PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between James Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Tony Stratton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Tony Stratton is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Johnson
vs
Stratton

190 cm
21
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

178 cm
19
182 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Brawler
Self confident

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of London, James Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Tony Stratton!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Paul Tew and Donald Grub.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Stratton.
Johnson stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Johnson wants it to stay on the feet.
Stratton slaps away a takedown attempt from Johnson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Johnson doesn't manage to clinch there - Stratton circles away.
Johnson with a lazy takedown attempt

and Stratton counters by moving into the clinch.

Stratton jumps into guard, dragging Johnson to the mat.
Stratton looking to control.
Stratton bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Johnson's guard.
Stratton is looking to stand up but Johnson won't let him.

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

Johnson shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Stratton is trying to defend but Johnson finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.
Johnson content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Stratton keeping control of the leg, stopping his opponent passing to mount.
Johnson throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Stratton kicks off Johnson and gets to his feet.
Johnson swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.

Johnson drives through with a takedown into guard.

Stratton kicks Johnson off and gets to his feet.

Excellent takedown into side control there by Johnson.
Johnson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Stratton on the ground.
Johnson is breathing heavily.
Johnson tries to stand but Stratton is controlling his head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
You can see the frustration on Stratton's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
Johnson wants to stand but Stratton is controlling his arm.
Stratton is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Stratton works his way to full guard. Good work.
Stratton bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Johnson's guard.
Stratton wants to stand but Johnson is controlling his posture from full guard.
Johnson seems keen to control Stratton's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Stratton from controlling successfully.
Stratton content to stall in guard here.
Johnson wants to stand up but Stratton is controlling him.
Johnson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Stratton throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.
Stratton not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

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.
Stratton looking to sit in guard and control but Johnson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Stratton controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.

Stratton has his feet on Johnson's hips. He pushes off and gets to his feet. Nice work.
Johnson misses with a takedown

and Stratton decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Johnson's guard.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for James Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Stratton trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Stratton dominated that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Stratton bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Stratton closes the distance looking to clinch
and Johnson counters with a nice body shot.
Johnson connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Stratton's hands.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Johnson really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Stratton fails with a takedown attempt.
Johnson throws a jab but it's blocked by Stratton.
Johnson misses with a hook to the body
and Stratton counters with an inside leg kick.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Johnson lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson lands a head kick. Stratton smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Johnson tries to clinch but fails miserably

so Stratton counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Johnson on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Johnson tries to get out of the position.
Stratton trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Johnson pushes Stratton off and gets back to his feet.
Stratton gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
enabling Johnson to counter with a crisp jab.
Tony Stratton is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Johnson throws a sloppy body shot

and Stratton counters with a takedown into side control.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Stratton stands up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Stratton tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johnson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Johnson stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Stratton circles away from the clinch attempt.
Stratton 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 Stratton off to one side.
James Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tony Stratton.
Johnson wants to clinch but Stratton slips to the side

and Stratton holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Johnson jumps into guard, dragging Stratton to the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Stratton 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.
Stratton trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Stratton won't allow Johnson to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stratton looking to pass the guard.
Johnson has Stratton pulled in close to control his posture.
Stratton sitting in guard here, content to control.
Stratton slips nicely into half guard.
Stratton wants to take a breather but Johnson is having none of it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Johnson missing with punches from the bottom.
Johnson is looking to control Stratton's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Johnson avoid being mounted?
Stratton with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Stratton seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Johnson does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson wants to control but Stratton is keeping busy.
Johnson is looking for a sweep. Stratton is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Tony Stratton showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
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!

Johnson swings for the body but Stratton moves out of range.
Johnson stuffs the takedown attempt from Stratton. Stratton gets slowly back to his feet.
Stratton swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Stratton is trying hard to land a takedown here. Johnson sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Stratton tries to keep at a distance but Johnson has taken the fight into the clinch.
Johnson tries to circle away but Stratton has him pinned against the cage.

Johnson escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Johnson misses with a wild combination.
James Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Stratton is defended easily by Johnson.
James Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Tony Stratton.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson tries to clinch up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.

Johnson scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Johnson grinds an elbow into Stratton's temple.
Stratton is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Johnson has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Johnson lands with a cross.
Stratton circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson cracks Stratton with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Johnson finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
A jab lands there for Johnson.
Some wild striking there from Stratton.
Stratton tries to clinch but Johnson moves away

and Johnson counters by moving into the clinch.
Stratton tries to pull guard but Johnson holds him up against the cage and eventually Stratton drops back down to his feet.
Johnson tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Johnson gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Stratton.
Stratton misses with a hook from the clinch.
Stratton prevents Johnson from breaking the clinch.
Stratton jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Johnson walks away with a smile on his face. Stratton gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Stratton moves out of range of the strikes.
Stratton shoots in for a takedown but Johnson shows good takedown defense.
Johnson clinches but Stratton breaks the clinch

so Stratton counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Stratton stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Johnson swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Johnson trying to keep a closed guard but Stratton is proving a slippery customer.
Stratton works a leg free and moves into half guard.
Stratton is controlling the pace.
Johnson keeping control of the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is looking to escape.
Johnson is not content to let Stratton control the position.
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Tony Stratton is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Well, if Stratton is going to just lie there, perhaps we should talk about what we're having for dinner tonight… I'm having a ham and pineapple pizza… Yum. Can't wait.

And that's the end of the fight!
James Johnson showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Stratton has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 William Gold scores the fight 28:29
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 28:29
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Tony Stratton!