PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Tapda Mattus (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rick Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Mattus comes to the cage accompanied by My heart. Tapda Mattus looks tired to me. Hopefully he has got enough gas left in the tank to put in a good performance.

Mattus
vs
Johnson

168 cm
23
145 lbs
4 - 12 - 0

178 cm
25
152 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Good knees
Experienced

BJJ White Belt
Decent boxing
Heavy handed

The Dark Side

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 12 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Tapda Mattus!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rick Johnson!
The judges for this bout are George Francis, Daniel Franklin and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mattus tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Johnson paws at him with a jab and circles away.

Mattus moves into the clinch.
Mattus has Johnson pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Johnson manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
Johnson is trying to push Mattus away but Mattus has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Johnson working hard to break the clinch.
The referee is keeping an eye on Mattus - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Johnson tries to break the clinch but Mattus is controlling the position.
Johnson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mattus has him pressed against the cage.
Mattus has Johnson pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Johnson manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mattus prevents Johnson from breaking the clinch.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Mattus tries for a takedown. No joy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tapda Mattus. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Mattus gets a trip takedown into half guard.
We've been hearing good reports from Mattus's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Johnson is trying to stand up here but Mattus is controlling him well.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Mattus thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Johnson's head.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mattus thows a huge punch but Johnson dodges it nicely.

Mattus is working for a submission of some sort.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.
Johnson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Mattus scores with a couple of nice shots.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.

Mattus is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Johnson has managed to free his arm - good work.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Johnson pushes Mattus off looking to stand but Mattus dives back in and keeps control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mattus throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

Mattus is looking for an arm triangle, whilst trying to pass to side control. Johnson doesn't seem that keen to cooperate though. No luck this time Mattus.
Mattus trying to mount his opponent but Johnson defends it.
Mattus wants to control but Johnson is keeping him busy.
Mattus is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Mattus winds up and cracks Johnson with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

Mattus is looking for submissions but instead, Johnson has regained full guard.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Mattus is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mattus passes Johnson's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Mattus working Johnson over with strikes.

Mattus is looking for a kimura but he's never going to get it from there.
Mattus is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Mattus throws a strike but Johnson avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mattus tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.
Mattus prevents Johnson from getting back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tapda Mattus dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Mattus has his takedown stuffed
and Johnson counters with a stiff right hand.
Johnson swinging wildly here.

Mattus shoots in and bounces Johnson off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Mattus trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Johnson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mattus.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mattus stops Johnson from standing up.
Mattus wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Mattus stops Johnson from standing up.
Mattus lands a couple of digs.
Mattus makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Mattus drops back looking for a leg! Johnson is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Johnson manages to kick Mattus off! Mattus jumps back into Johnson's guard.
Johnson keeping full guard, as Mattus tries to pass.
Mattus working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Mattus scoring with punches to the head and body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mattus lands a couple of digs.

Mattus gets to his feet - Johnson follows without any prompting.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Mattus tries to clinch there but Johnson circles away.
Mattus shoots in looking for a takedown but Johnson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mattus's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Nice jab there from Johnson.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mattus will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tapda Mattus. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Mattus tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Johnson defends well and Mattus ends up having to push Johnson into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Mattus has Johnson pressed against the cage, preventing Johnson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Mattus is trying to drag Johnson to the mat but Johnson just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Mattus tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Johnson just stands there and leans against the cage.
Mattus wants a takedown but no success here.
Johnson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A frustrated look appears on Johnson's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Johnson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to get back to striking at distance but Mattus won't allow it.
Johnson can't break the clinch.
Mattus throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Mattus takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Mattus has dropped down and is looking to force the takedown but it's defended by Johnson after a bit of a struggle.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mattus tries for a takedown but Johnson manages to get underhooks.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tapda Mattus dominated that second round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Mattus shoots in looking for a takedown but Johnson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Mattus's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Mattus ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Johnson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mattus moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mattus misses with a takedown attempt - Johnson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Mattus clinches up against the cage.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Mattus has Johnson pressed against the cage, preventing Johnson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
We've been informed that Johnson has been working hard on his conditioning in the buildup to the fight.
Johnson is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Tapda Mattus. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson wants to get back to striking at distance but Mattus won't allow it.
Mattus is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Johnson to keep the fight standing.
Mattus keeps control of Johnson as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Mattus goes for a takedown in the clinch but Johnson prevents it.
Mattus is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Johnson pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Johnson wants to break free but Mattus has control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A frustrated look appears on Johnson's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Mattus tries for a takedown. No joy.
Mattus drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Johnson gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Johnson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Mattus is working for takedown but Johnson is calmly controlling the position for now.
Johnson is trying to break the clinch but Mattus has him pressed against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to break the clinch but Mattus has him pressed against the cage.
Johnson wants to get back to striking at distance but Mattus won't allow it.
Johnson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mattus has him pressed against the cage.
Mattus wants a takedown.
Mattus tries to jump guard but he falls flat on his backside. Johnson smiles and moves away.
Johnson misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mattus fails with the takedown.
Mattus tries to clinch up.
Mattus looks to clinch
and Mattus takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Johnson blocks a head kick by Mattus.
Tapda Mattus is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Mattus fails in his attempt to clinch.
Rick Johnson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Tapda Mattus is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Johnson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rick Johnson.
I think Mattus 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 George Francis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Daniel Franklin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tapda Mattus!
After winning the bout, Tapda Mattus thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.