PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Fourie Du Preez (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and DJ Benn (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). DJ Benn has the power to score a knockout today if he connects clean with Fourie Du Preez's chin.

Du Preez
vs
Benn

165 cm
23
148 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

167 cm
26
144 lbs
5 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Solid chin

Soul Supremacy Fight Gear

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 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Fourie Du Preez!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, DJ Benn!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Fujiwara, Shirou Masuda and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Du Preez lands with a hook. Benn tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
Benn slips a straight right by Du Preez.
Du Preez tries to score a power double leg takedown but Benn sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Du Preez somewhat.
Benn throws out a counter right but Du Preez avoids it with no problem.
Du Preez jabs Benn to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Du Preez lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Fourie Du Preez seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Du Preez swings widly with a right hand
letting Benn counter with a right hand.

Du Preez shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benn wants to control but Du Preez is keeping busy and won't allow it.
We've been hearing good reports from Du Preez's training camp. Apparently he has been rolling around with some good quality BJJ practitioners and has been sharpening his skills. Let's see if that has an impact on the fight today.
Du Preez thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Benn's head.
Du Preez throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Benn to regain full guard.
Du Preez throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Benn works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Du Preez working some strikes from top position.
Du Preez loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Du Preez pushes down on Benn's leg and manages to get into half guard.
Du Preez missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Du Preez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Benn avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Du Preez.
Du Preez slips a nice elbow through Benn's hands, connecting with Benn's forehead.
Du Preez throwing shots but Benn is blocking nicely.
Du Preez scoring with strikes to the body and head.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Du Preez missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Du Preez throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Du Preez wants to take a breather but Benn is having none of it.
Du Preez not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Benn is defending against the submission attempts here by Du Preez.
Du Preez is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Du Preez is keen to just control but Benn is a slippery customer.
Du Preez trying to mount his opponent but Benn defends it.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Du Preez throws a body shot but no joy.
No luck for Du Preez with that takedown attempt.
Despite the aggression on Benn's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
Du Preez feints and then cracks Benn's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Benn down.
Du Preez tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Benn defends well and Du Preez ends up having to push Benn into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Despite the aggression on Benn's face he doesn't fully commit to the counter.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Fourie Du Preez. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Du Preez scores with a spinning back kick!
A punch combination from Du Preez misses.
It seemed like Benn was going to counter with the hook but didn't fully commit to it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Du Preez shoots for a double leg takedown but Benn sprawls well. He's pushed Du Preez's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.
Du Preez swinging wildly here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Du Preez throws a body shot but no joy.
Danga de danga de dang - Du Preez scores with a four punch combination!
Du Preez throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Benn.
Benn takes a shot right to the liver - Bas would have been proud of that punch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Du Preez scores with a jab to the head.
Du Preez misses with a low kick as Benn jumps back.
Du Preez moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Benn slaps away a takedown attempt from Du Preez, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Fourie Du Preez is winning the standup battle so far.

Du Preez closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Benn did well to prevent Du Preez getting side control.
Du Preez sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Benn defending well though.
Du Preez is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Fourie Du Preez overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Du Preez looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Benn with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Du Preez is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Du Preez 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.
Benn keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Du Preez is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Du Preez is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Benn can do to turn this around?
Poor strikes thrown by Du Preez there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Du Preez landing punches.
Du Preez with a couple of short strikes.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Du Preez fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Du Preez looks like he's working for a submission but he's not found anything just yet.
Benn has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.
Du Preez has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Benn's face.
Du Preez putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Du Preez has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Benn's face.
Du Preez raining down shots from the mount!

Benn is rocked!
Du Preez cracks Benn with a big head shot that has him covering up instantly! He's rolled onto his side and the referee has seen enough - this one is aaaaaaaaaaall over!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:55 of round 2, we have a winner by way of TKO (Strikes). Fourie Du Preez!
In his post fight interview, Fourie Du Preez started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.