PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Joseph Futeran (ranked 2003 p4p, 1980 weight class) and Champ Johnson (ranked 237 p4p, 236 weight class). Futeran's entrance music is Jesus Christ Superstar. A fine choice. The crowd seem to be enjoying Johnson's choice of entrance music: Can't Be Touched. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Futeran
vs
Johnson

176 cm
26
161
10 - 9 - 0

180 cm
25
157
5 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
World class boxer
Very quick

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

HELLBENT

Voodoo Nutrition
HELLBENT

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 10 - 9 - 0, fighting out of London, Joseph Futeran!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Champ Johnson!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Donald Grub and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Futeran throws a body punch but Johnson moves out of range.
Futeran misses with a hook
and Johnson counters with a body kick that stops Futeran in his tracks momentarily.
Futeran throws a poor cross that misses
and Johnson counters with a nice leg kick.
Futeran has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Johnson.
Futeran misses with a jab, cross combination.
Futeran checks the leg kick.
Futeran swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Futeran scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
A lazy left from Futeran finds it's target.
Johnson takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Johnson keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Johnson with a nice calf kick.
Futeran lands a lovely overhand right.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Johnson throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Futeran on the side of the head.
Futeran misses with a right hand
and Johnson connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.
Futeran fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Johnson manages to avoid it.
Futeran tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Johnson swivels and escapes.
Johnson misses with an uppercut.
Johnson scores with a sloppy right hand. Futeran should have avoided that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson cracks Futeran with a good jab.
A lazy left from Johnson finds it's target.
Futeran scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
A jab from Futeran misses.
Futeran displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Johnson throws out the jab.
Johnson just misses with a punch to the body.
Futeran tries to counter with a takedown but Johnson is quick to defend against it.
Futeran connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Johnson's hands.
Futeran throws an overhand right that lands on Johnson's shoulder, as Johnson tries to avoid the shot.
Futeran connects with a nice looking jab.
Futeran feints a jab promting Johnson to slip. Futeran then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Johnson slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
Futeran misses with a looping left.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Futeran bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Johnson's head.
Futeran swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Johnson feints a counter leg kick.
Futeran on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Johnson. Johnson obviously looking to wear him down.
Futeran tries for a takedown but Johnson sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Futeran misses with a leg kick.
A little jabbing left from Johnson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Futeran thuds his shin into the meat of Johnson's side.
Johnson moves out of range as Futeran strikes.
Futeran shoots in and drives through. Johnson sprawls well.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joseph Futeran. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Futeran loads up on a big right hand but Johnson slips the punch.
Johnson bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Futeran's head.
Futeran scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Futeran throws a series of punches but Johnson moves out of range.
Champ Johnson is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Johnson uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Futeran.
Johnson appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
Johnson swings away with a leg kick that misses.
Johnson scores with a jab to the jaw.
Futeran has his takedown stuffed
and Johnson counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Johnson jabs Futeran to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Futeran throws a lazy uppercut
and Johnson counters with a thumping low kick.
Johnson blocks a low kick nicely.
Johnson has worked on his takedown defense in the runup to this fight and it is paying off so far.
Futeran throws a sloppy body shot
and Johnson counters with a nice uppercut.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A lazy left from Johnson finds it's target.

Futeran is rocked!
Futeran cracks Johnson with a right hand to the side of the head.
Oh Futeran is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Futeran fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Johnson flicks out a counter leg kick but Futeran steps away.
Futeran seems to have got his legs back now.
A telegraphed right hand from Futeran misses the target.
Johnson displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Futeran throws out the jab.
Futeran checks the leg kick.
Futeran misses with a low kick.
Futeran has been working on his balance at Cause & Effect, so perhaps that has help him stuff some of the takedown attempts by Johnson.
Futeran is looking to land body kicks.
A leg kick checked by Futeran.
Johnson throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
Futeran jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Futeran thuds his right hand into Johnson's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
A nice leg kick from Johnson, right into the meat of the thigh.
Johnson tried to score with a low kick but Futeran checks it.
Futeran looked to counter that last move with a leg kick but didn't pull the trigger.
Futeran shoots for a takedown but Johnson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Futeran. Johnson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Johnson swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Futeran swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Futeran misses the shot to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Futeran throws a body shot but no joy.
Johnson let fly with a counter punch to the body but it didn't land.
Johnson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Futeran.
Futeran throws a hook but Johnson avoids it easily.
Johnson misses with a low kick.
Futeran throws a big shot that misses.
Johnson throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Futeran counters with a stiff right hand.
Nice body punch from Futeran.
Futeran misses with a shot to the body
and Johnson counters with a nice body kick.
Johnson throws a head kick that misses
and Futeran counters with a straight right hand.
Futeran moves out of range as Johnson strikes.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Futeran thows a left - swing and a miss!
Johnson throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Johnson throws the kick towards the body but Futeran avoids it.
Futeran slips under a jab from Johnson.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Champ Johnson will probably get the nod.
That's time! Futeran's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Johnson throws a leg kick which misses Futeran's front leg but catches the back leg as Futeran tries to avoid it.
A big right from Johnson misses.
Johnson throws a wild body kick that Futeran sees coming a mile off.
Futeran throws a series of punches but Johnson avoids them all with ease.
Futeran swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.

Futeran closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Johnson's guard.
Johnson wants to stand and escape but Futeran is having none of it.
Johnson working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Futeran.
Johnson is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Futeran is controlling him.
Futeran has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Johnson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.

Johnson is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.
Johnson misses with some punches.
Futeran prevents Johnson from breaking the clinch.
Futeran misses with an elbow strike.
Johnson working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Futeran.
Futeran doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Futeran swings wildly with an uppercut but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Johnson being controlled against the cage.
Futeran misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Johnson fails to land.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Johnson.

