PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Gunnar Johnsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Danny Harper (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Johnsson comes to the cage accompanied by Kashmir - Led Zeppelin. Danny Harper has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Johnsson
vs
Harper

180 cm
23
180 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

179 cm
20
169 lbs
6 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Solid chin

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Gunnar Johnsson!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Danny Harper!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Chris Edwards and Andrew Berry.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Harper shoots for a takedown but Johnsson saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Harper tries to clinch but Johnsson is having none of it.
Harper closes the distance and clinches up with Johnsson, looking for a takedown. Harper pushes Johnsson against the cage but Johnsson circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Johnsson tries to check the leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Johnsson slips under a jab.

Johnsson closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Johnsson lands in his opponent's guard.
Johnsson postures up in Harper's guard and throws a big left but Harper blocks it.
Harper avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Johnsson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Harper throwing rabbit punches from the bottom - showing the judges that he's keeping busy.
Johnsson passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Johnsson throwing shots but missing, from side control.
Harper is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Johnsson missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Johnsson is thwarting Harper's attempts to control the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnsson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Johnsson is looking to take a break and control but Harper is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Harper trying to control but Johnsson postures up.
Harper is trying to stand.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Harper misses with a takedown attempt

and Johnsson counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Johnsson.
Gunnar Johnsson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Danny Harper.
Harper not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Harper might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Johnsson kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Johnsson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Johnsson drops back, looking for a kneebar! Harper looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Harper looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Harper!
Johnsson gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Johnsson is striking from the bottom but he's now found himself mounted! Oh dear - not enough focus on defense there.
Johnsson 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.
Johnsson is desperately trying to improve his position but Harper has a good base and remains in mount.
Johnsson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Johnsson working to try and regain half guard.
Harper controlling his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnsson is squirming around, avoiding Harper's attempts to control the action.
Johnsson is wriggling around trying to escape.
Johnsson regains half guard.
Harper trying to pass the guard but Johnsson defending well.

Harper is trying to work for a kimura but Johnsson is defending well.
Johnsson works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Harper wants to control from the top but Johnsson keeps moving.
Johnsson looking to hit a scissor sweep but Harper is one step ahead there.
Harper trying to control but Johnsson is working from the bottom.
Johnsson wants to sweep but no luck.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Harper tries to bum rush Johnsson with a series of wild strikes but Johnsson uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gunnar Johnsson dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Johnsson slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Harper uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Johnsson.
Harper fails with an attempt to clinch.
Harper has his takedown stuffed
and Johnsson cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Harper throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Johnsson's waist but Johnsson gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Harper off to one side.

Johnsson looking to shoot here. He's gone for it and he's landed a takedown into mount! Oh, that's bad for Harper!
Harper wants to hold on but Johnsson pushes him away.
Johnsson pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Johnsson in mount throwing good strikes here, bouncing his opponent's head off the canvas.
Johnsson landing shots from mount.
Johnsson looking to ground and pound but Harper is blocking nicely.
Johnsson landing strikes from the mount and Harper is in trouble!
Harper keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
The crowd growing excited in anticipation of a finish here! Right on cue, Johnsson cracks his opponent with a massive right hand that draws loud cheers!

That's one minute gone in the round.

Johnsson working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Johnsson misses with a head shot.
Harper is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Johnsson thowing shots but they're missing.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Harper is trying to escape the mount.
Harper tries to hold on but Johnsson pushes him away.
Harper blocking the ground and pound.
Harper can't escape the position.

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.
Johnsson has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Harper's face.
Johnsson thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Harper is wriggling around trying to escape.
Harper is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Harper tries to hold on but Johnsson pushes him away.
Harper is looking to get to half guard.
Harper holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Johnsson tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Harper taking shots to the head.
Johnsson lands a nice shot to the head.
Johnsson is landing with some decent strikes but Harper is trying to advance his position so the referee is letting the fight continue.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnsson thowing shots but they're missing.
Harper manages to work a leg through to get back to half guard here. Good work there by Harper, under a barage of strikes from Johnsson.
Johnsson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Harper wants to improve his position but Johnsson is controlling well.
Johnsson sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Harper is trying to control but can't.
Johnsson tries to pass the half guard into mount. Harper knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Harper pushes Johnsson off looking to stand but Johnsson dives back in and keeps control.

That's four 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.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Harper shoots and misses

and Johnsson counters with a single leg into guard. Harper didn't expect that.
Gunnar Johnsson has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Danny Harper.
Johnsson working some strikes from top position.
Johnsson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Johnsson wants to control from the top but Harper keeps moving.
Johnsson throws a big right hand that misses.
Johnsson being controlled here momentarily.
Johnsson working some strikes from top position.
Harper avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Johnsson drops back looking for a heel hook - he quickly realises he's not going to get it but Harper manages to dive on top of him before he can escape and now Johnsson has Harper in his guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gunnar Johnsson dominated that second round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Johnsson throws a lazy right hand but Harper sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

Johnsson scores a takedown into full mount!
Harper swinging wildly from the bottom but he's not landing.
Harper is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Harper regains half guard.
Harper wants to control but Johnsson is keeping busy.
Johnsson prevents Harper from improving his position.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Johnsson not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Harper trying to control from the bottom.
Harper wants to get back to his feet.
Johnsson missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Johnsson stalling away here and it's allowed Harper to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.

The referee has ruled that neither fighter is active enough on the ground and has stood them back up.
Harper tries for a takedown but Johnsson circles away easily

and Johnsson counters with a takedown into side control.
Harper trying to remain calm as Johnsson controls from the top position.
Johnsson in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Harper gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Harper works his way to full guard. Good work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Harper trying to keep a closed guard but Johnsson is proving a slippery customer.
Gunnar Johnsson overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Johnsson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Johnsson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Harper is trying to control the position but Johnsson postures up.
Johnsson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Harper's head.
Harper manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Johnsson is trying to reverse the position but instead Harper has taken his back - oops!
Harper avoiding Johnsson 's attempts to control his hands.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnsson is very frustrated here, being controlled quite effectively by Harper.
Harper is trying to stick to Johnsson's back but Johnsson is turning into Harper. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Harper's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Johnsson.
Harper wants to stand but Johnsson is controlling the position.
Johnsson working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Johnsson forces his way into half guard.
Harper is trying to maintain the position but Johnsson is very close to passing his half guard.
Harper tries to get to full guard but Johnsson has control of the leg.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Harper moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Johnsson looking to pass the guard.
Harper wants to get back to his feet but Johnsson is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Johnsson throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Harper works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Harper is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Johnsson tries to free his leg and advance position but Harper is retaining full guard.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Johnsson dodges the punch combination from Harper.
Harper doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Johnsson counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Harper's guard now.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Gunnar Johnsson clearly takes that round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Harper scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Harper prevents Johnsson from improving his position.
Johnsson moves into full guard.
Harper must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Harper wants to control from the top but Johnsson keeps moving.

Johnsson is actively looking for submissions from his back. He's worked himself a little space on the bottom and seems to be going for a triangle. No, he's switched into an armbar! That was slick! Harper rolls with it to try and escape but Johnsson cranks on the arm and Harper is forced to tap out! This one is aaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:47 of round 4, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Gunnar Johnsson!
Gunnar Johnsson retains his welterweight title!