PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Marcus Johnson (ranked 1707 p4p, 2779 weight class) and Terrance Knight (ranked 220 p4p, 318 weight class). Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Johnson
vs
Knight

192 cm
25
190
13 - 9 - 1

182 cm
23
192
4 - 3 - 1

BJJ Purple Belt
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Good gas tank

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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 13 - 9 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Marcus Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 1, fighting out of Montreal, Terrance Knight!
The judges for this bout are Trevor Gratis, Elvis Blanc and Dillan Fox.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson lands a two punch combo.
Johnson ducks under a wild hook from Knight.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.
Knight misses the shot to the body.
Marcus Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Johnson misses with a hook

and Knight decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Johnson's guard.
Johnson trying to control the position here.
Johnson wants to sweep but no luck.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Knight tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.
Knight throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Johnson works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Johnson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Knight trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Knight.
Knight throws out a loose jab but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson misses with a hook
and Knight counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Knight looks to land a left hand but Johnson moved out of range nicely.
Knight uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Johnson scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Knight lunges at Johnson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Johnson's hand.
Knight misses with a straight left.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson moves into range and connects with a jab.
Knight shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Knight ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Knight throws a jab but it's blocked by Johnson.
Johnson definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Knight steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Knight walks into a straight right hand from Johnson.
Marcus Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Knight fails with a takedown attempt.
Knight throws a sloppy body shot
and Knight takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Johnson throws a hook to the side of Knight's head but Knight sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knight avoids a punch combination nicely.
Johnson connects with a leg kick.
Johnson stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Johnson wants it to stay on the feet.
It looked like Johnson wanted to counter with a hook but didn't fully commit.
Marcus Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Terrance Knight.
Knight throws a looping overhand right but Johnson ducks down to avoid it.
Nice uppercut there from Knight.
Johnson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Knight.
Knight throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

Knight gets a double leg takedown into Johnson's guard.
Johnson working a defensive guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Johnson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson looking to control.
Johnson has Knight pulled in close to control his posture.
Knight has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Knight working his ground and pound in the gym. He isn't landing a great percentage of his ground strikes so far though.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Knight is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Knight passes into half guard.
Johnson wants to get back to full guard.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Ground and pound from Knight.
Knight throwing shots but Johnson is blocking nicely.
Knight content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Knight sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Johnson defending well though.
Johnson is looking to control Knight's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Johnson avoid being mounted?
Johnson wants to get back to full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Knight throws a big shot that misses.
Knight takes a shot to the eye socket. That's gotta hurt.

That's six minutes gone in the round.

Knight throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Johnson was covering up waiting for the punch and Knight finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Johnson is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Knight throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Johnson being controlled here, momentarily.
Knight lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Knight wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Johnson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Knight.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Knight controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Knight throws an overhand right that lands on Johnson's shoulder, as Johnson tries to avoid the shot.
Johnson throws a hook to the side of Knight's head but Knight sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Knight throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Knight.
Johnson misses with a straight left.
Knight feints the counter takedown.
Johnson works his jab well there, keeping his opponent at a distance.
Johnson with a hook.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Knight takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
A nice combination there by Johnson.
Johnson rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Knight counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Knight.

Johnson kicks Knight off and gets to his feet.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knight paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
Johnson misses with a body shot.
And Knight tries to counter it with a takedown but Johnson pushes his down on his head and steps out.

Knight feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Johnson seems keen to control Knight's posture.
Knight is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Johnson wants to sweep here but Knight controlling him for the moment.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Knight trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Knight is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.
Johnson has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Knight content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
Johnson looking to control.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
Knight throws a hook but Johnson avoids it easily.
An attempted straight right counter from Johnson misses the target.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Marcus Johnson will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Johnson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Knight pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Johnson connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Knight rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Johnson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Johnson wants to land a leg kick but Knight is out of range.
Johnson fails to land with a series of punches.
Knight misses with a hook.
Johnson swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Marcus Johnson is winning the standup battle so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson lands with a nice combination. Knight backs away looking to recover.
Johnson is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Knight can do to turn this around?
Johnson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Knight is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Knight takes one to the chin there.
Knight bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a hook
and Knight counters with a stiff right hand.
Johnson tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Johnson throws a leg kick but Knight sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Johnson throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

and Knight counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Knight passes into half guard.

Knight wants to pass to mount but Johnson is defending the position.
Knight with the ground and pound but Johnson uses the opportunity to regain guard.
Knight throwing strikes but missing.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Knight accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Knight accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Knight from controlling successfully.
Knight passes into half guard.
Knight 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.
Johnson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Knight.
Knight misses with a head shot. Johnson uses the momentum to regain guard.
Johnson trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Knight.
Johnson is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Knight throws a big elbow that misses.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Johnson is trying to keep Knight in close.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson tries to bum rush Knight with a series of wild strikes but Knight uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Johnson takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Knight loads up on a big right hand but Johnson slips the punch.
Johnson is looking to counter punch.
Johnson misses with an uppercut
and Johnson takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Johnson throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Knight stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Sloppy strikes from Johnson. Those never looked like landing.
Johnson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Knight was well out of range. Poor timing from Johnson.
And Knight tries to counter it with a takedown but Johnson pushes his down on his head and steps out.
Knight is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Johnson throws the left hand but Knight avoids the punch easily.
Decent striking displayed by Johnson there.
Johnson ducks under a wild hook from Knight.
Knight moves out of range of the leg kick from Johnson.
Knight looks to land a right hand but Johnson moved out of range.
Johnson lands a head shot.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Nice takedown defense from Johnson. No joy for Knight on that attempt.
Knight ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Johnson misses with a body shot.
Knight ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Knight ducks under a wild hook from Johnson.
Knight jabs Johnson to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Johnson connects with a looping right hand.
Johnson stalks Knight and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Knight's face. Knight staggers backwards, shaken.
Knight gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Johnson.
Johnson misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Knight counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Johnson misses with a leg kick

