PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a super heavyweight MMA rules bout between Borat Grigorenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chris Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Chris Johnson will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Grigorenko
vs
Johnson

210 cm
22
300 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

225 cm
22
300 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Solid boxing
Good chin

Dangerous GnP
Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the super heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Borat Grigorenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Chris Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Aleksandr Martynov, Aleksei Zolotukhin and Viktor Lagutenko.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Grigorenko uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Johnson.
Grigorenko takes a swing at Johnson's ribcage but misses.
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Grigorenko throws a push kick but Johnson slaps the foot to one side.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
A telegraphed right hand from Grigorenko misses the target.
Johnson lands a jab followed by a vicious hook that sends Grigorenko sprawling to the canvas. Johnson follows him down, looking for the kill. Can Grigorenko hang on?

Grigorenko is rocked!

It looks like Borat Grigorenko has been cut.
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!
Grigorenko is trying to maintain the position but Johnson is very close to passing his half guard.
Grigorenko is trying to stand.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.

Grigorenko pushes Johnson off and gets back to his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Grigorenko slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Johnson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Grigorenko.
Grigorenko misses with a straight right.
A jab from Grigorenko misses.
Johnson scores with a nice right hand.
Johnson throws a series of punches but Grigorenko avoids them all with ease.
Johnson looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Grigorenko shoots in for a double leg but Johnson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Grigorenko is breathing heavily.
Johnson throws a nice looking combination but Grigorenko bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.

Grigorenko moves into range and clinches up with Johnson.

Grigorenko breaks the clinch.
Nice straight punches there by Johnson. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Johnson.
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!
Johnson misses with a double jab.
Johnson tries to bum rush Grigorenko with a series of wild strikes but Grigorenko uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Johnson throws a nice looking combination but Grigorenko bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Grigorenko does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Grigorenko misses with a hook. Johnson ducked under it nicely.
Grigorenko blocks a jab.
Grigorenko lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grigorenko catches Johnson with a nice straight right. He seems pissed - ooooh, it's on now! On like donkey kong!
Grigorenko throws a series of punches but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson throws a right hand that Grigorenko ducks under and follows up with a left that Grigorenko also avoids with ease.
Grigorenko lands a slapping body shot.
Johnson fails to land with a series of punches.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Grigorenko wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Chris Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.

Grigorenko clinches up with Johnson and pushes him back against the cage.

Grigorenko's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Johnson connects with a nice looking jab.
Johnson misses with a double jab
and Grigorenko counters with a nice leg kick.
Johnson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Johnson misses with a two punch combination.
Grigorenko lands the left hand.
Johnson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Grigorenko moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
The fighters circling - Johnson throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Johnson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Grigorenko swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Chris Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Johnson swinging wilding here.
Johnson throws a combination that misses

and Grigorenko counters into the clinch. Nicely done.

Grigorenko breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Johnson scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Johnson on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Grigorenko moves away from the strike by Johnson.
Grigorenko wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Johnson cracks Grigorenko with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Grigorenko has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
Johnson lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Johnson.
Johnson lands a really nice looking cross but Grigorenko seems unphased.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Grigorenko, as that shot connected.
Grigorenko slips a jab from Johnson.
Johnson misses with a few strikes there.
No joy there for Johnson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Johnson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Grigorenko moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Grigorenko instigates a clinch.
Johnson tries to break the clinch but Grigorenko is controlling the position.

Grigorenko has clasped his hands together around Johnson's back... aaand, he's got a takedown into side control. Nicely done.
Johnson pushes Grigorenko away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Grigorenko gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
A lull in the action here as Grigorenko stalls from top position.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Johnson is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Grigorenko is controlling him well.
Grigorenko scoring with punches and elbows.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Grigorenko stands up and we're back to a striking position.

Grigorenko clinches up with Johnson and pushes him back against the cage.
Grigorenko prevents Johnson from breaking the clinch.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Chris Johnson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Borat Grigorenko's cut.
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.

Grigorenko closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Grigorenko lands in his opponent's guard.
Johnson is looking to stand up but Grigorenko isn't so interested in that idea.
Johnson is looking to stand back up but Grigorenko counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Johnson.
Grigorenko is controlling the pace.
Grigorenko seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Johnson for as long as he can get away with.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Grigorenko passes to side control.
Johnson wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!

Grigorenko has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Johnson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Grigorenko moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Grigorenko is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Johnson stuffs the takedown attempt from Grigorenko. Grigorenko gets slowly back to his feet.

Grigorenko looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Johnson!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Grigorenko takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Grigorenko fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Johnson is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Grigorenko controlling the position easily from mount.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet.
Grigorenko controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to use the cage to get back to his feet here.
Grigorenko with a couple of short strikes.
Johnson tries to buck Grigorenko off but he can't manage it.
Grigorenko connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Grigorenko looking to control and managing it successfully.
Johnson tries to buck Grigorenko off but he can't manage it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.

Johnson somehow manages to escape the mount and get back to his feet!
Grigorenko throws a hook but Johnson blocks it.
Johnson throws a jab when Grigorenko was well out of range.
Grigorenko slips a jab and a cross from Johnson.
Grigorenko throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Grigorenko shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Johnson as he jumps to the side.
Grigorenko needs to keep his hands up - Johnson had a free shot at his head there.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Johnson misses with a few strikes there.
Grigorenko scores with a jab.
Grigorenko looks for the body kick but Johnson saw that one coming.
Johnson swings wildly with a couple of big hooks
and Grigorenko counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Borat Grigorenko dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Borat Grigorenko's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

Grigorenko fails to land the takedown.

Grigorenko instigates a clinch.
Johnson wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Grigorenko has him pressed against the cage.

Johnson pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Johnson falls off balance throwing a combination
and Grigorenko counters with a stiff right hand.
Grigorenko throws a series of punches but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Grigorenko pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Johnson looks to land a left hand but Grigorenko moved out of range nicely.
Johnson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Good leg kick by Grigorenko there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Johnson takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Grigorenko takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Johnson throws a left and a right that both miss
and Grigorenko counters with a three punch combo that has Johnson backing up. Johnson nods at Grigorenko to acknowledge the strikes.
Johnson misses with the combination.
Grigorenko dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Johnson. That did some damage!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson throws a series of strikes that have Grigorenko backpedaling.
Johnson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Grigorenko with a nice cross.
Grigorenko throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Johnson.
Grigorenko misses with an attempted mid kick.
Grigorenko lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Grigorenko.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Grigorenko scores with a nice head shot.
Johnson fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Johnson ducks under a wild hook from Grigorenko.
Johnson moves away from the strike by Grigorenko.
Johnson will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
No joy there for Johnson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
A combination from Johnson does no damage.
Johnson walks into a left hand.
Johnson misses with a two punch combination.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Grigorenko shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Johnson is looking to stand up but Grigorenko isn't so interested in that idea.
Grigorenko controls from within his opponent's guard.
Grigorenko might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Johnson wants to stand and escape but Grigorenko is having none of it.
Johnson is wriggling around but Grigorenko manages to pass to half guard.
Grigorenko is controlling the pace.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson looks like he's trying to stand up.
Grigorenko takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Grigorenko working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Grigorenko with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Grigorenko stops Johnson from getting back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.

Grigorenko looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Grigorenko has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Johnson's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.
Grigorenko content just to control the position here.
Johnson trying desperately to get to his feet.
Grigorenko controlling the position easily from mount.

And that's the end of the fight!
Borat Grigorenko showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Grigorenko has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Aleksandr Martynov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 29:28
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Borat Grigorenko!