PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Kevin Bishop (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Anthony Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kevin Bishop had a look across the cage there at his opponent. He definitely means business

Bishop
vs
Johnson

172 cm
25
144 lbs
7 - 4 - 0

175 cm
24
147 lbs
8 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Excellent boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Kevin Bishop!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Anthony Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Paul Gruel, Ryoma Takatsuka and Jeff Smith.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bishop circles away from the clinch attempt.
Bishop 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 moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Bishop throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Johnson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Bishop throws a head kick but Johnson moves out of range.
Bishop misses with a wild body shot.
Bishop takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Bishop throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Bishop is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Johnson plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Bishop slips a straight right by Johnson.
Bishop throws a shot from downtown. Johnson moves away and avoids it.
Johnson throws a series of punches but Bishop avoids them all with ease.
Bishop throws a right and a left that Johnson avoids nicely.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Johnson blocking some punches.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Johnson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson throws an elbow but it misses.
Bishop dodges an elbow strike from Johnson.
Bishop blocks an elbow strike from Johnson.
Johnson tries to land a knee to the head but Bishop blocks with his arms.
Johnson with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Bishop swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Bishop tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Johnson's elbow.
Johnson landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Johnson throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bishop blocks it with crossed arms.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Bishop.
Johnson lands a nice elbow.
Johnson's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Bishop swings wildly with an uppercut but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.

Bishop lands a takedown into guard.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Bishop is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Johnson wants to stand but Bishop is controlling the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Johnson controlling his opponent.

Johnson get's back to his feet.
Johnson tries to land a body kick
and Bishop cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Bishop keeps the fight on the outside.
Bishop throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Bishop throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Bishop takes a swing at Johnson's ribcage but misses.
Johnson moves in looking to clinch but Bishop pushes him off.
Johnson connects with a leg kick. Bishop looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bishop throws an overhand right that lands on Johnson's shoulder, as Johnson tries to avoid the shot.
Bishop throws a hook to the side of Johnson's head but Johnson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Bishop.
Johnson throws a low kick, looking for Bishop's leg but Bishop calmly moves out of range.
Bishop throws a leg kick that misses.
Bishop scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Kevin Bishop seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Bishop throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Johnson stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Bishop moves out of range of the body kick from Johnson.
Johnson throws a half hearted mid kick.
Johnson lands with a slapping head kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bishop. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bishop throws a hook but Johnson blocks it.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Johnson throws a head kick but Bishop moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson tries to land a front kick but Bishop steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.

Johnson gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Bishop avoids a wild elbow strike from Johnson.
Bishop misses with a hook from the clinch.
Johnson misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Bishop.
Johnson pushes off an throws an elbow but Bishop leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Bishop lands a nice uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bishop misses with a hook from the clinch.
Johnson pushes off an throws an elbow but Bishop leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Johnson missing with knees to the body.
Johnson throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Bishop blocks it with crossed arms.
Bishop scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Bishop scores with an uppercut up the middle.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bishop misses with some punches.
Bishop is working for takedown but Johnson is calmly controlling the position for now.
Johnson blocks a body shot from Bishop.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Bishop is working Johnson over against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Anthony Johnson will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Bishop misses with a head kick.
Bishop misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Johnson.
Johnson throws a head kick but Bishop moves out of range.
Johnson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Bishop swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson slips under a jab from Bishop.
Bishop swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Johnson uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Bishop.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Johnson moves out of range of the strikes.
Johnson slips a straight right by Bishop.
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Bishop.

Johnson moves into the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson lands a knee to the body.
Bishop misses with some punches.
Bishop swings wildly with an uppercut but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bishop blocks the elbow strike.
Bishop has a couple of punches blocked by Johnson.
Johnson using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Bishop has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A right hand to the body from Bishop.
Bishop avoids the elbow strike from Johnson, against the cage.
Bishop wants to stall.
Johnson tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Bishop avoids it.
Johnson misses with an elbow over the top.
Bishop struggles to land a body shot inside as Johnson controls his hands.
Johnson blocks a body shot from Bishop.
Johnson lands an elbow just above Bishop 's eye.
Johnson lands a damaging elbow.
With the fighters up against the cage, Johnson throws an elbow but misses.
Johnson tries to land knees in the clinch but Bishop avoids the damage to the body.
Johnson throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson looking to throw knees to the head but Bishop is blocking nicely.
Johnson looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Bishop blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Johnson lands a nice elbow.

