Johnson vs Sowma

Who won Johnson vs Sowma?

Timothy Johnson beat Said Sowma by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest during the co-main event of Bellator 294, on Friday 21st April 2023 at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

The scorecards were announced as 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 in favor of the winner Timothy Johnson.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Heavyweight division, which meant the weight limit was 265 pounds (18.9 stone or 120.2 KG).

Johnson vs Sowma stats

Timothy Johnson stepped into the octagon with a record of 15 wins, 9 losses and 0 draws, 8 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 3 by submission.

Said Sowma made his way to the cage with a record of 8 wins, 4 losses and 0 draws, 5 of those wins coming by knock out and 1 by submission.

This was Timothy Johnson's 9th fight in Bellator, having made his debut for the promotion in 2018.

Timothy Johnson's Bellator record stood at 4-5-0, while Said Sowma's came in at 2-4-0.

The stats suggested Sowma had a slight advantage in power over Johnson, with a 63% knock out percentage over Johnson's 53%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Johnson had a slight advantage over Sowma, with a 20% submission rate over Sowma's 13%.

Timothy Johnson was the older man by 8 years, at 39 years old.

Johnson had a height advantage of 4 inches over Sowma. That also extended to a 2-inch reach advantage.

Johnson was the more experienced professional fighter, having had 12 more fights, and made his debut in 2010, 7 years and 5 months earlier than Sowma, whose first professional fight was in 2018. He had fought 16 more professional rounds, 49 to Sowma's 33.

Johnson vs Sowma form

Johnson had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents, stopping 1 of them, going to the judges once.

In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had lost to Linton Vassell at Bellator 277 on 15th April 2022 by knockout in the 1st round at SAP Center, San Jose, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator MMA on 23rd October 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at VTB Arena, Moscow, Russia.

Going into that contest, he had been defeated by Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 261 on 25th June 2021 by unanimous decision in their 5 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Before that, he had won against Cheick Kongo at Bellator 248 on 10th October 2020 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Accor Arena, Paris, France.

He had beaten Matt Mitrione at Bellator 243 on 7th August 2020 by knockout in the 1st round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

Said Sowma had stopped 2 of his last 5 opponents.

In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to Gokhan Saricam at Bellator 284 on 12th August 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Sanford Pentagon, Sioux Falls, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Davion Franklin at Bellator 274 on 19th February 2022 by split decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Going into that contest, he had defeated Vitaly Minakov at Bellator MMA on 23rd October 2021 by knockout in the 3rd round at VTB Arena, Moscow, Russia.

Before that, he was victorious against Ronny Markes at Bellator 262 on 16th July 2021 by knockout in the 1st round at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, United States.

He had been defeated by Tyrell Fortune at Bellator 251 on 5th November 2020 by unanimous decision in their 3 round contest at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.

Activity check

In terms of activity leading into the fight, Said Sowma had been fighting more than Timothy Johnson.

Going to this contest, Timothy Johnson had last fought 2 years, 8 months and 8 days ago, while Said Sowma's last outing had been 2 years, 4 months and 11 days ago.

Johnson's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 4 months and 16 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 15 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 11 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.2 rounds on average.

Sowma's last 5 fights had come over a period of 4 years, 1 month and 18 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 9 months and 28 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 13 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.6 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Johnson vs Sowma?

Timothy Johnson was a 11/8 (+140) underdog going into the contest, while Said Sowma made his way into the ring at 8/15 (-190) with oddsmakers.