PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Ray Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Corey Sanchez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Johnson
vs
Sanchez

193 cm
21
205 lbs
3 - 3 - 0

178 cm
19
220 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 2 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 3 - 0, fighting out of New York, Ray Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of New York, Corey Sanchez!
The judges for this bout are Dean Styles, Chad Campbell and Lou da Vinci.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson fails to land the takedown.
Sanchez misses with a head kick.
Johnson shoots in and drives through. Sanchez sprawls well.
Sanchez slips a jab from Johnson.

Johnson closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Sanchez did well to prevent Johnson getting side control.
Johnson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sanchez defending well though.
Johnson sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Sanchez defending well though.
Johnson will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Sanchez wants to get back to his feet.
Sanchez avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Johnson.
Johnson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sanchez is trying to stand back up but Johnson is controlling him
Johnson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Johnson avoids the head kick by Sanchez.
Sanchez rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Johnson moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Johnson feints and as Sanchez raises his hands in defense, Johnson changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Johnson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Johnson postures up in Sanchez's guard and throws a big left but Sanchez blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson postures up.
Sanchez has momentary wrist control but Johnson slips an elbow through the middle.
Sanchez wants to stand up but Johnson is controlling him.
Sanchez looks gassed!
Sanchez wants to control here, rather than go for any submissions from the bottom. At least for now.
Johnson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sanchez is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Johnson lands a couple of digs.
Johnson postures up in Sanchez's guard and throws a big left but Sanchez blocks it.
Sanchez looking to hit a scissor sweep but Johnson is one step ahead there.
Johnson trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Johnson tries to land a leg kick but Sanchez saw it coming and moves away.
Johnson shoots in but no luck this time.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ray Johnson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sanchez jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Ray Johnson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sanchez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Sanchez doesn't manage to clinch there - Johnson circles away.
Sanchez throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.

Sanchez looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Sanchez is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Sanchez working the head and body with strikes.
Sanchez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Johnson defending well though.

Sanchez is looking for a kimura here.
Johnson blocking the ground and pound attempt from Sanchez.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Sanchez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Sanchez throwing shots but Johnson is blocking nicely.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Johnson is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Sanchez.
Sanchez slaps away a takedown attempt from Johnson, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Sanchez shoots in and drives through. Johnson sprawls well.
Johnson slips a jab and a cross from Sanchez.
Johnson avoids a punch combination nicely.

Johnson scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Sanchez wants to get back to his feet.
Sanchez wants to get back to full guard.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.
Sanchez is trying to stand up here but Johnson is controlling him well.
Johnson 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.
Sanchez is looking to control Johnson's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sanchez avoid being mounted?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Johnson scores with a couple of nice shots.
Sanchez moves into full guard.
Johnson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Sanchez is trying to keep Johnson in close.
Johnson stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Sanchez swivels though and keeps the full guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Johnson postures up.
Sanchez has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Sanchez throws a right high kick that is partially blocked by Johnson.
Johnson avoids a punch combination nicely.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Johnson blocks a head kick by Sanchez.
Johnson shoots and misses
and Sanchez counters with a one-two to the body.
Sanchez throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.
No joy there for Sanchez, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Sanchez throws a right and a left that both miss.
Johnson shoots in but no luck this time.
A combination from Sanchez does no damage.
Sanchez tries to clinch up.

Johnson feints and as Sanchez raises his hands in defense, Johnson changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.
Sanchez is trying to keep Johnson in close.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Sanchez has wrist control.
Johnson throws a strike but Sanchez rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Sanchez loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Johnson looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Sanchez puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Johnson is trying to stand back up but Sanchez is controlling him
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sanchez tries to stand and escape but Johnson is controlling the position.
Johnson is looking to escape.
Sanchez trying to control from half guard but Johnson is working away.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
A right-left combo lands from Sanchez.
Johnson fails with the takedown.
Sanchez throws a sloppy head kick and Johnson moves out of range easily.

Johnson 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 has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Johnson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Johnson preventing the sweep.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Johnson missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

Sanchez looking for a guillotine here but Johnson defends easily.
Sanchez looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Johnson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Sanchez is controlling Johnson's posture.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Sanchez misses with a series of wild punches.

Johnson looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Johnson won't allow Sanchez to sweep him here.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.

Sanchez kicks Johnson off and gets to his feet.
Johnson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Sanchez's waist but Sanchez gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Johnson off to one side.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Johnson.
Nice body kick there by Sanchez.
A head kick misses from Sanchez.
Johnson finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Sanchez fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Johnson closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Sanchez regains half guard, as Johnson was trying to land strikes.
Johnson not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Sanchez trying to control but Johnson postures up.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is pressing down on Sanchez's thigh, looking to free his foot. Sanchez is holding on for now.
Sanchez is trying to stand up here but Johnson is controlling him well.
Johnson missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.

Johnson seems to be looking for submissions.
Sanchez gets back to full guard.
Sanchez wants to get back to his feet but Johnson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Sanchez as he avoids it easily.
Sanchez swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Johnson.
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 Ray Johnson will probably get the nod.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Sanchez scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Johnson tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Sanchez swivels and escapes.
Sanchez will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.

