PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between William Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ichabod Crane (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Crane has chosen ROCK THE NIGHT as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Man, I cannot wait for this one!

Johnson
vs
Crane

186 cm
28
202 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

187 cm
31
220 lbs
10 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
Brawler
Cardio machine

Dangerous GnP
Good kicks
Heavy handed

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, William Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Ichabod Crane!
The judges for this bout are Sergei Dronov, Fedor Mirinova and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Johnson shoots in and gets a takedown into Crane's guard.
Johnson engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Crane is pulling down on Johnson's head to control his posture.
Crane tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Johnson has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of Crane is proving hard to escape from.
Crane looking for a sweep. Not yet Crane, not yet.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Crane is keeping the position.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Johnson looking to sit in guard and control but Crane gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Crane is standing up over Johnson. Johnson looks to escape but Crane dives into side control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is pushing Crane's head away, looking to escape. Crane manages to hold on to the position though.
Crane misses with the ground and pound.
Johnson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Crane on the ground.
Johnson is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Crane is controlling him well.
Crane advances to full mount.
Johnson wants to try and get back to his feet.
Johnson is squirming around, avoiding Crane's attempts to control the action.
Johnson tries to buck Crane off but he can't manage it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Crane looking to control but Johnson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.

Johnson bucks Crane off and manages to get back to his feet!

Crane gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Johnson to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Johnson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Crane bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Johnson's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crane is looking to work some ground and pound but Johnson has wrist control.

Johnson wriggles free and stands up.

Johnson fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Crane to the ground. Johnson is now in Crane's guard.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Crane is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Crane controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson looking to pass the guard.
Johnson looking to sit in guard and control but Crane gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

Crane won't allow Johnson to get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Crane is pushing down on Johnson's leg trying to pass to half guard. Johnson is fighting to maintain full guard but Crane has managed to sneak the leg through.

Crane escapes and gets back to his feet.
Crane has done a lot of speed work in the buildup to this fight.

Crane gets caught napping as Johnson dives in and scores a takedown. Crane manages to retain guard.
Johnson wanted to stand there but Crane had control of the position.
Crane is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Crane has a closed guard, preventing Johnson from standing up.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Crane keeps moving.
Johnson is really struggling to control Crane but he's trying to hold on to the position.
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 William Johnson will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Johnson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Crane!
Crane is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Johnson off and has taken his back!
Johnson is trying to get back to his feet but Crane has full control of the position and if anything, Johnson has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Johnson 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.
Crane trying desperately to keep hold of the dominant position.
Johnson is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Crane lands with a couple of good shots - one to the side of the head and one questionable shot that could be viewed as to the back of the head but the referee lets it go.
Johnson trying to get back to his feet but Crane is in full control for now.
William Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
What can Johnson do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

Johnson manages to stand up with Crane still on his back. Eventually Crane drops to his feet and we're back in the standing position.

Johnson drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Crane is keeping the position.
Crane is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Crane seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Crane passes the guard and advances to mount!
Johnson is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Crane punishing his opponent with strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Johnson is trying to stand.

Johnson bucks Crane off and manages to get back to his feet!

Johnson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Johnson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson preventing the sweep.
Crane looking to control.
Johnson controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Crane 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.

Johnson stands and steps away. Crane gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.

Johnson darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Crane wants to improve his position but Johnson is controlling well.
Johnson is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is thwarting Crane's attempts to control the position.
Johnson sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Johnson working to pass to mount. He's got his hand pressing down on Crane's thigh. Crane counters though and makes it back to full guard.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Crane swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Johnson trying to control but Crane is working from the bottom.
Crane looking to hit a scissor sweep but Johnson is one step ahead there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

William Johnson dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Johnson shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Crane napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Crane wants to control but Johnson postures up.

Johnson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
A lull in the action here as Johnson stalls from top position.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Johnson.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson wants to stand but Crane has his arm trapped.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson wants to lay and pray for a moment but Crane keeps working.
Johnson tries to stand but Crane is controlling his head.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
William Johnson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Crane scores with a shot to the body.

Johnson drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Johnson controlling the position from side mount.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to stand but Crane is controlling his arm.
Crane is not content to let Johnson control the position.
Johnson wants to stand but Crane has his arm trapped.
Crane is trying to control Johnson's posture but Johnson avoids it.
Johnson wants to stand but Crane has him controlled and pulls him back into his guard.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Crane keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Crane is trying to keep Johnson in close.
Johnson stays in close to Crane's body and controls the position.
Johnson looking to pass the guard.
Johnson passes into half guard.
Crane won't allow Johnson to pass to mount.
Crane gets full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
Johnson tries to stand but Crane is controlling from the bottom.

Johnson stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Johnson shoots in and bounces Crane off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Crane controlling Johnson's posture.
Johnson trying to control but Crane is working from the bottom.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Johnson sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Ichabod Crane has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson wants to stand and escape but instead Crane has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
William 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 Sergei Dronov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Fedor Mirinova scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

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