PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Sopheap Seng (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and D J Rich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). D J Rich has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Seng
vs
J Rich

169 cm
31
145 lbs
9 - 7 - 0

173 cm
34
145 lbs
23 - 23 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Lethal high kicks
Heavy handed

TFP Graphics - Pit Inc

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 9 - 7 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Sopheap Seng!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 23 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, D J Rich!
The judges for this bout are Illya Tyunina, Dmitry Maklakov and Aleksei Zolotukhin.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Seng works over Rich's head and body with a nice combination.
Rich throws a head kick but Seng moves out of range.
Seng wants to slow Rich down by chopping away at his legs.
Seng lands a nice hook to Rich's body. Rich takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
The fight stays on the outside here - Seng looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Rich avoids the head kick by Seng.
Seng wants to clinch but Rich slips to the side
and Rich counters with a three punch combination, finished off with a leg kick. Nice work.
Seng looks to land a body kick but Rich moved away.
Rich fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Seng manages to avoid it.
Sopheap Seng seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Seng misses with a low kick as Rich jumps back.
Rich looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Rich fails with a takedown attempt.
Rich jabs Seng to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Seng takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Rich lands a glancing blow to the side of Seng's head.
Rich circles away from the clinch attempt.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Seng throws a looping overhand right but Rich ducks down to avoid it.
Rich has a takedown stuffed.
Sopheap Seng is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Seng tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Rich checks a leg kick.
Rich throws a series of punches but Seng moves out of range.
Seng throws a body punch but Rich moves out of range.
Seng throws a low kick but Rich moves out of range easily.
Rich misses with a double jab.
Rich is looking to slow Seng down with leg kicks.
Rich throws a right hand that Seng ducks under and follows up with a left that Seng also avoids with ease.
Rich connects with a good right hand that stumbles Seng. Seng circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Seng misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Rich.
Rich rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Seng moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Seng misses with a straight right.
Seng takes one on the button.
Seng swings for the body but Rich moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Seng dodges the punch combination from Rich.
Rich looks to land a combination but Seng avoids it well.
Rich closes this distance looking for a takedown but Seng circles away.
Sopheap Seng has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of D J Rich.
Seng moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Rich takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Seng misses with a wild combination.
Rich uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Seng.
Sloppy strikes from Rich. Those never looked like landing.
Rich lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Seng backs up against the cage.
A looping hook to the body misses from Seng. Rich does a little dance to reset his feet.
Rich throws a series of punches but Seng avoids them all with ease.
Rich tries for a takedown but Seng sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rich looks gassed!
Rich swats away the attempt to clinch by Seng.
Good leg kick by Seng there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rich clobbers Seng with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Seng throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Sloppy strikes from Rich. Those never looked like landing.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Rich is defended easily by Seng.
Rich ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Seng moves away.
Seng moves out of range of the body kick.
Rich uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Seng.
Rich keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Seng fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rich uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Seng.
Seng jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Rich looks to throw the jab but Seng is out of range.
Seng looks to score with a jab to the body but Rich is just out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Seng misses with a two punch combination.
Rich looks to land a combination but Seng avoids it well.
Nice takedown defense from Seng. No joy for Rich on that attempt.
Seng dodges the punch combination from Rich.
Rich throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Rich takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Rich throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Seng.
Nice shot lands for Rich.
Seng misses with a body kick.
Seng fails with an attempt to clinch.
Seng swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Seng throws a right and a left that Rich avoids nicely.
Seng is looking to wear down Rich with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
A shot to the liver by Seng. Beautiful body shot.
Seng fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Rich connects with a single shot there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sopheap Seng dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rich throws a wild body kick that Seng sees coming a mile off.
Rich takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Seng fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Rich has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
A big left from Seng misses.
Seng buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Seng misses with a wild combination.
Seng throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Seng looking to take his opponent's legs away with the low kicks.
Seng takes a swing at Rich's ribcage but misses.
Rich uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Seng.
Seng throws a nice head kick!
Seng throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Seng lands a two punch combo.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Seng throws a right and a left that both miss.
Seng thumps Rich with a low kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rich decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
Rich not doing much here.
Rich is trying to control. Seng wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
Seng is trying to stand.
Rich seems to have lost interest with the ground game and is thinking about standing back up.
The fighters are going at a pretty good pace and they're both starting to sweat now.
Seng is looking to escape.
Rich wants to pass to mount but Seng is defending the position.
Seng looks like he's trying to stand up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Seng moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Rich missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
Rich looking to pass the guard.
Rich passes into half guard.
Rich stalling away here and it's allowed Seng to slip out his trapped foot and regain full guard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rich stops Seng from standing up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Seng is trying to keep Rich in close.
Rich trying to stand up but can't free himself from Seng's guard.
Rich pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Seng is keeping the position for now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Seng utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Rich stops Seng from standing up.

