PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Ben Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andy Smith (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson comes to the cage accompanied by The Clash - This Is England. Andy Smith has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Ben Johnson's chin.

Johnson
vs
Smith

150 cm
22
136 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

168 cm
18
135 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

SHINTO

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Ben Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Andy Smith!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Ren Mimura and Sosuke Kotani.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Smith misses with a low kick as Johnson jumps back.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses.
Smith is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
A head kick misses from Johnson.
Some wild striking there from Smith.
Johnson is looking for a counter combo.
A swing and a miss from Johnson.
Johnson slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Smith wants to clinch up but Johnson keeps it at a distance.
Johnson throws a sloppy head kick
enabling Smith to counter with a crisp jab.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses.
Smith uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.

Johnson moves into range and clinches up with Smith.

Johnson has double underhooks and is working for a body lock takedown. He's got it. The fighters land in half guard but Smith regains guard immediately.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Smith wants to get back to his feet but Johnson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smith being controlled here, momentarily.
Johnson with a flurry of punches that miss.

Smith had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Johnson defends it easily.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Ben Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Johnson moves into the clinch successfully.

Johnson is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Smith can't fight it off and eventually Johnson manages to take the fight to the floor. Smith looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Johnson's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Johnson won't allow Smith to get back to his feet.
Johnson has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Johnson sitting in guard here, content to control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Smith for as long as he can get away with.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Johnson gets to his feet - Smith follows without any prompting.
Johnson misses with a hook
and Smith counters with a nice uppercut.
Smith doesn't manage to clinch there - Johnson circles away.
Smith moves in looking to clinch but Johnson pushes him off.
Smith fails with an attempt to clinch.
Johnson looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Smith moves out of range as Johnson strikes.
A head kick misses from Johnson.
Smith shoots in but Johnson avoids the takedown attempt easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
No luck for Smith with that takedown attempt.
The fighters circling - Johnson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.
Johnson is really struggling to find his range with his punches. Smith's reach advantage is clearly causing him problems.
Smith on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Smith takes a kick to the side of the head.

Johnson gets a double leg takedown into Smith's guard.

Smith is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Smith is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Johnson to keep the fight standing.
Ben Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andy Smith.
Smith misses with an elbow strike.

Johnson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Smith connects with a body shot that sends Johnson's belly button to the back.
Johnson really is a fat lump.
Smith misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Johnson is looking to counter the offense by Smith and move into the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

A telegraphed right hand from Johnson misses the target.
Jab from Smith.
Johnson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Smith can do to turn this around?
Johnson fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Johnson scores with a jab to the head.
Johnson misses with a head kick.
Smith throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Smith slips a jab from Johnson.
Smith tries a counter takedown but it's more of a dummy move, and he uses it to push himself away.
Johnson misses with a jab, cross combination.

Johnson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into side control! Oh, that's bad for Smith!

Smith explodes and escapes back to his feet! Nice escape there!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
A telegraphed right hand from Johnson misses the target.
Johnson throws out a loose jab but Smith uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson misses with an uppercut. Smith saw that one coming.
Johnson slaps away a takedown attempt from Smith, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Smith has a takedown stuffed.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Johnson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Smith fails in his attempt to clinch.
Smith tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Johnson swivels and escapes.
Ben Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Andy Smith.
Johnson swats away the attempt to clinch by Smith.

Johnson closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Johnson lands in his opponent's guard.
Smith working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Smith manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Johnson manages to get himself to full guard.

Johnson had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Smith defends it easily.
Smith trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson wants to sweep here but Smith controlling him for the moment.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Smith from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.

Smith avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

Smith drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Smith jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Ben Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Smith wants to stand but Johnson is controlling his posture from full guard.
Johnson trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Johnson is looking for a triangle but Smith pushes his legs off easily.
Smith won't allow Johnson to sweep him here.
Smith trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Smith dives in for a single leg takedown but Johnson sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Smith shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Johnson pinned against the cage. Johnson gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Johnson throws the left hand but Smith avoids the punch easily.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Johnson looks to land a combination but Smith avoids it well.
Smith fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Smith uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Smith tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Johnson paws at him with a jab and circles away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ben 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!

Smith throws a head kick that misses.

Johnson has managed to clinch.

Johnson wants the takedown. Smith is fighting it off but Johnson persists and manages to bring the fight to the ground, ending up in Smith's guard against the cage.
Smith controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.

Smith looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Johnson content to stall in guard here.
Johnson might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Smith is trying to control the position but Johnson postures up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Johnson jabbing away but nothing is landing.

Johnson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Smith tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Johnson sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Smith looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Smith is trying to keep Johnson in close.
Ben Johnson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a shot from downtown. Smith moves away and avoids it.
Johnson throws a sloppy body shot
and Smith counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Johnson darts in and clinches Smith up against the cage.
Smith is looking to break free of the clinch but Johnson has double underhooks.
Johnson presses Smith against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Johnson pushes Smith back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Smith successfully pulls guard.
Johnson controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
This is a sustained period of stalling by Johnson.
Smith controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson continues to hold on tight.
Smith looking to control.
Johnson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Smith wants to get back to his feet but Johnson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Smith moves out of range as Johnson strikes.
Johnson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Andy Smith has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Smith tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Johnson defends well and Smith ends up having to push Johnson into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ben Johnson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Johnson 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 Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:27
Judge Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sosuke Kotani scores the fight 30:27

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