and Knight counters with a nice double leg into half guard.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnson wants to get back to full guard.
Knight trying to control the action but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Knight missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Knight throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Knight controlling the action here.
Johnson trying to control but Knight postures up.
Knight winds up and cracks Johnson with a swinging punch to the side of the head.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to get back to full guard.
Johnson keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Johnson tries to get to full guard but Knight has control of the leg.
Terrance Knight has got the better of the ground game so far.
Knight wants to control but Johnson is keeping him busy.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson throws a body shot but no joy.
Johnson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Knight.
Knight uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Johnson misses with a straight left.
Knight scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Johnson doesn't seem bothered though.
Knight misses with a left hand
and Johnson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a right and a left that Knight avoids nicely.
Johnson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Johnson chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Knight just misses with a punch to the body.
Knight changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Knight misses the body punch
enabling Johnson to counter with a crisp jab.
Johnson misses with a looping right.
Knight drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Johnson defends it well.
Knight connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Knight waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Johnson.
Johnson waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Knight.
Knight scores with a nice head shot.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a looping right.
Knight moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
Johnson misses the shot to the body.
Knight is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Knight is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Johnson connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Knight momentarily.
The crowd cheers as Knight lands an impressive looking overhand right. Johnson doesn't seem phased though.
Johnson throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Knight counter with a right hand.
Knight stuns Johnson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.

Knight scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.

Johnson sneaks out the side door and pushes Knight away - he's back to his feet. The crowd show their appreciation for the escape.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Marcus Johnson will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Nice defenses there by Johnson.
Knight throws a jab when Johnson was well out of range.
Johnson uses good footwork to get in and out, landing a nice hook.
Johnson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Knight feints the counter takedown.
Knight 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.
Nice defenses there by Knight.
Johnson throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped

so Knight counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Knight loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Knight controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Johnson wants to sweep here but Knight controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson has Knight pulled in close to control his posture.
Knight working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Knight looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Knight is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Knight trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson connects with the punch.

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.
Johnson swings wildly with a couple of big hooks

and Knight counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
Johnson looking to control.
Knight wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Johnson 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.
Johnson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Knight trying to control the position from guard on top but Johnson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Johnson trying to keep a closed guard but Knight is proving a slippery customer.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knight lands a couple of elbows.
Knight stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Johnson swivels though and keeps the full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson throws an off balance right hand
and Knight connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Knight swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson misses with a hook
and Knight counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Johnson misses with a hook.
Johnson throws out a loose jab but Knight uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Johnson jabs Knight right on the nose. Knight blinks but takes it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson throws a hook but Knight blocks it.
Johnson scores with a jab.
Johnson scores with a nice head shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Knight. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Johnson throws a big counter combination but Knight scrambles out of danger and avoids any damage.
Knight tries to move into range but Johnson moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Johnson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Knight moves away.
Knight tries to move into range but Johnson moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
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!

Knight shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Knight was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Johnson is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Terrance Knight has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Johnson regains half guard.
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Knight winds up and cracks Johnson with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Knight missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Knight throws a strike but Johnson avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Knight throws a strike but Johnson rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.

Knight controlling Johnson's posture.
Johnson preventing the sweep.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to control from the top but Knight keeps moving.
Knight looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Johnson showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Johnson trying to control but Knight is working from the bottom.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to stand but Knight is controlling his posture from full guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up.
Johnson misses with a hook. Knight ducked under it nicely.
Knight throws a lazy uppercut
and Johnson counters with a stiff right hand.
Knight defending well as Johnson loads up on a big left hand.
Knight connects with a jab.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.
Knight has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
A jab from Johnson misses.
Knight tries for a takedown but Johnson circles away easily
and Johnson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
Knight scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Johnson doesn't seem bothered though.
Knight throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Johnson counters with a nice body shot.
Johnson misses the shot to the body.
Knight takes a shot to the nose. Hopefully that hasn't broken it.
Knight cracks Johnson with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.

Knight bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Knight throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Knight throws an elbow but Johnson slips to the side and avoids it well.
You can see the frustration on Johnson's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Johnson struggling a bit here.
Johnson tries to buck Knight off but Knight is having none of it.
Johnson is working hard here to advance position.
Johnson is letting Knight control him for a moment.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Johnson connects with a right hand. Knight shakes it off.

And that's the end of the fight!
Marcus Johnson showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Johnson, 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 Trevor Gratis scores the fight 30:27
Judge Elvis Blanc scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dillan Fox scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Marcus Johnson!
Marcus Johnson decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.
The defeated Terrance Knight had this to say: 'Damn... Just Damn...'.