PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Johanson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Zeek Mathews (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Johanson
vs
Mathews

180 cm
18
162 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

180 cm
18
165 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

Easy Money

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Alexander Johanson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Zeek Mathews!
The judges for this bout are Cecil Peabody, Gwen Towbar and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Mathews on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Johanson. Johanson obviously looking to wear him down.
Johanson drops his hands momentarily and Mathews takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Johanson pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Mathews back to the cage. Johanson follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Mathews moves into the clinch successfully.
Johanson working hard to break the clinch.
Mathews has a couple of punches blocked by Johanson.
Johanson is trying to break the clinch but Mathews has him pressed against the cage.
Mathews throws a head punch that misses.
Johanson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Johanson has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Mathews tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
A frustrated look appears on Johanson's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Mathews misses with a short punch on the inside.
Johanson is trying to break the clinch but Mathews has him pressed against the cage.
Johanson blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Mathews swings wildly with an uppercut but Johanson uses good head movement to avoid it.

Johanson manages to break the clinch.
Johanson connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.
A slow jab from Mathews misses its intended target.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathews misses with an uppercut. Johanson saw that one coming.
Mathews stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Johanson.
Mathews misses with a two punch combination.
Johanson misses with an uppercut. Mathews saw that one coming.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathews scores with a jab to the head.
Mathews throws a chopping leg kick but Johanson manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Mathews showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Johanson.
Johanson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Johanson throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Nice uppercut lands for Johanson. That snapped Mathews's head back.
Johanson scores with a decent looking hook.
Johanson throws a right hand that Mathews ducks under and follows up with a left that Mathews also avoids with ease.
Johanson lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Johanson misses with a hook.
Johanson is looking to score with low kicks.
Mathews moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Johanson tries to work over Mathews's front leg with a kick but Mathews checks it.
Mathews misses the jab.
Sloppy strikes from Mathews. Those never looked like landing.
Johanson fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Mathews looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Johanson throws a looping overhand right but Mathews ducks down to avoid it.
Mathews throws a hook but Johanson blocks it.
Mathews fails with an attempt to clinch.
Johanson dips to his left and cracks Mathews with an uppercut!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johanson connects with a body shot that sends Mathews's belly button to the back.
Johanson throws a looping overhand right but Mathews ducks down to avoid it.
Johanson scores with a leg kick.
Mathews scores with the left hand. Johanson knows he should have avoided that one.
Mathews moves out of range of the body kick from Johanson.
Johanson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Mathews moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Mathews throws a head kick that misses.
Mathews closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Johanson throws a jab but it's blocked by Mathews.
Johanson misses with a wild body shot.
Mathews takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Mathews misses with a looping left.
Johanson connects with a crisp jab.
Johanson moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Johanson fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
Mathews throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Johanson on the side of the head.
Mathews keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Mathews misses with a double jab
and Johanson makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Mathews looks winded!
Mathews misses with the combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johanson moves out of range of the body kick.
An attempted straight right counter from Johanson misses the target.
Zeek Mathews seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Good leg kick by Johanson there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Mathews throws a big shot that misses.
Mathews keeping at a good range here, avoiding a leg kick.
Mathews moves away from the strike by Johanson.
Johanson connects with an inside leg kick.
Johanson tests Mathews's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Nice shot lands for Johanson.
Johanson misses with a body shot.
A head kick misses from Johanson.
Johanson ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Johanson!
Good shot there by Mathews.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathews stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Johanson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Johanson tries to score with a low kick but Mathews moves his leg out of the way.
Johanson connects with a crisp jab.
Johanson misses with a body kick.
Johanson scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Mathews doesn't seem bothered though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A thudding body kick lands there by Johanson!
Johanson just misses with a punch to the body.
Johanson looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Nice defenses there by Mathews.
Johanson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Mathews.
Mathews misses with an uppercut
and Johanson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
A head kick misses from Johanson.
It seemed like Mathews was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
Johanson's corner calls for a 1-2. Johanson obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Johanson throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Mathews.
Johanson is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Mathews looks to land a combination but Johanson avoids it well.
Johanson just misses with a punch to the body.
Good exchange - Johanson coming out on top.
Mathews looks to land a left hand but Johanson moved out of range nicely.
Johanson misses with a body kick.
Johanson scores with a shot to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Johanson slips a straight right by Mathews.
A jab from Johanson does it's job there.
Johanson wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Johanson cracks Mathews with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Johanson lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Mathews has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Mathews and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Johanson dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Johanson throws a sloppy head kick and Mathews moves out of range easily.
Mathews misses with an uppercut
and Johanson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Johanson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Mathews can do to turn this around?

