PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Hannibal Butrovic (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bradley Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson has chosen Can't Hold Us as his entrance music, which hasn't gone down very well with the crowd. Bradley Johnson is staring across the cage at his opponent, tweaking his nipples.

Butrovic
vs
Johnson

180 cm
31
168 lbs
21 - 11 - 0

175 cm
27
160 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Heavy handed

****160Q Energy for $150****

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 21 - 11 - 0, fighting out of London, Hannibal Butrovic!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of London, Bradley Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Paul Tew, Chris Edwards and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Butrovic swinging wildly here.

Butrovic has closed the distance and engaged Johnson in a clinch.
Butrovic tries a body shot but Johnson blocks it.
Johnson tries to break the clinch but Butrovic is controlling the position.
Butrovic presses Johnson against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
We've been informed that Johnson has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.

Johnson breaks the clinch.
Johnson lets loose with a powerful body kick. Butrovic will feel that in the morning.
Johnson circles away from the clinch attempt.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Butrovic throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Butrovic wants to clinch but Johnson slips to the side
and Johnson counters with a good, hard body kick but Butrovic shrugs it off.
Johnson lands with a right hand.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson lands with a thumping leg kick.
Butrovic throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Johnson on the side of the head.
Hannibal Butrovic seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A looping hook to the body misses from Butrovic. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Butrovic darts in looking for a takedown but Johnson gets double underhooks and turns Butrovic into the cage.
Johnson prevents a body shot from Butrovic.
Johnson looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Johnson is trying to maintain a safe position but Butrovic gets an underhook and turns Johnson into the cage.
Johnson is trying to break the clinch but Butrovic is controlling him.
Butrovic has been talking about how he's improved his wrestling in the run up to the fight so let's see if that's enough to sway the balance.
Butrovic looking for a takedown.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hannibal Butrovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Butrovic misses with a body punch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

Johnson breaks from the clinch.
Butrovic fails in his attempt to clinch.
Johnson bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Butrovic's head.
Johnson defending well as Butrovic loads up on a big left hand.
Johnson throws a body punch but Butrovic moves out of range.
Johnson lands a jab to Butrovic's midsection.
Butrovic tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson scores with a jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic tries to clinch up.
Butrovic tries to clinch up.

Butrovic has closed the distance and engaged Johnson in a clinch.
Johnson is trying to force a seperation but Butrovic has the dominant position.
Butrovic goes for a takedown attempt but Johnson pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Butrovic throws out the jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Butrovic looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Johnson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Bradley Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic looks for a takedown but Johnson sprawls well.
Butrovic shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Johnson as he jumps to the side.
Johnson throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Johnson takes a swing at Butrovic's ribcage but misses.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Jab from Butrovic.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Butrovic ducks right into an uppercut from Johnson.
Butrovic fails to land the takedown.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bradley Johnson dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Butrovic misses with an uppercut. Johnson saw that one coming.
Butrovic doesn't manage to clinch there - Johnson circles away.
Johnson throws a leg kick which misses Butrovic's front leg but catches the back leg as Butrovic tries to avoid it.
Butrovic clobbers Johnson with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.

Johnson is rocked!
Butrovic misses with a takedown attempt - Johnson sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Butrovic closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Butrovic goes for a takedown attempt but Johnson pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Butrovic takes one to the chin there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson moves away from the strike by Butrovic.
Butrovic fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Hannibal Butrovic is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Butrovic fails to land with a series of punches.
Johnson swats away the attempt to clinch by Butrovic.
Johnson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Johnson cracks a nice hook into Butrovic's ribs.
Butrovic uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Johnson has time to react.
Butrovic bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Johnson's head backwards.
Butrovic shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Johnson but Johnson pushes him off and we're back to square one.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hannibal Butrovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Butrovic on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Johnson throws a body punch but Butrovic moves out of range.

Butrovic instigates a clinch.
Johnson blocks a body shot from Butrovic.
Butrovic drops down looking for an ankle pick but Johnson pulls his leg out and moves away.
Johnson bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
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!
Butrovic moves in looking to clinch but Johnson pushes him off.
Butrovic tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Butrovic.
Johnson keeps Butrovic at a distance using the push kick.
Butrovic tries for a takedown but Johnson circles away easily
and Johnson counters with a flying knee. Nice.
Nice defenses there by Johnson.
Johnson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Butrovic.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Butrovic.
Johnson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Butrovic fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic throws an off balance right hand
and Johnson counters with a nice body kick.
A clash of legs there as Johnson blocks the low kick.
Johnson scores with a nice head shot.
Johnson gets cracked there but stands up to it.
Bradley Johnson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Butrovic misses with a jab, cross combination.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Butrovic is defended easily by Johnson.
Johnson punishes Butrovic's body with a nice straight punch.
Johnson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johnson swings for the body but Butrovic moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Bradley Johnson will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get 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.

Butrovic dives in for a single leg takedown but Johnson sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Butrovic misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Johnson prevents a body shot from Butrovic.

Johnson breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Johnson dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Butrovic is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Johnson avoids the body shot from Butrovic.
Johnson slips under a jab.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Butrovic throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Johnson's waist but Johnson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Butrovic off to one side.
Butrovic stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Johnson.
Butrovic looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A lazy left from Johnson finds it's target.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Butrovic tries to clinch up but Johnson circles away and keeps his distance.
Butrovic takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Johnson lands a front kick.
Butrovic moves in looking to clinch but Johnson pushes him off.
Butrovic takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Johnson digs a good hook to Butrovic's body.
Johnson connects with an inside leg kick.
Johnson is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Butrovic rather than just go for the knockout.
Butrovic on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Johnson. Johnson obviously looking to wear him down.

Butrovic lands a jab followed by a vicious hook that sends Johnson sprawling to the canvas. Butrovic follows him down, looking for the kill. Can Johnson hang on?
Johnson is still in real trouble! Can Butrovic finish him?
This has been an exciting period of action!
Butrovic throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson has hold of Butrovic's hands but Butrovic slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Butrovic throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Johnson is trying to control but can't.
Johnson is looking to improve his position.

Johnson has managed to escape just enough to sneak back to his feet but Butrovic is on him like a limpet, forcing Johnson back against the cage.
Butrovic lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Johnson.
Butrovic misses with a punch on the inside.
Butrovic struggles to land a body shot inside as Johnson controls his hands.
Butrovic misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Butrovic goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Johnson seems to have recovered his senses.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Butrovic.
Johnson wants to break the clinch but can't.
Butrovic wants a takedown but no success here.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Hannibal Butrovic. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Butrovic wants a takedown but no success here.
Hannibal Butrovic has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Butrovic has him pressed against the cage.
Butrovic wants to break free but Johnson has control.
Johnson has had enough of the clinch but Butrovic keeps him there for the moment.

Johnson manages to break the clinch.
Johnson throws a body kick that misses.
Johnson slips under a jab from Butrovic.
Johnson wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Butrovic throws out the jab.
Butrovic tries to clinch but Johnson moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Butrovic tries to clinch up.
Johnson lands a head kick. Butrovic smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Butrovic 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 push kick but Butrovic slaps the foot to one side.
Johnson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Butrovic sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Johnson connects with the punch.
Johnson stalks Butrovic and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Butrovic's face. Butrovic staggers backwards, shaken.

Butrovic lands a big shot that drops Johnson! Can he finish him?
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!
Butrovic throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Butrovic from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Bradley Johnson.
I've got Johnson winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Paul Tew scores the fight for Bradley Johnson!
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight for Bradley Johnson!
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight for Bradley Johnson!

Bradley Johnson wins by unanimous decision!
Bradley Johnson tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.