnson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Johnson keeping full guard, as Rashidi tries to pass.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Rashidi from controlling successfully.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Johnson wants to sweep but no luck.
Rashidi really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Johnson is breathing heavily.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Abiodun Rashidi wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Rashidi fails with an attempt to clinch.

Rashidi gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Johnson has hold of a leg and is looking for a trip takedown. Rashidi avoids it nicely though and we remain in the clinch.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Johnson tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rashidi avoids it.
Rashidi lands a knee to the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson working aggressively here.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Rashidi obliges.
Rashidi missing with knees to the body.
Johnson stalling against the cage.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Johnson.
Rashidi pushes off and fires off an elbow that misses, before clinching up again, against the cage.
Johnson looking to slow down the pace here.
The referee is keeping an eye on Rashidi - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rashidi lands a good knee to the midsection. Johnson won't want to take too many of those.
Johnson misses with a punch to the body.
Johnson tries to throw a body punch but Rashidi avoids it by throwing Johnson back against the cage.

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

Rashidi closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Johnson did well to prevent Rashidi getting side control.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson is pressing down on Rashidi's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Rashidi is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rashidi wants to stand but Johnson is controlling his posture from full guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Abiodun Rashidi 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 throws a sloppy head kick and Rashidi moves out of range easily.

Rashidi closes the distance and gets a trip takedown into side control. Johnson quickly recovers to half guard.
Johnson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Rashidi wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Rashidi stands and throws Johnson's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Rashidi trying to control the position but Johnson is working away.
Johnson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson manages to work his way to half guard, despite Rashidi's best efforts.
Rashidi trying to mount his opponent but Johnson defends it.
Johnson is looking to improve his position.
Rashidi wants to pass to mount but Johnson is defending the position.
Johnson taking some punishment here, with Rashidi in his half guard.
Rashidi is trying to control the action in half guard but Johnson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Abiodun Rashidi overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Johnson looking to force a kimura from the bottom here. He's concentrating on that move too much though and Rashidi pushes past his half guard into mount!
Rashidi will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Rashidi tries to control but Johnson wriggling away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rashidi is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Johnson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Rashidi putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Rashidi can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Johnson is looking to escape.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Rashidi has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Johnson's face.
Rashidi lands a heavy elbow.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rashidi trying to control but Johnson is having none of it.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Dwayne Johnson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Abiodun Rashidi is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

And that's the end of the fight!
Abiodun Rashidi showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Rashidi 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 Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:27
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight 29:28
Judge Anthony Taglia scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Abiodun Rashidi!
Abiodun Rashidi bigged himself up after the win. The crowd seemed to love it.