Rich decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Seng, up you get!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice body kick from Seng.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Seng lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Rich has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Rich and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Rich on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Seng throws a front kick aimed at Rich's knee but Rich avoids it well.
Seng looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sopheap Seng is winning the standup battle so far.
Seng throws a head kick but Rich moves out of range.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Seng throws a nice inside leg kick.
Rich's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Nice uppercut there from Rich.
Rich attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Rich goes to the watering hole and comes back with a big thumbs up from the judges as he scores a three punch combo.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Seng lands a two punch combo.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rich takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Rich lands with a right hand.
Rich shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Seng as he jumps to the side.
Rich throws a body punch but Seng moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sopheap Seng dominated that second round.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Rich tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Nice defenses there by Rich.
Rich throws a right and a left that both miss.
Rich ducks under a wild hook from Seng.
Seng ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Rich moves away.
Rich staying out of range there.
Rich throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Rich throws a combination that misses

and Seng moves into the clinch.
Seng has Rich pressed against the cage, preventing Rich from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Seng leaning against his opponent.
Seng looking to throw knees to the head but Rich is blocking nicely.
Seng is struggling to control the position.
Seng keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Rich's efforts to push away.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Seng content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Seng is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the cage.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Sopheap Seng.
Rich misses with a jab, cross combination.
Seng fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Rich.
Seng waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Rich.
Seng lands a right hook to the body.
Rich swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Rich avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Seng defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Rich.
Rich takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Seng misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Seng throws a leg kick but Rich moved away.
Seng throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.
Rich closes this distance looking for a takedown but Seng circles away.
Rich takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Seng swinging wildly here.
Seng throws a solid leg kick but Rich takes the impact on his shin and smiles at Seng.
Rich dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Seng. That did some damage!
Rich will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Rich misses with a jab, cross combination.
Seng leaves Rich with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Sopheap Seng has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of D J Rich.
Rich throws out a loose jab but Seng uses good head movement to avoid it.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Seng misses with a low kick.
Seng lands a jab to Rich's midsection.
A telegraphed right hand from Rich misses the target.
Rich stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Seng.
Seng misses with the combination.
Seng throws a nice outside leg kick.
Rich on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Seng. Seng obviously looking to wear him down.
Rich avoids a kick to the body.
Rich throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Seng pivots, looking for a leg kick but Rich is out of range and Seng settles back down.
Rich looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Seng tries a head kick but it misses.
A low kick from Seng misses
and Rich counters with a left and a right that stings Seng.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Seng throws a left and a right that both miss
and Rich counters with a nice leg kick.
A chopping leg kick lands by Seng.
Rich throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Seng.
Rich tries to land a front kick but Seng steps back. That was a bit too telegraphed.
Rich uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Seng.
Rich avoids a punch combination nicely.
Rich fails to land with a series of punches.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rich gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Seng.
Seng connects with a high kick.
Rich throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rich pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Seng cracks the inside of Rich's front leg.
D J Rich has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Seng scores with a three punch combo!

And that's the end of the fight!
Sopheap Seng showed his dominance in that final round.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Seng, 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 Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27
Judge Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Aleksei Zolotukhin scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sopheap Seng!
An out of breath Sopheap Seng thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.