PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Rebel Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Thaddeus Smoove (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson comes to the cage accompanied by Players Ball by Outkast. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Johnson
vs
Smoove

188 cm
20
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

190 cm
25
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Good in bed

BJJ Blue Belt
Good kicks
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rebel Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Thaddeus Smoove!
The judges for this bout are John Roberts, Russell Pearce and Alyssa Summers.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Smoove connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

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

Smoove manages to pull guard.
Johnson trying to control the position from guard on top but Smoove is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Smoove controls Johnson momentarily but Johnson frees himself.
Johnson trying to control but Smoove is working from the bottom.
Smoove is adopting a defensive guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Johnson stops Smoove from standing up.

Rebel Johnson has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Johnson shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Johnson showed some decent athleticism there.

Johnson is trying to work for a kimura but Smoove is defending well.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smoove gets back to full guard.

Smoove is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Johnson is aware though and is defending well.
Johnson wants to pass the guard but Smoove is keeping the position.

Johnson decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Smoove, up you get!
Johnson tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Smoove counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Smoove.
Smoove throws a big right hand that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson pulls Smoove in close to prevent any damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Smoove avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Smoove 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 control the position.
Johnson pulls Smoove in close to prevent any damage.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Smoove trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Smoove trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Johnson misses with a takedown

and Smoove decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Johnson's guard.
Johnson is breathing heavily.
Smoove sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Smoove 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.
Smoove trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Smoove tries to stand but Johnson is controlling from the bottom.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Johnson wants to control but Smoove passes easily into half guard.
Smoove is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is concentrating on defense, preventing Smoove from advancing position.
Smoove sitting and controlling from the half guard.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Thaddeus Smoove wasn't active enough on the ground.
Johnson shoots and misses

and Smoove counters by clinching up.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rebel Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Smoove throws a knee to the head but misses.
Johnson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Smoove is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

Smoove drags the fight down to the ground.
Smoove working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Johnson.
Smoove really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Johnson. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Smoove is controlling Johnson's posture.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Smoove is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Johnson defends well.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Smoove keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thaddeus Smoove 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.

Johnson fails with the takedown

and Smoove decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Johnson's guard.
Smoove is working Johnson over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

Smoove decides to stand up and beckons his opponent to follow.
Johnson shoots and misses
and Smoove counters with a kick to the head that grazes his opponent. Johnson is lucky that one didn't land flush.

Smoove moves into the clinch successfully.

Smoove's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Rebel Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Smoove tries to stall but Johnson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Smoove lands on the inside with an uppercut.

Smoove breaks the clinch.

Smoove closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Smoove lands in his opponent's guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson wants to sweep but no luck.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Smoove is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Smoove looking to sit in guard and control but Johnson gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Smoove wants to sweep but no luck.
Smoove has his hands on Johnson's head, controlling the position.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Smoove can do anything to dispel that myth.
Smoove trying to keep a closed guard but Johnson is proving a slippery customer.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.

Thaddeus Smoove has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Johnson shoots and misses

and Smoove counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rebel Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Smoove's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.

Smoove shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Smoove was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson wants to hold on but Smoove pushes him away.
Johnson gets back to half guard.
Johnson is trying to maintain the position but Smoove is very close to passing his half guard.
Johnson wants to get back to full guard but Smoove has mounted him!
Smoove trying to control but Johnson is having none of it.
Johnson tries to hold on but Smoove postures up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Smoove controlling the position easily from mount.
Johnson wants to hold on but Smoove pushes him away.
Smoove landing strikes, looking to finish!
Johnson regains half guard.

Smoove seems to be working for a kimura but Johnson defends the submission attempt.
Johnson is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Smoove's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Smoove's back!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Smoove trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Johnson misses with an elbow to the head.
Smoove tries to escape the position.

Johnson tightening his grip on Smoove, looking for the choke.
Thaddeus Smoove has got the better of the ground game so far.
You can see the frustration on Smoove's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Thaddeus Smoove showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Johnson misses with a takedown
and Smoove counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.

Smoove moves into range and clinches up with Johnson.
Johnson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Smoove is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Johnson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Smoove stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Smoove working Johnson over with knees to the body.
Johnson has Smoove pressed up against the cage and is working for takedown. Smoove manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Rebel Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Smoove breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Smoove darts in and clinches Johnson up against the cage.

Smoove has clasped his hands together around Johnson's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.

Smoove decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Johnson darts in trying to clinch

and Smoove counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Smoove scores with a couple of nice shots.
Johnson is refusing to be controlled, as Smoove sits in half guard.
Johnson works his way to full guard. Good work.
Smoove postures up.
Johnson trying to strike from the bottom but really, it's not the best position to be doing that from!
Johnson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Smoove trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Thaddeus Smoove.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Smoove circles away easily

and Smoove counters with a takedown into side control.
Johnson is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

Smoove has worked his way into a potential kimura here. Johnson is trying to get out of the position but his squirming has just got him deeper into trouble. Smoove yanks on the arm and Johnson is forced to tap due to a very painful looking submission! Nice work by Smoove.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:59 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Thaddeus Smoove!