Mathews closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Johanson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Mathews has him pressed against the cage.
Johanson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Johanson blocks an uppercut.
Mathews prevents Johanson from breaking the clinch.
Mathews misses with a hook from the clinch.
Mathews has Johanson pressed against the cage, preventing Johanson from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Johanson tries to break the clinch but Mathews is controlling the position.
Johanson tries to circle away but Mathews has him pinned against the cage.
Johanson wants to get back to striking at distance but Mathews won't allow it.

Johanson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Johanson is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johanson drops his hands momentarily and Mathews takes advantage with a crisp shot to the head.
Johanson has not gone for a single takedown so far in this fight, which seems like a very strange tactic when you consider that he has the superior wrestling and BJJ.
Johanson scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Mathews doesn't seem bothered though.
Mathews jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Mathews misses with a head kick.
Mathews takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Mathews lands a jab to Johanson's midsection.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Mathews checks a low kick from Johanson.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A punch lands to the side of Mathews 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Mathews cracks Johanson with a good jab.
Johanson misses with a low kick.
Johanson fails to land with a series of punches.
Johanson with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Mathews gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Johanson.
A telegraphed right hand from Mathews misses the target.
Mathews uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johanson.
Mathews missing with a left hand there. Johanson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Johanson scores with a shot to the body.
Mathews is breathing heavily.
Mathews with a jab.
Johanson is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Mathews's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
A jab from Johanson finds it's way through Mathews's defenses.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Johanson throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Johanson.
Johanson getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Johanson.
Mathews has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Mathews throws a jab when Johanson was well out of range.
Johanson looks to score with a jab to the body but Mathews is just out of range.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Johanson throws a head kick that half lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mathews uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Johanson.
Johanson throws a head kick that misses.
Mathews misses with a wild combination.
Mathews lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Johanson throws a low kick but it's checked well by Mathews.
Johanson connects with a right hand. Mathews shakes it off.
Johanson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Mathews counters with a body kick.
Johanson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Mathews was well out of range. Poor timing from Johanson.
Mathews moves out of range as Johanson strikes.
Mathews throws a jab when Johanson was well out of range.
Johanson ducks right into an uppercut from Mathews.
Good shot there by Johanson.
Johanson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
The fighters circling - Johanson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Johanson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mathews throws out the jab.
Johanson lands an overhand right.
Johanson turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johanson throws a big shot that misses.
Johanson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Alexander Johanson is winning the standup battle so far.
No joy there for Johanson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Johanson avoids a punch combination nicely.
Mathews misses with an uppercut.
Johanson changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Johanson looks to score with a jab to the body but Mathews is just out of range.
Johanson throws a right and a left that Mathews avoids nicely.
Johanson throws a body shot but no joy.
This fight brought to you by 5M nutrition - it's mmmmm tasty. Nice jab by Johanson.
Mathews cracks Johanson with a good jab.
Mathews might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Johanson lands with a straight right. Mathews didn't see that one coming.
Nice straight punches there by Mathews. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Mathews.
Mathews misses with a looping left.
Johanson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mathews ducks right into an uppercut from Johanson.
A good leg kick by Johanson.
A jab from Johanson misses.
Mathews looks like he wants to counter punch here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Jab, jab by Mathews - just one landing.
Mathews pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
A punch combination from Johanson misses.
Johanson throws a low kick but Mathews moves out of range easily.
A jab from Mathews misses.
Mathews tries to close the distance and clinch up but Johanson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
And Johanson counters with a quick kick to the body but Mathews blocks it.
Johanson slips a jab and a cross from Mathews.
Johanson moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Johanson catches Mathews with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Johanson lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Johanson.
Mathews gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Johanson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Johanson lands a nice looking body shot.
Johanson lands a body shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mathews's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Johanson connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Mathews scrambles back to his feet.

