PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Joe Gregory (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dave Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dave Johnson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Gregory
vs
Johnson

166 cm
23
145 lbs
9 - 4 - 0

175 cm
22
150 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Good gas tank

GREEN!160

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 9 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Joe Gregory!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dave Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Sosuke Kotani, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Hirohito Nitta.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Gregory misses with a hook
and Johnson counters with a good low kick that Gregory was not able to check.
Johnson lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Johnson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Gregory.
Johnson throws a mid kick that lands with a slap.
Johnson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gregory.
Johnson walks into a left hand.
Gregory throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Johnson loads up on a big right hand but Gregory slips the punch.
Johnson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Gregory's sensitive parts.
Gregory throws a looping overhand right but Johnson ducks down to avoid it.
Gregory defending well as Johnson loads up on a big left hand.
Gregory is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Johnson goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
Johnson misses with the body kick
enabling Gregory to counter with a crisp jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Gregory tries to move into range but Johnson moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Gregory shoots in but Johnson avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Johnson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Dave Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Johnson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Gregory.
Johnson lands a nice shot that snaps Gregory's head back.
Johnson throws a leg kick which misses Gregory's front leg but catches the back leg as Gregory tries to avoid it.
Gregory looks to score with a jab to the body but Johnson is just out of range.
Johnson steps in looking to counter with the mid kick but it doesn't connect.
Johnson scores with a jab.
Johnson lands a really nice looking cross but Gregory seems unphased.
We've been hearing reports that Gregory has been drilling takedowns in recent sessions so let's see if that has an impact on the result of this fight.
Johnson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gregory.
Gregory connects with a body shot.
Johnson takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Gregory moves out of range as Johnson throws a body kick.
Johnson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Gregory.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A jab from Johnson misses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Gregory fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
Gregory looks to land a right hand but Johnson moved out of range.
Nice takedown defense from Johnson. No joy for Gregory on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joe Gregory. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gregory misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Johnson.
Gregory just misses with a punch to the body.
Johnson lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
A left and a right from Johnson both land. Nice combination.

Gregory shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Johnson's guard.
Johnson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Gregory works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Gregory 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.
Johnson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Gregory is working away from the top position though.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregory controlling the pace.
Gregory works his way into full mount!
Johnson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Gregory scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Johnson wants to hold on but Gregory pushes him away.
Gregory thowing shots but they're missing.
Gregory has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Gregory throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Johnson because Gregory loaded up on that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gregory throwing sloppy strikes, which aren't doing any damage.
Gregory sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Gregory trying to control but Johnson is having none of it.
Johnson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Johnson keeps trying to improve his position.
Gregory trying to control but Johnson is having none of it.
Gregory working Johnson over with strikes here.
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 Joe Gregory will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Johnson tries a head kick but it misses.
Gregory takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Johnson misses with an uppercut. Gregory saw that one coming.
Gregory staying out of range there.
Gregory throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Johnson stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Johnson misses with a looping right.
Johnson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Gregory manages to avoid it.
It looked like Gregory was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Johnson.
Johnson throws an overhand right that lands on Gregory's shoulder, as Gregory tries to avoid the shot.
Johnson throws a body punch but Gregory moves out of range.
Gregory slips under a jab.
Gregory shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson misses with a hook
and Gregory counters with a stiff right hand.
Gregory misses with a hook.
A slow jab from Gregory misses its intended target.
Johnson thuds his shin into the meat of Gregory's side.
Johnson avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gregory fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
Johnson looks to land a left hand but Gregory moved out of range nicely.
A quick step to the side and Gregory tries to counter with a shot to the body but it doesn't connect.
Gregory looks to score with a jab to the body but Johnson is just out of range.
A jab from Gregory finds it's way through Johnson's defenses.
A nice combination there by Johnson.
Gregory lands a nice hook to Johnson's body. Johnson takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Dave Johnson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Johnson scores with a hook.
Johnson throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Gregory avoids a punch combination nicely.
A slow jab from Gregory misses its intended target.
Gregory just misses with a punch to the body.
Johnson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Gregory.
Johnson slips under a jab.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Johnson takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Johnson now looks to counter with a shot at the body.
Johnson scores with a kick to the midsection.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
The fighters circling - Johnson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Gregory misses with a body shot.
Johnson closes the distance and lands a one-two.
Gregory stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Johnson.

Gregory closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Johnson to the mat! Johnson manages to get full guard.
Gregory trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Johnson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Gregory is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregory postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Gregory pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Johnson is keeping the position for now.
Gregory trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Johnson being controlled here, momentarily.
Johnson looking to control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Gregory throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Johnson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Johnson scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Horrible takedown attempt by Gregory or perhaps it was just good defense by Johnson, which made it look bad.
Johnson moves out of range of the strikes.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson looks to land a body kick but Gregory moved away.
Gregory throws a body shot but no joy.
Johnson looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Gregory misses with a lunging right hand
letting Johnson counter with a right hand.
Gregory fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
Gregory misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Johnson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Johnson.
Johnson stuns Gregory with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Johnson connects with a solid leg kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dave Johnson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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. This is the final round!

Gregory takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Gregory is looking to wear down Johnson with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Gregory misses with a straight right.
Johnson throws a jab when Gregory was well out of range.
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Gregory throws out the jab.
Gregory misses the shot to the body.
Gregory shoots for a takedown but Johnson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Gregory on the wrong end of a kick to the body.
Johnson moves away from the strike by Gregory.
Gregory ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Gregory appears to be looking for a counter punch to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Gregory. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson slips under a jab from Gregory.
Gregory blocks a jab.
Gregory misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Johnson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Johnson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
Gregory cracks a nice hook into Johnson's ribs.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The fighters circling - Johnson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Gregory throws a right hand that Johnson ducks under and follows up with a left that Johnson also avoids with ease.
Johnson lands with a straight right. Gregory didn't see that one coming.
Johnson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Gregory sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Gregory misses with a wild body shot.
Gregory fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Johnson wants to slow Gregory down by chopping away at his legs.
Dave Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson misses with the combination.
Gregory scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Johnson doesn't seem bothered though.
Gregory swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson takes a swing at Gregory's ribcage but misses.
Gregory throws a lazy uppercut
and Johnson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gregory slips a jab from Johnson.

Gregory drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Gregory trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Gregory controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Johnson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Gregory wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Gregory 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 Gregory from controlling successfully.
Gregory working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gregory tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Johnson.
Johnson misses with a straight left.
Gregory looks to score with a jab to the body but Johnson is just out of range.
Gregory takes a swing at Johnson's ribcage but misses.
Gregory throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Gregory fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
A slow jab from Gregory misses its intended target.
Johnson misses with a body kick.
Johnson throws a looping overhand right but Gregory ducks down to avoid it.
Johnson throws a lazy right hand but Gregory sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gregory drives through with a takedown into guard.
Joe Gregory overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Gregory wants to pass the guard but Johnson is keeping the position.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.
Johnson looking for a sweep. Not yet Johnson, not yet.
Gregory pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Johnson is keeping the position for now.
Gregory is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Gregory tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Joe Gregory.
I think Gregory 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 Sosuke Kotani scores the fight for Dave Johnson!
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight for Dave Johnson!
Judge Hirohito Nitta scores the fight for Dave Johnson!

Dave Johnson wins by unanimous decision!
After the fight, Dave Johnson was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.