PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Wei Shen (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Sam Keller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Shen comes to the cage accompanied by For Faith. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Shen
vs
Keller

170 cm
24
145 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

170 cm
28
143 lbs
8 - 3 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent MT
Experienced

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Fury Nutrition 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 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Wei Shen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Sam Keller!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, Timothy Bukovac and .

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Keller fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Keller lands a body shot.
No joy there for Keller, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Donk. Keller catches Shen right on the button with a cross.
Shen slips a jab from Keller.
Keller stooping low to avoid any incoming strikes and then lunges in with an uppercut come cross that lands flush.
Shen takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
A shot to the body from Keller misses

and Shen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Keller works his way to full guard. Good work.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Keller pulls Shen in to control the position.
Shen wants to get up but he can't break Keller's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Keller trying to control the position here.

Keller pushes Shen off for just long enough to get back to his feet. Very athletic spring there.
Keller looks to land a combination but Shen avoids it well.
Keller waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Shen.
Shen moves away from the strike by Keller.
Keller swats away the attempt to clinch by Shen.
Keller scores with a jab to the jaw.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Shen ducks under a wild hook from Keller.
Shen defending well as Keller loads up on a big left hand.
Shen tries to clinch up.
Shen takes one to the chin there.
A jab from Keller finds it's way through Shen's defenses.
Shen on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Keller lets the fists fly and connects with a left straight followed by a right hook.
Sam Keller seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Keller circles away from the clinch attempt
and Shen takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Keller lands a really nice looking cross but Shen seems unphased.
Keller swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller lands a jab to the nose.
Keller misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Shen.
Keller lands the left hand.
Shen tries to clinch but Keller is having none of it.
Shen avoids a punch combination nicely.
Donk. Keller catches Shen right on the button with a cross.
Keller scores with a hook to the body. Shen takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
Keller misses with a combination

and Shen counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Keller is positioning himself well to prevent Shen advancing to mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Keller kicks Shen off and gets back to his feet.
Keller swats away the attempt to clinch by Shen.
Keller uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Shen has time to react.
Keller circles away from the clinch attempt.
Keller swings widly with a right hand

and Shen counters with a single leg into guard. Keller didn't expect that.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Keller is on top in guard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Shen being controlled here, momentarily.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Sam Keller will probably get the nod.
That's time! Shen's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Shen defending well as Keller loads up on a big left hand.
Keller misses with an uppercut.
Keller throws the left hand but Shen avoids the punch easily.
Keller misses with a few strikes there.
Keller lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Shen tries to grapple but his opponent circles
and Keller counters with a three punch combo that has Shen backing up. Shen nods at Keller to acknowledge the strikes.
Shen tries to clinch up.
Keller throws a shot from downtown. Shen moves away and avoids it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Keller throws a poor cross that misses

and Shen decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Keller's guard.
Shen wants to get up but he can't break Keller's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
Keller is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Keller manages to land a sweep and now he's in mount on top!
Keller controlling his opponent.
Shen is not a happy chappy… he wants out of there.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Keller controlling from the full mount.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Sam Keller.
Keller clobbers Shen with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
Keller dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Keller lands a jab.
Keller misses with a hook. Shen ducked under it nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Keller's corner calls for a 1-2. Keller obliges with the 1 part as he scores the single shot and moves back out of range.
Keller might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Keller cracks Shen with a hook to the jaw. Both fighters smile at eachother and high-five before getting back down to business.
Keller cracks Shen with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
A jab lands there for Keller.
Keller connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Shen's hands.
No joy there for Keller, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Keller misses with a two punch combination.
Shen tries to clinch but Keller moves away
and Keller counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Shen staying out of range there.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shen is looking to clinch but Keller is avoiding it.
Keller lands a nice shot that snaps Shen's head back.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sam Keller showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. 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.

Keller scores with a hook.
Keller avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Keller throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Shen on the side of the head.
Keller shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Shen eats them both and turns towards Keller to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.
Keller misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Shen closes the distance looking to clinch
and Keller counters with a straight right hand.
Shen takes a shot right to the bread basket.
Keller falls off balance throwing a combination

so Shen counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Keller pulls Shen in close to his closed guard and prevents Shen from doing any damage or advancing position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Keller wants to sweep here but Shen controlling him for the moment.
Keller bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Shen's guard.

Keller gets to his feet - Shen follows without any prompting.
Keller throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Shen is looking to clinch but Keller is avoiding it.
Shen slips a jab from Keller.
Keller throws a looping overhand right but Shen ducks down to avoid it.
Shen looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Keller looks to land a combination but Shen avoids it well.
Shen tries to clinch up.
Shen dodges the punch combination from Keller.
Keller misses with a double jab.
Keller lunges at Shen with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Shen's hand.
Keller throws a good cross that connects.
Keller throws a looping overhand right but Shen ducks down to avoid it.
Shen tries to clinch but Keller moves out of range.
Keller throws a series of punches but Shen moves out of range.
Keller throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Shen stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
We are yet to see a takedown attempt from Keller in the fight. On paper you would think he is the more dominant ground fighter so let's see if these unusual tactics pay off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Keller connects with a body shot that sends Shen's belly button to the back.
Keller bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Shen's head backwards.
Keller rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Shen moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
A big right from Keller misses.
Keller throws a shot from downtown. Shen moves away and avoids it.
Keller misses with a series of wild punches.
Keller tests Shen's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Keller misses with a looping left.
Good standup being displayed there by Keller as he connects with a hook.
Sam Keller is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A big left from Keller misses.
Keller dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Keller throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
No joy there for Keller, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Shen moves forwards but Keller connects with a nice, crisp jab.
Shen is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Keller throws a hook but Shen avoids it easily.
Shen walks into a stiff left hand from Keller.
Wei Shen has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Shen drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
A slow jab from Keller misses its intended target.
Keller throws a right and a left that both miss.

And that's the end of the fight!
Sam Keller comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Keller winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Frank Antenori scores the fight 27:30
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 27:30
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Sam Keller!
A victorious Sam Keller thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.