PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Josh Johnson (ranked 5606 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alex Murphy (ranked 6975 p4p, 0 weight class). Alex Murphy looks lathargic as he enters the arena. Wake up son, you're about to have a fight!

Johnson
vs
Murphy

173 cm
24
155 lbs
2 - 1 - 0

185 cm
18
155 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid boxing
Big right hand

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Determined

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 2 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Josh Johnson!
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, Alex Murphy!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, Columbo Gatti and John Roberts.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Murphy looks really tired already! That doesn't bode well for a good, competitive fight!

Johnson sends Murphy crashing to the mat with a devastating uppercut! Johnson is motioning to the referee to let Murphy up. He wants to try and finish this one on the feet!

Murphy is rocked!
Johnson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Murphy is still on wobbly legs! Can Johnson finish him?

Johnson darts in and clinches Murphy up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murphy looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Murphy is trying to break free.

Murphy breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Murphy as he avoids it easily.
Johnson dives in for a single leg takedown but Murphy sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.

Johnson forces Murphy back against the cage and clinches.
Johnson fails to pull the fight into his guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Johnson breaks from the clinch.
Murphy seems to have recovered his senses.
Johnson moves in looking to clinch but Murphy pushes him off.
A combination from Murphy does no damage.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Johnson.
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Murphy swivels and escapes.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Murphy paws at him with a jab and circles away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murphy pivots as if he's going to throw a leg kick but stops half way.
Johnson shoots in for a double leg but Murphy sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Johnson uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.

Johnson drives through and clinches with Murphy against the cage.
Johnson tries to circle away but Murphy has him pinned against the cage.
Murphy looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Murphy tries to pull guard but Johnson forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Johnson keeps control of Murphy as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Johnson jumps guard but Murphy turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.

Johnson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Murphy gets tackled into the cage by Johnson. Johnson maintains the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Johnson breaks from the clinch.
Murphy circles away from the clinch attempt.
Johnson blocks the body kick.
Murphy tries to clinch up.
Johnson lands a nice leg kick that just misses Murphy's sensitive parts.
Johnson lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Murphy backs up against the cage.
Johnson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Johnson tries to clinch but Murphy is having none of it.
Danga de danga de dang - Johnson scores with a four punch combination!
Johnson tries to bum rush Murphy with a series of wild strikes but Murphy uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Johnson tries to clinch up.
Alex Murphy is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Murphy lands a front kick.
Murphy keeps the fight on the outside.

Johnson closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Johnson lands in his opponent's guard.
Murphy is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Murphy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Murphy told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.
Murphy is looking to stand up but Johnson isn't so interested in that idea.

Johnson gets to his feet - Murphy follows without any prompting.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Murphy stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Murphy wants it to stay on the feet.
Johnson is looking to clinch.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt - Murphy sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Murphy pushes Johnson up against the cage in a clinch.

Johnson breaks the clinch.
Johnson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Despite the aggression on Murphy's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown but Murphy shows good takedown defense.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Johnson dominated that round.
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.

Murphy gets a clinch.
Johnson is pressed up against the cage. Murphy has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Johnson down to the mat. Johnson avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Murphy misses with a kick to the body.
Johnson drops down looking for a counter takedown but Murphy sprawls and moves away.
Murphy circles away from the clinch attempt.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Murphy sprawls well. Murphy wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
Murphy keeps the fight on the outside.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Despite the aggression on Murphy's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Johnson closes the distance and clinches.
Murphy is breathing heavily.
Come on Johnson - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Murphy wants to break free but Johnson has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Johnson manages to pull guard. Let's see whether he can land a sub off his back.
Johnson 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 is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Johnson trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!

Johnson looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Johnson looking to control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.
Murphy wants to stand and escape but instead Johnson has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Johnson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.

Johnson stands up from Murphy's guard - Johnson perhaps looking for a knockout.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson lands an overhand left. A wild punch that just about connected.

Johnson has Murphy up against the cage in a clinch.
Johnson trying to land knees to the body.
Johnson is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Murphy pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Johnson wants to break the clinch but can't.
Johnson looking for a takedown.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Johnson prevents Murphy from breaking the clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson looking for a takedown.

Murphy pulls guard effortlessly.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Murphy is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Murphy manages to escape and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Josh Johnson will probably get the nod.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Murphy closes the distance and pushes Johnson back into the cage.
Murphy blocks an elbow strike from Johnson.
Johnson tries to pull guard but Murphy won't allow it.
Murphy wants to break free but Johnson has control.
Johnson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Murphy can do to turn this around?
Johnson taking a breather.
Murphy tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Johnson jumps guard.
Murphy wants to get up but he can't break Johnson's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Johnson is avoiding any damage by keeping wrist control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Murphy wants to stand but Johnson is controlling his posture from full guard.
Murphy takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Johnson trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.
Johnson seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.
Johnson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Johnson tries to land a sweep but no joy.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Johnson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Johnson throws the kick towards the body but Murphy avoids it.
Murphy keeps the fight on the outside.
Johnson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Murphy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Murphy shapes to counter with a head kick.
Johnson wants to clinch up but Murphy keeps it at a distance.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Murphy sprawls well. Murphy wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
Murphy misses with a body kick.
Johnson looks to land a combination. Murphy sees it coming but can only parry a couple of the shots.
Murphy lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Murphy sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Josh Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Murphy fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

Johnson moves into range and clinches up with Murphy.
Josh Johnson has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Johnson changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Murphy fights it off and pushes away nicely.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
Nice takedown defense from Murphy. No joy for Johnson on that attempt.
Murphy misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Murphy lands a jab-cross combination.
Murphy pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Johnson is looking for a counter combo.
Josh Johnson is winning the standup battle so far.
Murphy throws a right hand that Johnson ducks under and follows up with a left that Johnson also avoids with ease.
Johnson lands with a nice combination. Murphy backs away looking to recover.
Johnson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Murphy manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Murphy lands with a slapping head kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Murphy slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Some wild striking there from Murphy.
Murphy lands with a kick to the temple. Johnson shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Murphy 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 dives in and grabs Murphy's left leg, looking for a takedown. Murphy pushes down on Johnson's head and hops out.
Murphy looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Johnson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Murphy throws a body kick that misses.
Alex Murphy has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Johnson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Johnson avoids a punch combination nicely.
Josh Johnson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Josh Johnson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nice body kick there by Murphy.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alex Murphy comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
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 Reed Andrews scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28
Judge John Roberts scores the fight 29:28

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