Mathews is rocked!
Johanson misses with a wild body shot.
Mathews looks to land a right hand but Johanson moved out of range.
Johanson plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Johanson dominated that second round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Nice shot lands for Johanson.
Mathews is still on wobbly legs! Can Johanson finish him?
Johanson tries a low kick but Mathews avoids it.
A slow jab from Mathews misses its intended target.
Mathews seems to have recovered his senses.
Johanson avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johanson throws a big shot that misses.
Johanson lands a high kick!
Johanson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Johanson is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Mathews tries to score with a low kick but Johanson moves his leg out of the way.
Mathews ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Johanson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Mathews on the side of the head.
A big right from Mathews misses.
Mathews misses with a low kick.
Johanson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Mathews.
Johanson takes a hook to the side of the head. I wonder if that's got his ears ringing.
Johanson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Mathews sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Mathews takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Johanson dodges the punch combination from Mathews.
A punch lands to the side of Mathews 's head but he takes it in his stride.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mathews takes one to the chin there.
Johanson lands a jab to Mathews's midsection.
Mathews throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Johanson.
Good leg kick by Johanson there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Johanson swats away the attempt to clinch by Mathews.
Johanson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Johanson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Mathews on the side of the head.
Mathews throws a big shot that misses.
Mathews swings widly with a right hand
and Johanson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Johanson throws a leg kick that misses.
Mathews checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Johanson ducks under a wild hook from Mathews.
Mathews tries to bum rush Johanson with a series of wild strikes but Johanson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Johanson went nuts there looking for a big combo counter but none of the flurry connected.
Johanson cracks the inside of Mathews's front leg.
Mathews slips under a jab from Johanson.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Mathews fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Johanson is out of range.
Mathews takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.
Zeek Mathews has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Alexander Johanson is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johanson changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Johanson moves into range and connects with a jab.
Mathews slips under a jab.
Johanson throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Johanson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Johanson uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Mathews has time to react.
Johanson lands a glancing blow to the side of Mathews's head.
Johanson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mathews.
Johanson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Mathews misses the jab.
Mathews misses with a looping left.
Mathews defending well as Johanson loads up on a big left hand.
Johanson lands an overhand right.
A swing and a miss from Mathews.
A punch lands to the side of Mathews 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Johanson throws a leg kick that misses.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Mathews! But no joy.
Mathews is looking to score with low kicks.
Johanson slips a jab and a cross from Mathews.
Johanson lands a head shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johanson lands with an overhand left.
Johanson stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
A punch lands to the side of Mathews 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Johanson staying out of range there.
Johanson takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Johanson looks for the body kick but Mathews saw that one coming.
Johanson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Johanson lands a right hook to the body.
A jab lands there for Johanson.
Johanson swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Mathews.
Johanson lands a really nice looking cross but Mathews seems unphased.
Mathews pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Johanson connects with a right hand. Mathews shakes it off.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Johanson misses with a series of wild punches.
Mathews throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Johanson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Johanson connects with a hook to the side of his opponent's head.
Johanson thuds his right hand into Mathews's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johanson misses with a two punch combination.
Johanson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Mathews throws out the jab.
Johanson is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Johanson lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Mathews at a distance.
Johanson misses with a wild body shot.
Mathews avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johanson misses with a low kick.
A little jabbing left from Mathews on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.
Johanson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mathews.
Johanson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Johanson cracks Mathews with a right hand to the side of the head.
Jab, cross, leg kick. Nice combination by Johanson!
Johanson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Johanson lands the left hand.
Johanson lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Mathews rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Johanson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Johanson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Mathews connects with a looping right hand.
Johanson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Mathews.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Johanson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Johanson, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Cecil Peabody scores the fight 30:27
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 30:27
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Johanson!