PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Kazushi Saakuuraabaa (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jonas Johnson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Kazushi Saakuuraabaa has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Saakuuraabaa
vs
Johnson

185 cm
23
205 lbs
4 - 3 - 0

199 cm
20
199 lbs
5 - 6 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Kazushi Saakuuraabaa!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Jonas Johnson!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Chris Downing and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Saakuuraabaa decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Saakuuraabaa wants to free his trapped foot but Johnson is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Saakuuraabaa thows a big elbow that misses, also allowing Johnson to regain full guard.
Johnson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Johnson wants to sweep but no luck.

Johnson working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Saakuuraabaa doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Saakuuraabaa manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Saakuuraabaa throwing strikes but missing.
Saakuuraabaa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Saakuuraabaa lands a couple of digs.
Saakuuraabaa trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Saakuuraabaa working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Saakuuraabaa postures up.
Saakuuraabaa postures up in Johnson's guard and throws a big left but Johnson blocks it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa scoring with some ground and pound.
Johnson is trying to keep Saakuuraabaa in close.
Johnson avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Saakuuraabaa missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Johnson utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Johnson wants to sweep but no luck.
Saakuuraabaa makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Johnson working a defensive guard here.
Saakuuraabaa throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Saakuuraabaa throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Saakuuraabaa throws a big right hand that misses.
Saakuuraabaa working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

That's two 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.

Saakuuraabaa decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Johnson, up you get!
Johnson looks gassed!
Saakuuraabaa circles away from the clinch attempt.
Saakuuraabaa shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Johnson tries for a takedown but Saakuuraabaa circles away easily

and Saakuuraabaa counters with a takedown into full mount! That could mean trouble for Johnson!
Saakuuraabaa raining down shots from the mount!
Saakuuraabaa with the ground and pound from mount.
Johnson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Saakuuraabaa pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Saakuuraabaa with shots to the head and body - Johnson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Saakuuraabaa dominating with strikes here.
Johnson is desperately trying to improve his position but Saakuuraabaa has a good base and remains in mount.
Saakuuraabaa working Johnson over with strikes here.
Saakuuraabaa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Saakuuraabaa breaks from Johnson's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Saakuuraabaa landing punches.
Saakuuraabaa cracks Johnson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Saakuuraabaa lands a big shot there that rocks Johnson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Johnson is desperately trying to improve his position but Saakuuraabaa has a good base and remains in mount.
Saakuuraabaa raining down shots from the mount!
Saakuuraabaa scoring with strikes but Johnson is staying in there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Johnson is bucking up trying to escape but Saakuuraabaa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Saakuuraabaa thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Johnson working to try and regain half guard.
Saakuuraabaa breaks from Johnson's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Saakuuraabaa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Saakuuraabaa landing shots from mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Saakuuraabaa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
A nice elbow there by Saakuuraabaa.
Saakuuraabaa connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kazushi Saakuuraabaa dominated that round.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action.

Johnson doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Saakuuraabaa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Saakuuraabaa tries to pass to full mount but Johnson defends it.
Johnson wants to improve his position but Saakuuraabaa is controlling well.
Saakuuraabaa is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Saakuuraabaa missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Saakuuraabaa works his way into full mount!
Kazushi Saakuuraabaa overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Saakuuraabaa postures up and cracks his opponent a couple of times before moving back into close ground control. Johnson looks a forlorn figure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa cracks Johnson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Saakuuraabaa with the ground and pound from mount.
Saakuuraabaa landing strikes from the mount and Johnson is in trouble!
Saakuuraabaa cracks Johnson with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Saakuuraabaa is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Johnson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Saakuuraabaa with the ground and pound from mount.
Johnson takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Johnson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
A nice elbow there by Saakuuraabaa.
Saakuuraabaa landing punches.
Saakuuraabaa thowing shots but they're missing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa lands a big shot there that rocks Johnson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
BOOM! Saakuuraabaa connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Johnson tries to reverse the position but Saakuuraabaa maintains control.
Saakuuraabaa unloading with bombs!
Saakuuraabaa in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Saakuuraabaa working away from the top, dropping strikes.
Saakuuraabaa lands a heavy elbow.
Johnson is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Saakuuraabaa 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.
Saakuuraabaa lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa landing punches.
Johnson is desperately trying to improve his position but Saakuuraabaa has a good base and remains in mount.
Saakuuraabaa is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Johnson tries to hold on but Saakuuraabaa postures up.
Saakuuraabaa lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Johnson hang on?
BOOM! Saakuuraabaa connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Johnson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Saakuuraabaa. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Saakuuraabaa landing strikes from the mount and Johnson is in trouble!
Johnson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Johnson taking shots to the head.
A nice elbow there by Saakuuraabaa.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa unloading with bombs!
Saakuuraabaa working the ground and pound effectively.
A nice elbow there by Saakuuraabaa.
Johnson gets back to half guard.
Saakuuraabaa tries to pass the half guard into mount. Johnson knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Saakuuraabaa is looking to pass Johnson's guard but actually Johnson recovers to full guard.
Saakuuraabaa keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Johnson's head.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Kazushi Saakuuraabaa dominated that second round.
That's time! Saakuuraabaa's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Johnson shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Saakuuraabaa counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Saakuuraabaa passes the guard and advances to mount!
Saakuuraabaa landing shots from mount.
Saakuuraabaa landing punches.
Saakuuraabaa working the ground and pound effectively.
Saakuuraabaa scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Johnson?
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Saakuuraabaa landing strikes from the mount and Johnson is in trouble!
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Johnson in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa landing punches.
Saakuuraabaa dominating with strikes here.
Johnson tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Johnson is bucking up trying to escape but Saakuuraabaa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Saakuuraabaa lands a heavy elbow.
Saakuuraabaa lands a big shot there that rocks Johnson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Saakuuraabaa with shots to the head and body - Johnson looks very uncomfortable down there.
Saakuuraabaa is still in mount, landing shots to his trapped opponent. Johnson can't stay in a position like this for much longer.
Johnson is bucking up trying to escape but Saakuuraabaa cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Johnson wants to control but Saakuuraabaa is having none of it.
Saakuuraabaa breaks from Johnson's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Kazushi Saakuuraabaa is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa controlling from the full mount.
Saakuuraabaa dominating with strikes here.
Saakuuraabaa tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Saakuuraabaa has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.
Johnson is working to get back to half guard.
Saakuuraabaa content just to control the position here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnson wants to hold on but Saakuuraabaa pushes him away.
Saakuuraabaa takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

The referee stands the fighters back up. Kazushi Saakuuraabaa just wasn't active enough from the dominant position.

Saakuuraabaa shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Johnson is trying to defend but Saakuuraabaa finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Saakuuraabaa trying to control the pace.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Johnson wants to control but Saakuuraabaa is keeping busy and won't allow it.

And that's the end of the fight!
Kazushi Saakuuraabaa showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Saakuuraabaa, 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:25
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:25
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:25

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Kazushi Saakuuraabaa!