PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jack Johnson (ranked 1413 p4p, 153 weight class) and Fray Bentos (ranked 4561 p4p, 407 weight class). Both these guys have solid standup skills and neither is particularly fantastic on the ground, so let's hope for a nice standup war!

Johnson
vs
Bentos

174 cm
29
152 lbs
9 - 5 - 0

170 cm
20
155 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Decent wrestler
Excellent MT
Very quick

Good wrestler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jack Johnson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Fray Bentos!
The judges for this bout are Columbo Gatti, John Kavanagh and Anthony Taglia.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Johnson doesn't manage to clinch there - Bentos circles away.
Bentos flicks out a counter leg kick but Johnson steps away.
Bentos avoids the body shot from Johnson.
Bentos cracks Johnson with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Johnson lands a head shot.
We've been informed that Bentos has been sparring a lot of Muay Thai in the buildup to this fight so let's see if that has an impact on the result.
Johnson tries to close the distance and clinch but Bentos swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Johnson clinches up with Bentos and pushes him back against the cage.
I was talking to Johnson's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Bentos is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Johnson is defending well.
A nice left hand lands by Bentos.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Johnson presses Bentos against the cage and delivers a mid-strength body shot.
Bentos taking a break, stalling in the clinch.
The fighters are pressed against the cage, as the pace of the fight slows.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Bentos has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Johnson is trying to keep an underhook but Bentos manages to get the takedown into half guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bentos working the head and body with strikes.
Bentos thows a huge punch but Johnson dodges it nicely.
Bentos has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Bentos throwing shots but Johnson is blocking nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson is looking for a sweep. Bentos is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Bentos is looking to take a break and control but Johnson is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Johnson won't allow Bentos to pass to mount.
Bentos throwing shots but Johnson is blocking nicely.
Bentos trying to control from half guard but Johnson is working away.
Bentos throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Bentos perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Bentos is trying to control. Johnson wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Nice strikes from Bentos there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bentos missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Bentos wants to control but Johnson is keeping him busy.
Bentos seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Johnson knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Bentos on the ground.
Bentos is looking to stall here but Johnson recovers full guard.
Johnson keeping full guard, as Bentos tries to pass.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bentos throws a big right hand that misses.
Bentos seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Johnson rushes Bentos and presses him up against the cage.
Johnson tries a body shot but Bentos blocks it.
Johnson stalling in the clinch but Bentos improves position.
Bentos taking a breather.
Johnson prevents a takedown attempt there.
Johnson digs a right hand into Bentos's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Bentos's gas tank.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
Johnson fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Bentos tries to stall but Johnson uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Bentos misses with a short punch on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a hook from the clinch.
Bentos's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Johnson takes a shot to the head.
Johnson lands a hook that snaps the head of Bentos backwards.

Johnson's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bentos uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Johnson.
Bentos throws a counter combo.

Bentos gets tackled into the cage by Johnson. Johnson maintains the clinch.
Bentos stalling in the clinch but Johnson improves position.
Bentos blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A nice right hand lands inside from Bentos.
Johnson throws a head punch that misses.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bentos slows down the pace here.
Bentos lands a body shot in the clinch.
Johnson tries to throw a body punch but Bentos avoids it by throwing Johnson back against the cage.
Still in the clinch, Bentos scores with a nice short uppercut.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fray Bentos dominated that round.
That's time! Back to the action!

Johnson throws a hook to the side of Bentos's head but Bentos sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Johnson takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
A big right from Johnson misses.
Bentos feints with a shoulder and throws a nice leg kick to Johnson's calf.
Bentos throws a shot from downtown. Johnson moves away and avoids it.
Bentos looks to land a body kick but Johnson moved away.
Bentos uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnson.
Bentos stuns Johnson with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Bentos lands a right hook to the body.

Johnson pushes Bentos up against the cage in a clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Bentos takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Nice body punch from Bentos - that landed with a thud.
Johnson throws a punch but it's blocked by Bentos.
The referee calls for Bentos to work.
Bentos scores with a nice hook to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Bentos misses with a punch to the body.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Bentos.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Bentos takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.
Johnson lands a body shot in the clinch.
Johnson tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Bentos is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Johnson gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
Jack Johnson has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Johnson scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Johnson tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Bentos's elbow.
Bentos is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Bentos misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Still in the clinch, Bentos scores with a nice short uppercut.
Johnson scores with a shoulder strike.
Johnson lands with a short punch from the clinch.
A short uppercut from Johnson.
Bentos looking for a takedown.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bentos is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
Johnson swings wildly with an uppercut but Bentos uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson misses with a short punch on the inside.
Both fighters working to control the clinch.

Bentos is working on a single leg takedown against the cage. Johnson can't fight it off and eventually Bentos manages to take the fight to the floor. Johnson looks annoyed but at least he's managed to land in guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Johnson is trying to control the position but Bentos postures up.
Bentos trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Johnson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Johnson controlling Bentos's posture.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Bentos from controlling successfully.
Bentos tries to free his leg and advance position but Johnson is retaining full guard.
Bentos slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.
Bentos scores with a couple of short elbows.
Bentos trying to control the position but Johnson is working away.
Johnson taking a bit of punishment here - Bentos scoring with strikes.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Bentos fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Bentos scoring with punches from side control.
Bentos working the ground and pound but Johnson is defending the strikes.
Johnson gives up the full mount - oops, sloppy defensive grappling there!
Bentos controlling from the full mount.
Bentos unloads with some shots from mount but Johnson bucks and avoids them well.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bentos with shots to the head and body - Johnson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Johnson is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Bentos putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Bentos punishing his opponent with strikes.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Fray Bentos showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

A looping hook to the body misses from Johnson. Bentos does a little dance to reset his feet.
Johnson takes a swing at Bentos's ribcage but misses.
A nice side step and Bentos releases a counter shot to the body, but it doesn't find it's home.
Bentos ducks right into an uppercut from Johnson.
Johnson throws an overhand right that lands on Bentos's shoulder, as Bentos tries to avoid the shot.

Bentos shoots in and bounces Johnson off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Johnson looking to control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Bentos trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bentos accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bentos trying to control but Johnson is working from the bottom.
Fray Bentos has got the better of the ground game so far.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bentos loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Bentos wants to control from the top but Johnson keeps moving.
Bentos working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Bentos is in close to Johnson's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Johnson is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Bentos not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Bentos pushing down on Johnson's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.
Jack Johnson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Bentos is trying to control the action in half guard but Johnson is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Bentos passes to full mount!
Bentos with shots to the head and body - Johnson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Johnson tries to reverse the position but Bentos maintains control.
Bentos lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Bentos wants to control the pace but Johnson is squirming around nicely.
Bentos throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Bentos connects with a bit shot that sees Johnson covering up! More strikes from Bentos and the referee jumps in to stop the fight! Bentos is our winner by TKO!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:55 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Fray Bentos!
After winning the bout, Fray Bentos thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.