Johnson breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Johnson connects with a looping right hand.
Johnson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Futeran scores with a body shot.
Johnson defending well as Futeran loads up on a big left hand.
Johnson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Futeran.
Johnson blocks a jab.
Johnson throws a lazy right hand but Futeran sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Futeran fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Futeran manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Johnson on his heels. He'll look to pass Johnson's guard now, I'm sure.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Johnson wants to stand up but Futeran is controlling him.
Futeran postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Johnson wants to stand but Futeran is controlling the position.

Johnson has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Futeran off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.
Futeran shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Johnson sprawls well. Johnson wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Futeran gets slowly back to his feet.
Johnson misses with a hook. Futeran ducked under it nicely.
Futeran shoots in for a takedown - he's clinched up with Johnson but Johnson pushes him off and we're back to square one.
Champ Johnson seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Futeran throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Futeran on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Futeran.
Futeran misses with a wild body shot.
Futeran shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Futeran keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Johnson.

Futeran shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Futeran was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Johnson is trying to escape and get back to his feet.
Johnson taking a bit of punishment here - Futeran scoring with strikes.
Johnson avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Futeran.
Johnson is trying to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Johnson bucks up and manages to escape back to his feet!
An inside leg kick from Johnson misses.
A jab from Johnson misses.
Futeran throws a body punch but Johnson moves out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Futeran throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Johnson stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
This has been an exciting period of action!
A big right from Futeran misses.
Futeran misses the shot to the body.

Futeran manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Johnson on his heels. He'll look to pass Johnson's guard now, I'm sure.
Johnson wants to get back to his feet but Futeran is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Futeran cracks Johnson with a solid left hand.
Futeran throwing strikes from guard but Johnson blocks nicely.
Futeran lands a nice shot whilst sitting in his opponent's guard.

Johnson manages to escape and get back to his feet.
Johnson fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Futeran drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Futeran jabs. That one connects to the head of his opponent.
Futeran throws out a loose jab but Johnson uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice takedown defense from Johnson. No joy for Futeran on that attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Joseph Futeran. That's going to take a lot out of him.
A combination from Futeran does no damage.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Champ Johnson will probably get the nod - 10:9.
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. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Johnson connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Futeran is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.
Johnson lands a slapping body shot.
Johnson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Futeran.
Futeran throws a jab, cross combination which is slipped
and Johnson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Johnson lands a jab to Futeran's midsection.
Johnson scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Futeran misses with a looping right.
Johnson takes a swing at Futeran's ribcage but misses.
Futeran misses with a combination
and Johnson makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Futeran jabbing away but nothing is landing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnson scores with a hook to the body. Futeran takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Futeran shoots in for a double leg but Johnson sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Johnson lands with an uppercut that bounces Futeran off the cage and back into range.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Johnson lands a slapping body shot.
Johnson buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnson lands a jab to the head.
A punch lands to the side of Futeran 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Sloppy strikes from Futeran. Those never looked like landing.
Johnson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Futeran throws a body punch but Johnson moves out of range.
Futeran blocks a jab.
Futeran misses with a looping right.
Johnson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Futeran was well out of range. Poor timing from Johnson.
Futeran swings for the body but Johnson moves out of range.
Futeran defending well as Johnson loads up on a big left hand.
Johnson misses with a hook. Futeran ducked under it nicely.
Johnson has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Johnson scores with a nice head shot.

Futeran shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Futeran showed some decent athleticism there.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Johnson makes some distance and scrambles quickly back to his feet. Nice work!
Joseph Futeran has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Futeran blocks a leg kick.
Futeran lands a glancing blow to the side of Johnson's head.
Nice straight punches there by Johnson. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Johnson.
Johnson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Johnson throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Futeran misses with a right hand
and Johnson counters with a stiff right hand.

Johnson gets taken down but at least he's managed to land in guard.
Futeran won't allow Johnson to get back to his feet.
Futeran with a flurry of punches that miss.
Johnson keeping moving, preventing Futeran from controlling successfully.
Johnson wants to stand but Futeran is controlling the position.
Futeran's corner is telling him to maintain position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Johnson is looking to stand back up but Futeran counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Johnson.
Johnson tries to kick Futeran off but Futeran keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Johnson avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Futeran.
Johnson is trying to stand.
Champ Johnson has got the better of the ground game so far.
Futeran wants to pass the guard but Johnson is defending well.

Johnson pushes Futeran off and gets back to his feet.
Futeran shoots and misses
and Johnson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Futeran avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Johnson throws out a leg kick but Futeran moves out of range and Johnson only half commits.
Futeran looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
A shot to the body from Futeran misses
and Johnson makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson misses with a body shot.
Futeran blocks a leg kick.
Futeran lands a jab to Johnson's midsection.
Futeran bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Johnson is looking to slow Futeran down with leg kicks.
Futeran slips under a jab from Johnson.
Futeran misses with an uppercut
and Johnson counters with a stiff right hand.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Futeran is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Johnson.
Futeran just misses with a punch to the body.
Futeran's corner calls for a 1-2. Futeran obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Johnson takes a jab right on the kisser.
Futeran fakes and then throws a beautiful body shot. Johnson looks a bit winded and takes a step backwards to take a breath.
Futeran ducks right into an uppercut from Johnson.
Futeran throws a right hand that Johnson ducks under and follows up with a left that Johnson also avoids with ease.
A little jabbing left from Johnson on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

And that's the end of the fight!
Champ Johnson comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Johnson has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 James Atkins scores the fight 27:30
Judge Donald Grub scores the fight 28:30
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Champ Johnson!
Champ Johnson tried to hype himself up post fight but didn't word it too well and it ended up with him sounding like a bit of a tool.