PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Kendrell Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Maniche (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson comes to the cage accompanied by 2-Pac (Hit Em Up). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Johnson
vs
Maniche

165 cm
25
158 lbs
6 - 10 - 0

176 cm
23
156 lbs
10 - 9 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Knockout power

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 6 - 10 - 0, fighting out of Sydney, Kendrell Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 10 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Sydney, Sam Maniche!
The judges for this bout are Summer Carpenter, Hugh Johnson and Damien Edna.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Maniche.

It looks like Sam Maniche has been cut.
Maniche blocks a jab.
Johnson scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Maniche 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 Maniche off to one side.
Maniche misses with a few strikes there.
Johnson misses with a straight right.
Kendrell Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Maniche throws a series of punches but Johnson moves out of range.
Maniche slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Maniche throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Johnson misses with a straight left.
Maniche throws an overhand right that lands on Johnson's shoulder, as Johnson tries to avoid the shot.
Johnson misses with a double jab.
Maniche slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Maniche swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Maniche misses with a double jab.
Maniche moves away from the strike by Johnson.
Johnson misses with a double jab

and Maniche counters with a shoot takedown. Johnson fights it but they end up in guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
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.
Johnson throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Maniche tries to kick Johnson off but Johnson keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Johnson is looking for a kimura here.
Maniche looks like he's trying to stand up.
Maniche looks gassed!
Johnson trying to pass the guard but Maniche defending well.

Maniche is defending against the submission attempts here by Johnson.
Maniche tries to kick Johnson off but Johnson keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Maniche tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Johnson was well out of range. Poor timing from Maniche.
Maniche 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 Maniche off to one side.

Maniche gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Johnson to score an easy takedown into full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Johnson stops Maniche from standing up.

Maniche has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Johnson off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Johnson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Maniche sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Johnson digs a good hook to Maniche's body.
Johnson misses the jab.
Johnson connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Johnson with a nice cross.
Johnson lands an overhand right.
Maniche dives in and grabs Johnson's left leg, looking for a takedown. Johnson pushes down on Maniche's head and hops out.
Kendrell Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Sam Maniche.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maniche avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johnson throws a head kick but Maniche moves out of range.
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Maniche throws a right hand that Johnson ducks under and follows up with a left that Johnson also avoids with ease.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.
Johnson throws a sloppy head kick and Maniche moves out of range easily.
Johnson slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Johnson misses with an uppercut. Maniche saw that one coming.
Johnson lands a jab to the nose.
Maniche avoids a punch combination nicely.
Johnson scores with a nice right hand.
Johnson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Maniche blocks a jab.
Maniche avoids the head kick by Johnson.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Maniche looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Maniche closes the distance and clinches up with Johnson, looking for a takedown. Maniche pushes Johnson against the cage but Johnson circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Maniche slips a jab from Johnson.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Maniche takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Maniche misses with a jab, cross combination.
A big left from Maniche misses.
A jab from Johnson misses.
A swing and a miss from Johnson.
Johnson wants to clinch
enabling Maniche to counter with a crisp jab.
Johnson avoids a punch combination nicely.
A telegraphed right hand from Johnson misses the target.
Johnson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Maniche shoots in for a takedown but Johnson shows good takedown defense.
Johnson with a nice cross.
Maniche rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Johnson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Johnson connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Johnson throws a lazy right hand but Maniche sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Decent striking displayed by Johnson there.
Johnson misses with a two punch combination.
Maniche with a jab.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kendrell Johnson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Sam Maniche's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

A looping hook to the body misses from Johnson. Maniche does a little dance to reset his feet.
Johnson is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Maniche throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.
Johnson turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Johnson swings for the body but Maniche moves out of range.
Maniche walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Johnson moves away from the strike by Maniche.
Johnson throws a right hand that Maniche ducks under and follows up with a left that Maniche also avoids with ease.
Johnson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Johnson falls off balance throwing a combination

and Maniche counters with a shoot takedown. Johnson fights it but they end up in guard.
Maniche wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson controls Maniche momentarily but Maniche frees himself.
Johnson is pulling down on Maniche's head to control his posture.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Maniche wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson is pulling down on Maniche's head to control his posture.
Maniche wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Maniche!

