PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Neo Oen (ranked 4130 p4p, 495 weight class) and Onni Seppala (ranked 2704 p4p, 347 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Oen
vs
Seppala

175 cm
26
219 lbs
9 - 9 - 0

194 cm
23
215 lbs
9 - 6 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

XFighter Clothing

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 9 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Neo Oen!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Onni Seppala!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, David Schapiro and Steve Montenegro.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Nice body punch from Seppala.
Seppala leaves Oen with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
Seppala tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Oen was well out of range. Poor timing from Seppala.
Oen fails in his attempt to clinch.
Oen throws a lazy right hand but Seppala sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Seppala avoids the body shot from Oen.
Oen ducks under a wild hook from Seppala.
Seppala misses with a few strikes there.
Seppala stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Seppala wants it to stay on the feet.
Seppala lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Oen at a distance.

Seppala moves into the clinch.
Seppala is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Neo Oen. That's going to take a lot out of him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Oen jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Seppala walks away with a smile on his face. Oen gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Oen fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Nice cross by Seppala.
Seppala circles away from the clinch attempt.
Seppala scores with a jab to the body.
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!
Seppala misses with a series of wild punches.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Seppala ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Oen moves away.
Onni Seppala seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Seppala misses with a looping right.
Seppala wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Horrible takedown attempt by Oen or perhaps it was just good defense by Seppala, which made it look bad.
Seppala's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Seppala duly obliges.
Seppala throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Oen feinted with a counter takedown.
Oen takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Seppala lands with a good body shot.

Oen fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Seppala to the ground. Oen is now in Seppala's guard.
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!
Oen stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Seppala swivels though and keeps the full guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Oen thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oen wants to control from the top but Seppala keeps moving.
Seppala controls Oen momentarily but Oen frees himself.
Oen is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Oen wants to control from the top but Seppala keeps moving.
Oen pushing down on Seppala's thigh, trying to pass to half guard. He's managed it... Nice work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oen takes a deep breath and rests his weight momentarily on top of his opponent, to control the position.

Oen is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Seppala wants to get back to full guard.
Oen is trying to control the action in half guard but Seppala is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Oen not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Oen looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Seppala wants to clinch up but Oen keeps it at a distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Seppala has taken the fight to the clinch.
Seppala stops a takedown attempt from Oen.
Oen stalling in the clinch but Seppala improves position.
Oen looking for a takedown.
Seppala misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Oen tries to pull guard but Seppala holds him up against the cage and eventually Oen drops back down to his feet.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Oen.
Seppala tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Seppala throws a head punch that misses.
Seppala tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Oen's elbow.
Oen is looking for a takedown up against the cage. Seppala gets underhooks though and prevents the takedown attempt.
A head punch on the inside from Seppala fails to land.
A head punch on the inside from Seppala fails to land.
Oen tries to pull guard but Seppala holds him up against the cage and eventually Oen drops back down to his feet.
Seppala misses with a body punch.
Oen blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Seppala gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Oen.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Onni Seppala dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Seppala jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Oen uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Seppala.
Seppala swings wildly with a hook that is half blocked by Oen.
Oen shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Seppala counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Oen changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Seppala tries to avoid it but Oen manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Seppala to the ground. Seppala escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Seppala wants to counter the offense by Oen and move into the clinch position.
Onni Seppala seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Seppala fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Seppala loads up on a big right hand but Oen slips the punch.
Seppala is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Seppala swings widly with a right hand

and Oen counters with a nice double leg into half guard.
Seppala is doing well to avoid being mounted. He's controlling the position at the moment.
Oen wants to free his trapped foot but Seppala is holding on for dear life with his legs.
Seppala moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Oen trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Oen passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Seppala avoids any damage from the ground and pound of Oen.
Seppala pushes Oen away and creates a bit of space to escape. He's almost out here... but no, Oen gets a good hold of his legs and remains firmly in side control.
Oen throws a strike aimed at the side of Seppala's head but Seppala avoids it well.
A lull in the action here.
Seppala is trying to buck Oen off.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Oen wants to control but Seppala is keeping him busy.
Seppala is trying to improve his position.
Seppala is not content to let Oen control the position.
Seppala defending against the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Oen tries to advance to mount but can't.
Oen advances to mount.
Seppala is squirming around, avoiding Oen's attempts to control the action.
Oen takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.
Seppala is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.

Oen jumps to the side looking to secure the arm triangle…. Ooooh, that looks tight… Seppala is gargling but he's managed to escape! Nice work there by Seppala and Oen has given up the dominant position trying to land that submission.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Oen tries to score with some ground and pound. Seppala controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.

Oen thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Seppala stops Oen from passing to mount.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Oen just content to control the position.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Neo Oen will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Oen avoids the body shot from Seppala.
Oen displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Seppala throws out the jab.

Oen fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Seppala sprawls well initially but Oen persists and gets the takedown into half guard.
Oen wants to lay and pray for a moment but Seppala keeps working.

Oen is working for a kimura but Seppala is defending it quite comfortably.
Oen is trying to control. Seppala wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Seppala really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Oen. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Oen lands a nice short elbow.
Seppala blocking the ground and pound attempt from Oen.
We've been hearing good reports from Oen'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.
Oen content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Seppala tries to push off, looking to stand up, but Oen manages to move to mount!
Oen looking to control but Seppala is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oen unloads with some shots from mount but Seppala bucks and avoids them well.
Seppala has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Oen looking to control but Seppala is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.

Oen goes for an armbar but he's not got it… Seppala turns into him and now he's in Oen's guard.
Oen looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Seppala controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Oen has his foot on Seppala's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Seppala works his way back into a safe position though.
Oen is trying to control the position but Seppala postures up.
Neo Oen overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Seppala showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Seppala trying to control the position from guard on top but Oen is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Oen has a closed guard, preventing Seppala from standing up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Oen trying to punch from his back but it's not doing any damage.

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.
Seppala postures up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Seppala gets caught on his heels momentarily as he allows Oen to score an easy takedown into full guard.
Oen trying to control the position from guard on top but Seppala is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Seppala pulls Oen in close to his closed guard and prevents Oen from doing any damage or advancing position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Seppala keeping moving, preventing Oen from controlling successfully.

And that's the end of the fight!
Neo Oen showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Oen has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Lou da Vinci scores the fight 29:28
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 29:28
Judge Steve Montenegro scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Neo Oen!