PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Hand Solo (ranked 4625 p4p, 4607 weight class) and Diggy Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Solo
vs
Johnson

189 cm
18
218
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
25
210
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Hand Solo!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Diggy Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Ren Mimura, Yukihiro Shimada and Shigeki Fujiwara.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice takedown defense from Solo. No joy for Johnson on that attempt.
Solo buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Johnson closes the distance and clinches up with Solo, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes Solo against the cage but Solo circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Solo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Solo swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Solo. Solo obviously looking to wear him down.
Johnson tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Solo counters with a thumping low kick.
Johnson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Solo can pounce on him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Solo sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Hand Solo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diggy Johnson.
Johnson fails with a takedown attempt.
As Johnson backs away, Solo returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Johnson dives in for a single leg takedown but Solo sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Johnson takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Solo moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Johnson has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Solo.
Johnson fails in his attempt to clinch.

Johnson moves into the clinch.
Solo tries to circle away but Johnson has him pinned against the cage.
Solo wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Johnson has him pressed against the cage.
Solo wants to break free but Johnson has control.

Solo escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Solo with a nice calf kick.
Johnson misses with a body shot.
A counter left hand to the body from Solo misses its target.
Solo throws a nice inside leg kick.
Solo throws a leg kick which misses Johnson's front leg but catches the back leg as Johnson tries to avoid it.
Johnson on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Solo. Solo obviously looking to wear him down.
Solo dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Johnson. That did some damage!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Solo turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Johnson moves out of range as Solo strikes.
Johnson with the counter takedown but Solo avoids it easily.
Johnson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Solo throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Johnson lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.

Johnson rushes Solo and presses him up against the cage.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Johnson will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Solo up against the cage.
Johnson keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Solo's efforts to push away.

Johnson pulls guard.
Solo has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Johnson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Solo pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Johnson is keeping the position for now.
Johnson controlling Solo's posture.
Solo will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Solo from controlling successfully.
Johnson is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Johnson perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Johnson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Johnson stalling.

Johnson gets to his feet - back to striking we go!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.

Johnson rushes Solo and presses him up against the cage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hand Solo dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Solo with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Johnson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Solo half committed to a counter leg kick.
Solo wants to slow Johnson down by chopping away at his legs.
Johnson with the counter takedown but Solo avoids it easily.
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Solo swivels and escapes.
Solo looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Solo connects with a leg kick.
Solo misses with a low kick.
Diggy Johnson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Solo throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Johnson was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
That kick from Solo tenderised Johnson's leg. Johnson is trying to keep his angry face on.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Solo lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Johnson has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Johnson and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Solo misses with a leg kick.
Hand Solo is winning the standup battle so far.
Solo does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Johnson fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Johnson's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Solo looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Solo shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Hand Solo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Johnson thinks about the counter body kick.
Johnson misses with a takedown
and Solo makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Hand Solo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diggy Johnson.
Johnson moves out of range of the leg kick from Solo.
Solo circles away from the clinch attempt.
Solo looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Solo stuffs the takedown.
Solo avoids a kick to the body.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Solo paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Solo slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Solo looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Solo lands a nice leg kick that just misses Johnson's sensitive parts.
Solo throws a low kick but Johnson moves out of range easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Solo with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Johnson chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Solo can pounce on him.
Solo throws a low kick but it's checked well by Johnson.
Solo tries to land a leg kick but Johnson saw it coming and moves away.
Johnson wants to clinch.
Solo throws a low kick but Johnson moves out of range easily.
Solo misses with a low kick.
Solo motions for Johnson to come forward. Solo throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Solo throws a solid leg kick but Johnson takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Solo.
Solo is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Johnson can do to turn this around?
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Solo swivels and escapes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Solo throws a quick inside leg kick.
Johnson misses with a takedown attempt - Solo sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Johnson is trying hard to land a takedown here. Solo sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Solo misses with a low kick.
Solo throws a low kick, looking for Johnson's leg but Johnson calmly moves out of range.
A bone on bone clash there as Johnson blocks the leg kick.
Solo throws a nice inside leg kick.
Solo throws a leg kick that misses.
Johnson checks the leg kick.
Johnson tries to clinch up.
Johnson shoots for a takedown but Solo saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Solo fires out a quick counter leg kick but Johnson just manages to avoid it.
Solo connects with a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson tries to clinch up but Solo circles away and keeps his distance.
Johnson on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Johnson fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Johnson is breathing heavily.
Solo throws a nice inside leg kick.
Johnson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Solo circles away.
Solo throws a front kick aimed at Johnson's knee but Johnson avoids it well.
A nice leg kick lands there from Solo.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Nice sprawl there from Solo as Johnson shoots in.
Solo lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Johnson fails with the takedown
and Solo counters with a thumping low kick.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Hand Solo 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!

Solo misses with a leg kick.
Johnson has a takedown stuffed.
Solo swings away with a leg kick that misses.
A good leg kick by Solo.
Solo throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Johnson moves out of range of the leg kick from Solo.
Johnson misses with a takedown
and Solo counters with a low kick, right behind Johnson 's knee.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Solo gets tackled into the cage by Johnson. Johnson maintains the clinch.
Solo wants to get back to striking at distance but Johnson won't allow it.
Johnson is trying to pull guard but Solo turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.
Hand Solo has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Diggy Johnson.
Johnson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Johnson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
A leg kick checked by Johnson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Solo lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Johnson checks the leg kick nicely there.
A clash of legs there as Johnson blocks the low kick.
Johnson defending well as Solo loads up on a big left hand.
Solo keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.

Johnson clinches up against the cage.

Solo manages to break the clinch.
Solo looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Solo stuffs the takedown attempt from Johnson. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
Solo appeared to be looking to counter that last move with a leg kick.
Solo finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Hand Solo is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson checks a leg kick.
Solo chopping away at his opponent's legs.
A chopping leg kick lands by Solo.
Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Solo.
Johnson closes the distance and clinches up with Solo, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes Solo against the cage but Solo circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Johnson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Solo connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Solo fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Johnson.
Johnson takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Solo throws a front kick aimed at Johnson's knee but Johnson avoids it well.
Solo throws a nice inside leg kick.
Johnson moves out of range as Solo strikes.
Johnson tries to counter by closing the distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Solo circles away from the clinch attempt.
Solo throws a leg kick which misses Johnson's front leg but catches the back leg as Johnson tries to avoid it.
Solo throws a front kick aimed at Johnson's knee but Johnson avoids it well.
Good leg kick by Solo.
Solo with a nice calf kick.
Solo throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Solo leaves Johnson with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Johnson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Solo lands a nice leg kick that just misses Johnson's sensitive parts.
Solo misses with a low kick.
Solo scores with a leg kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Solo pivots, looking for a leg kick but Johnson is out of range and Solo settles back down.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Solo sprawls well. Solo wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Johnson gets slowly back to his feet.
Solo tried to counter with a leg kick but Johnson avoided it.
Johnson shoots for a double leg takedown but Solo sprawls well. He's pushed Johnson's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Solo throws a leg kick which misses Johnson's front leg but catches the back leg as Johnson tries to avoid it.
Solo with a jab.
A nice inside leg kick there by Solo. That's going to slow Johnson down.
Solo lands a leg kick that knocks Johnson off balance momentarily.
Johnson moves out of range as Solo strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Solo throws a leg kick that misses.
Diggy Johnson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Solo lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
A chopping leg kick lands by Solo.

And that's the end of the fight!
Hand Solo showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Solo, 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 Ren Mimura scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yukihiro Shimada scores the fight 30:26
Judge Shigeki Fujiwara scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Hand Solo!