That's two 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 lands a nice shot to the head.
Maniche wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson with good strikes from the mount here!
Johnson trying to control but Maniche is having none of it.
Johnson scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Maniche trying desperately to get to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson scoring with strikes but Maniche is staying in there.
Johnson landing punches.
BOOM! Johnson connects with a massive shot to the dome!

Johnson moves into side control, trying to work for a kimura. That looks painful! Will he finish!!?? No, Maniche has worked his arm free - good work by Maniche!
Johnson working the ground and pound.
Sam Maniche has got the better of the ground game so far.
Johnson working the ground and pound from side control.
Johnson prevents Maniche from escaping the position.
Maniche defending against the ground and pound.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a strike aimed at the side of Maniche's head but Maniche avoids it well.
Johnson scores with a couple of nice shots to the head there. The referee takes a look at Maniche to see if he's OK.
Johnson in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Maniche taking a bit of punishment here - Johnson scoring with strikes.
Johnson grinds an elbow into Maniche's temple.
Maniche wants to get back to his feet.
The strikes coming from Johnson are missing the target in this wave of attacks.
Maniche is pushing Johnson's head away, looking to escape. Johnson manages to hold on to the position though.
Johnson scoring with punches from side control.
Johnson 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.
Maniche is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Johnson is controlling him well.
Johnson landing strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kendrell Johnson dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Sam Maniche's cut.
That's time! Back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Johnson lands a jab to the head.
Maniche misses with a double jab.
Maniche steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Maniche misses with a few strikes there.
Maniche 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 a jab but it's blocked by Maniche.
Johnson connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Maniche's hands.
A swing and a miss from Johnson.
Johnson throws a hook to the side of Maniche's head but Maniche sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Johnson tries to score with a low kick but Maniche moves his leg out of the way.
Maniche lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Maniche with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Johnson to score with a decent uppercut.
Maniche takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Maniche defending well as Johnson loads up on a big left hand.

Johnson shoots in and bounces Maniche off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Johnson lands a couple of elbows.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Maniche has wrist control.
Johnson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Johnson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Maniche working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Johnson.
Johnson postures up and lands a big shot to Maniche's brow.
Maniche avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Johnson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Maniche throws a combination that misses
and Johnson counters with a stiff right hand.
Kendrell Johnson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Maniche scores with a one two! Johnson had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A telegraphed right hand from Johnson misses the target.
Johnson moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Johnson misses with a hook.
A telegraphed right hand from Johnson misses the target.
Johnson throws a nice looking combination but Maniche bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.
Maniche uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johnson.
Maniche chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Johnson can pounce on him.
The crowd cheers as Maniche lands an impressive looking overhand right. Johnson doesn't seem phased though.
Johnson misses with a double jab
and Maniche counters with a series of strikes. Johnson will be more careful next time no doubt.
Johnson throws a looping overhand right but Maniche ducks down to avoid it.
Maniche scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Johnson listening to his corner there, landing a nice uppercut.
Maniche looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A slow jab from Johnson misses its intended target.
Johnson lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Johnson lands a pitter patter jab to the forehead of his opponent.
A left and a right from Maniche both land. Nice combination.
Johnson displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Maniche.
Johnson moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.

Maniche darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Johnson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Maniche.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Maniche throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.

Maniche wants to work for an arm triangle but Johnson is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Johnson controlling the position well.
Johnson is looking to improve his position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Maniche wants to pass to mount but Johnson is defending the position.
Maniche trying to advance position but Johnson counters by regaining guard.
Johnson might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Maniche trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Johnson throws a one two combo.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kendrell 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 Summer Carpenter scores the fight 30:27
Judge Hugh Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Damien Edna scores the fight 30:27

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