Sanchez has Johnson up against the ropes in a clinch.
Sanchez has Johnson pressed up against the ropes and is working for takedown. Johnson manages to improve position though and keeps the fight standing.
A frustrated look appears on Johnson's face as he tries to break the clinch.

Johnson gets a trip takedown into half guard.
Sanchez is looking to escape.
Johnson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Johnson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sanchez wants to control but Johnson is keeping busy.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sanchez gets full guard.
Johnson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Sanchez is on top in guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson looking for a sweep. Not yet Johnson, not yet.

Sanchez gets to his feet. Johnson looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Sanchez swinging wildly here.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Johnson is defended easily by Sanchez.
Sanchez fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.

Johnson scores a takedown into full mount!
Johnson putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Johnson throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Sanchez wants to try and get back to his feet.
The referee warns Sanchez that he has to improve his position here as he takes two more clean shots to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez manages to regain half guard. Good work.
Sanchez blocking the ground and pound attempt from Johnson.
Johnson throws a strike but Sanchez avoids it easily and moves to full guard.
Sanchez preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Sanchez throws a couple of heel strikes.
Johnson postures up.
Johnson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Johnson trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Sanchez manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Johnson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Sanchez is one step ahead there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Sanchez looks for a takedown but Johnson sprawls well.
Ray Johnson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Corey Sanchez.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown but Sanchez shows good takedown defense.
Sanchez lands with a kick to the temple. Johnson shrugs as if to say "is that all you've got?"
Sanchez pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Sanchez plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Sanchez swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Johnson shoots in for a takedown but Sanchez shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Sanchez is looking to clinch but Johnson is avoiding it.
Johnson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Horrible takedown by Johnson or perhaps it was just good defense by Sanchez which made him look bad.
Johnson fails with a takedown attempt.
A slapping leg kick lands for Sanchez.
Sanchez throws a nice looking combination but Johnson bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Johnson blocks a head kick by Sanchez.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Johnson drives through with a takedown into guard.
Johnson is looking to work some ground and pound but Sanchez has wrist control.
Johnson throws and elbow that misses. Sanchez uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Johnson's guard. Nice move by Sanchez!
Sanchez lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Sanchez is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Johnson looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Johnson throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.

Sanchez decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Johnson, up you get!
Sanchez lets loose with a powerful body kick. Johnson will feel that in the morning.
Johnson misses with a takedown
and Sanchez counters with a nice leg kick.
Sanchez throws a sloppy head kick and Johnson moves out of range easily.
Johnson is trying hard to land a takedown here. Sanchez sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Johnson shoots in for a double leg but Sanchez sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.

Sanchez gets the takedown into side control.

That's five minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez cracks Johnson with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Johnson is looking to regain half guard here but Sanchez keeps moving and retains side control.
Johnson is working hard here to advance position.
Johnson looks to move to half guard but instead Sanchez has passed into mount! Damn!
Sanchez lands a big elbow.
Sanchez punishing his opponent with strikes.
Johnson wants to use the ropes to get back to his feet here.
Sanchez with the ground and pound from mount.
Sanchez punishing his opponent with strikes.

That's six minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez looking to control but Johnson is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Sanchez looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.
Sanchez lands a heavy elbow.
Sanchez lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Johnson can't escape the position.
Sanchez landing strikes, looking to finish!
Sanchez lands a big elbow.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Johnson takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.

Sanchez has control of Johnson's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Johnson regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Johnson regains half guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sanchez thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.

That's seven minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to get back to full guard.
Sanchez landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sanchez seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Sanchez seems to be working for a kimura but Johnson defends the submission attempt.
Sanchez not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Johnson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Sanchez is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.
Sanchez scores with a couple of good hammerfists.

Well, the referee has seen enough. Neither fighter is active enough on the ground so he's stood them back up.
Sanchez displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Johnson.

That's eight minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are starting to boo a lack of action.
Sanchez is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

Sanchez has taken the fight to the clinch.

Sanchez breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Corey Sanchez seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Sanchez thows a left - swing and a miss!

Johnson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Sanchez!
Sanchez working to try and regain half guard.
Johnson landing punches.
Johnson looking to ground and pound but Sanchez is blocking nicely.
Sanchez is desperately trying to improve his position but Johnson has a good base and remains in mount.
Sanchez tries to hold on but Johnson postures up.
Ray Johnson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Johnson pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's nine minutes gone in the round.
Sanchez tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Johnson raining down shots from the mount!
Sanchez avoids a series of strikes thrown by Johnson.
Johnson landing strikes from the mount.
Sanchez is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Johnson postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Sanchez looks a forlorn figure.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Sanchez is in all sorts of trouble here.

And that's the end of the fight!
Corey Sanchez comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I have no idea who won that fight. Let's wait and see whether the judges are as confused as me! Time for a split decision perhaps?!. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Dean Styles scores the fight for Corey Sanchez!
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight for Corey Sanchez!
Judge Lou da Vinci scores the fight for Corey Sanchez!

Corey Sanchez wins by unanimous decision!