It looks like Kevin Bishop has been cut.
Bishop is working Johnson over against the cage.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Johnson obliges.
Johnson misses with a knee to the head.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Johnson.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Johnson as Bishop tries to tie him up.
Johnson tries to land knees in the clinch but Bishop avoids the damage to the body.
Nice elbow from Johnson.
Bishop lands a right hand.
Johnson lands a nice elbow.
With the fighters up against the cage, Johnson throws an elbow but misses.
Bishop goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Johnson lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Knees in the clinch landing for Johnson.
Johnson missing with knees to the body.
Johnson blocks a body shot from Bishop.
With the fighters up against the cage, Johnson throws an elbow but misses.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bishop misses with the head strike.
Johnson lands an elbow inside that Bishop shrugs off.
Johnson letting Bishop take a breather here.
Bishop makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Johnson throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Bishop blocks the elbow strike.
Johnson tries to land a knee to the head but Bishop blocks with his arms.
Bishop avoids a wild elbow strike from Johnson.
Bishop dodges an elbow strike from Johnson.
Bishop working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Bishop blocking some punches.
Bishop takes an elbow to the temple.
A nice right hand lands inside from Bishop.
Bishop dodges an elbow strike from Johnson.
Johnson lands an elbow inside that Bishop shrugs off.
Bishop throws a head punch that misses.
Bishop tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Johnson's elbow.
Bishop struggles to land a body shot inside as Johnson controls his hands.
Johnson blocks an uppercut.
Anthony Johnson seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Bishop takes an elbow to the temple.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Bishop lands a nice trip takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bishop missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Bishop lands with a punch from half guard.
Johnson moves into full guard.
Bishop throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Johnson looking to control but Bishop passes into half guard.
Bishop tries to pass the half guard into mount. Johnson knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Johnson looks like he's trying to stand up.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Bishop is looking for a kimura but Johnson is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Bishop to get the leverage.
Bishop seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Bishop looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Johnson with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Anthony Johnson will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Kevin Bishop's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Johnson tries to clinch but Bishop moves out of range.
Johnson takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
That kick from Bishop tenderised Johnson's leg. Johnson is trying to keep his angry face on.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Johnson.
Bishop is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Johnson scores with a head kick.
Bishop lands a nice shot that snaps Johnson's head back.
Johnson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Johnson throws a head kick but Bishop moves out of range.
Johnson lands a kick to the ribs of his opponent. Nice work there - in and out in a flash.
Johnson fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Bishop is out of range.
Bishop scores with a crisp jab that stopped Johnson in his tracks.
Johnson throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Johnson looks for the body kick but Bishop saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Bishop is defended easily by Johnson.
Johnson throws a low kick but Bishop moves out of range easily.
Anthony Johnson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
The fight stays on the outside here - Johnson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bishop stuns Johnson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Anthony Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Johnson slips a jab from Bishop.
A big right from Bishop misses.
Johnson walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Bishop checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Bishop throws a body punch but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Bishop swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
Johnson throws a quick inside leg kick.
Bishop looks to score with a jab to the body but Johnson is just out of range.
Johnson moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Bishop throws out a loose jab but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Bishop shoots in looking for a takedown but Johnson manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Bishop's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Johnson slips under a jab.
Bishop fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Johnson checks it well.
Bishop on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Johnson. Johnson obviously looking to wear him down.
Johnson tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. Bishop manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Bishop misses with a straight right.
Bishop tries to score with a low kick but Johnson moves his leg out of the way.
Crunch! Johnson slams his shin into Bishop's torso.
Johnson misses with a body shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Bishop swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Johnson.
Bishop throws a big shot that misses.
Johnson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Johnson connects with an inside leg kick.
Johnson throws a body kick that misses.
Johnson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A looping hook to the body misses from Bishop. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Bishop lands a nice looking body shot.
Bishop misses with a body shot.
Bishop throws a looping overhand right but Johnson ducks down to avoid it.
Johnson throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Johnson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bishop throws a leg kick but Johnson moved away.
Bishop cracks Johnson with an open hand slap.
Bishop throws a nice looking combination but Johnson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Anthony Johnson is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

Bishop gets tackled into the cage by Johnson. Johnson maintains the clinch.
Bishop throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Bishop struggles to land a body shot inside as Johnson controls his hands.
Bishop tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Johnson's elbow.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bishop trying to stall but Johnson improves his position.

Bishop's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bishop takes a swing at Johnson's ribcage but misses.
Johnson connects with a high kick.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Bishop misses with a low kick.
Johnson turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Kevin Bishop has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
A leg kick checked by Bishop.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Kevin Bishop.
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 Paul Gruel scores the fight 29:28
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight 28:30
Judge Jeff Smith scores the fight 29:29

The fight is ruled a draw!