PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Wayne Johnston (ranked 1869 p4p, 235 weight class) and Aslan Karimov (ranked 4905 p4p, 488 weight class). Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Johnston
vs
Karimov

193 cm
20
212 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

200 cm
18
204 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Basic striking
Granite chin

Good wrestler
Brawler
Powerful

Urban Fighter

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 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Wayne Johnston!
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, Aslan Karimov!
The judges for this bout are Chad Campbell, Alyssa Summers and Eddie Farnsworth.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Karimov darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Johnston moves into full guard.
Karimov throws a big elbow that misses.
Karimov preventing the sweep.
Johnston on his back here. We all know that wrestlers don't like being on their back so let's see if Johnston tries to get out of the position.
Johnston is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Karimov trying to control but Johnston is working from the bottom.
Karimov must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Karimov won't allow Johnston to sweep him here.
Johnston working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Karimov.
Johnston lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Karimov wants to stand up but Johnston is controlling him.
Johnston postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Johnston slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karimov takes a couple of big shots there - the referee warns him that he has to defend himself better.
Johnston working away.
Johnston lands a decent elbow from side control.
Karimov wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
Johnston cracks Karimov with an elbow. That is naaassty.
Johnston lands a few punches from side control.
Johnston working the head and body with strikes.
Karimov on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Karimov sneaks back into half guard.
Johnston is thwarting Karimov's attempts to control the position.
Johnston perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Johnston throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Johnston missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnston drops an elbow to the side of Karimov's head.
Karimov wants to improve his position but Johnston is controlling well.
Karimov is looking to control Johnston's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Karimov avoid being mounted?
Johnston is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Johnston is looking to advance position but Karimov won't allow it.
Johnston working the head and body with strikes.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Johnston is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Johnston seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Johnston trying to control from half guard but Karimov is working away.
Both fighters have adopted an aggressive gameplan on the ground!
Johnston winds up and cracks Karimov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Karimov is refusing to be controlled, as Johnston sits in half guard.
Johnston 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Karimov wants to control but Johnston is keeping busy.
Karimov is refusing to be controlled, as Johnston sits in half guard.
Karimov pushes Johnston off looking to stand but Johnston dives back in and keeps control.
Johnston 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.
Karimov tries to get to full guard but Johnston has control of the leg.
Ground and pound from Johnston.
Johnston seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Karimov does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Karimov is trying to control but can't.
Johnston stalling.
Johnston passes the guard and advances to mount!
Karimov is trying desperately to improve position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karimov is in a horrible position here. Johnston smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Johnston scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Karimov?
Johnston avoids the attempt from Karimov to control.
Karimov wants to try and get back to his feet.
Johnston scoring with strikes but Karimov is staying in there.
Johnston content just to control the position here.
Johnston landing punches.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Karimov is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Johnston scoring with strikes but Karimov is staying in there.
Johnston connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Karimov wants to try and get back to his feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wayne Johnston dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Johnston gets a double leg takedown into Karimov's guard.
Karimov is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Johnston advances to half guard.
Johnston is keeping good posture, landing some ground and pound.
Johnston seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.

Johnston is trying to work for a kimura but Karimov is defending well.
Wayne Johnston overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Karimov trying to hold on to Johnston's head to control him but Johnston postures up.
Johnston is trying to control the action in half guard but Karimov is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Johnston is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Karimov can do to turn this around?
Johnston winds up and cracks Karimov with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Johnston stops Karimov from getting back to his feet.
Karimov trying to control from the bottom.
Johnston is scoring with some nice ground and pound from the dominant position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Karimov scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Johnston manages to mount him!

Johnston is working for a guillotine from mount but Karimov frees his head quite easily.
Johnston scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Johnston lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Johnston looking to finish Karimov with some ground and pound. This is bad for Karimov!
Johnston lands a nice shot to the head.
Johnston putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Johnston working the ground and pound effectively.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Karimov takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Karimov is really trying hard to get back to his feet.
Karimov tries to reverse the position but Johnston maintains control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Johnston connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
Karimov is trying to escape but when you're mounted that's not too easy.
Johnston prevents Karimov from getting the reversal.
Johnston raining down hammerfists from mount.
Johnston has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Karimov's face.
BOOM! Johnston connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Johnston scoring with strikes but Karimov is staying in there.
Johnston lands a nice shot to the head.

Johnston with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Karimov really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Johnston. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Johnston working the ground and pound effectively.
Johnston has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Karimov's face.
Karimov taking shots to the head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Johnston tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Johnston pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Johnston lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
Karimov wants to hold on but Johnston pushes him away.
Karimov is looking to improve his position but Johnston isn't that keen on the idea.
Johnston scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Karimov?
Karimov is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.
Johnston scores with a couple of good head shots there.
Karimov wants to control but Johnston is having none of it.
Johnston putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Karimov is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Johnston connects with a couple of good shots from mount.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Johnston fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

It looks like Aslan Karimov has been cut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Karimov trying desperately to get to his feet.
Johnston lands an elbow that was bordering on illegal but the referee lets it go with a warning.
Johnston lands a heavy elbow.
BOOM! Johnston connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Karimov in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Johnston lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

Karimov is rocked!
Karimov is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
Johnston cracks Karimov with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Karimov is still in real trouble! Can Johnston finish him?

That has opened up Aslan Karimov's cut even more.
Johnston postures up and throws a massive shot that knocks Karimov out cold! Two more strikes to his unconscious opponent for good luck and this one is all over! Johnston goes absolutely crazy with his corner! Wow, you can see how much that win means to him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:50 of round 2, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Wayne Johnston!