PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Paul Paulson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Andy Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnson has chosen It's A Fight as his entrance music. I can't wait for this one - let's get the fighter introductions out of the way and get this one started!

Paulson
vs
Johnson

180 cm
30
162 lbs
16 - 10 - 0

180 cm
24
169 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Very quick

ADCC Champion
World class boxer
Good gas tank

SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI
SPARTA FIGHTWARE-GTI

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 16 - 10 - 0, fighting out of New York, Paul Paulson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Andy Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Bruno Lombardi and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson chopping away at his opponent's legs.

Paulson takes the fight into the clinch.
Johnson misses with a hook to the ribs.
Paulson lands with a quick shot inside that doesn't really do much damage.
A short uppercut from Johnson.
Johnson throws a punch but it's blocked by Paulson.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Johnson.
Johnson working aggressively here.
Paulson misses with a punch to the body.
Paulson creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Paulson throws an elbow but it misses.
Paulson lands a damaging elbow.
Johnson wants to break the clinch but can't.
Paulson is trying to wear down his opponent with knees to the body.
Johnson avoiding damage as Paulson throws knees to the body.
Johnson tries to work over Paulson's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Paulson digs a right hand underneath Johnson's ribcage. Johnson let out a lung full of air as it connected.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Paulson blocks a body shot from Johnson.
Paulson throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Paulson lands an uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson avoids the elbow strike from Paulson, against the cage.
Paulson misses with some punches.
Paulson is trying to slow down the pace of the fight but Johnson is keeping busy.
Johnson blocks a body shot from Paulson.

Johnson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Paul Paulson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Paulson connects with a looping right hand.
Paulson just misses with a punch to the body.
Paulson tries a low kick but Johnson avoids it.
Johnson just misses with a punch to the body.
Paulson will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Paulson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson lands a nice shot that snaps Paulson's head back.
Johnson moves forwards but Paulson connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Paulson as he avoids it easily.
A combination from Johnson does no damage.
Johnson slips under a jab from Paulson.
Paulson slips under a jab.
Johnson goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Johnson stalks Paulson and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Paulson's face. Paulson staggers backwards, shaken.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Paulson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Horrible takedown by Johnson or perhaps it was just good defense by Paulson which made him look bad.
Johnson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Paulson getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
A big left from Paulson misses.
A looping hook to the body misses from Johnson. Paulson does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Paulson moves away.
Paulson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Johnson ducks under a wild hook from Paulson.
Paulson scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
Johnson tries to land a leg kick but Paulson saw it coming and moves away.
Some bone on bone action there as Johnson checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Johnson misses with a wild body shot.
Paulson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Johnson stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Paul Paulson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson throws a series of punches but Paulson moves out of range.
Johnson misses with a wild body shot.
Johnson is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Paulson rather than just go for the knockout.
Johnson walks into a left hand.
Paulson slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paulson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Paulson connects with a high kick.
Johnson throws a hook to the side of Paulson's head but Paulson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Paulson throws an off balance right hand
and Johnson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Paulson looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
An inside leg kick lands from Johnson.
Johnson lands with a right hand.
Johnson avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Paulson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Johnson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Paulson.
Paulson throws a right hand that misses
and Johnson counters with a slapping leg kick.
Johnson fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Paulson manages to avoid it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Paul Paulson 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.

Johnson scores with a crisp jab that stopped Paulson in his tracks.
Paulson fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Paulson looks to throw the jab but Johnson is out of range.
A swing and a miss from Paulson.
Paulson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Paulson misses with a leg kick.
Paulson stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Johnson.
Paulson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Johnson throws out the jab.
Paulson takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Paulson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Paulson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson moves out of range of the strikes.
Paulson looks to score with a jab to the body but Johnson is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Johnson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Johnson lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Paulson circles away quickly and effectively.
Paulson lands with an overhand left.
Paulson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Paulson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Paulson attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.
Paulson slips under a jab from Johnson.
Nice jab there from Johnson.
Paulson misses the jab.
Good standup being displayed there by Paulson as he connects with a hook.
Paulson misses with a low kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Paulson is looking to clinch.
Paulson tries to land a leg kick but Johnson saw it coming and moves away.
Paulson misses with a body shot.
Paulson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Paulson throws a hook to the side of Johnson's head but Johnson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Paulson fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Johnson on the side of the head.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Paulson as he jumps to the side.

Johnson looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Paulson keeping moving, preventing Johnson from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Paulson 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.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Johnson throws a strike but Paulson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Johnson kicks Paulson off and gets to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Paulson just misses with a punch to the body.
Paulson misses with a straight right.

Johnson decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Johnson working Paulson over with strikes.
Johnson thows a huge punch but Paulson dodges it nicely.
Johnson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Paulson's head.
Paulson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Johnson.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Paulson is defending against the submission attempts here by Johnson.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Johnson throwing shots but Paulson is blocking nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Andy Johnson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Paulson scores with a jab.
Paulson lands with a shot to the body.
Johnson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Paulson.
Paulson cracks the inside of Johnson's front leg.
Johnson is looking to chop away at Paulson's legs.
Johnson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Paulson moves away.
Paulson feints a straight left to the body, then turns around with a flashy move and hits Johnsons jaw with a dramatic spinning back fist!
Paulson throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Johnson.
A decent looking cross lands there for Johnson.
Johnson throws an overhand right that lands on Paulson's shoulder, as Paulson tries to avoid the shot.
Paulson throws a sloppy head kick and Johnson moves out of range easily.

Johnson shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.

Johnson is working for a kimura but Paulson is defending it quite comfortably.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson stalling away here and it's allowed Paulson to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
Johnson has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Johnson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Johnson throws an elbow that misses. Paulson uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Johnson's guard. Nice move by Paulson!
Paulson wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson is adopting a defensive guard.
Johnson has a closed guard, preventing Paulson from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.

Andy Johnson has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Johnson closes this distance looking for a takedown but Paulson circles away.
Johnson pivots, looking for a leg kick but Paulson is out of range and Johnson settles back down.
Johnson takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.

Johnson shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in full mount! That's better than Johnson was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Johnson landing strikes from the mount and Paulson is in trouble!
Johnson connects with a couple of good shots from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throwing strikes here but Paulson is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Paulson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Johnson looking to finish Paulson with some ground and pound. This is bad for Paulson!
Paulson sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Paulson slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Johnson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Johnson is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

And that's the end of the fight!
Andy Johnson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Johnson 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 28:29
Judge Bruno Lombardi scores the fight 28:29
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Andy Johnson!
Andy Johnson spent the whole post fight interview bigging himself up. It didn't go down that well with the fans after a while as they thought it was a bit arrogant.