PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Frank Dux (ranked 1000 p4p, 1880 weight class) and Charles Sobhraj (ranked 58 p4p, 117 weight class). Dux comes to the cage accompanied by Bloodsport. Sobhraj is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: hurragutt. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Dux
vs
Sobhraj

183 cm
23
146
9 - 2 - 0

171 cm
31
135
9 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Decent boxing
Powerful

Urban Fighter
Voodoo Nutrition

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 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Frank Dux!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 9 - 13 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Charles Sobhraj!
The judges for this bout are Dmitry Maklakov, Valeri Chadov and Sergei Dronov.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Dux tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Sobhraj defends well and Dux ends up having to push Sobhraj into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sobhraj gets underhooks to prevent Dux's takedown attempt.
Dux goes for a takedown attempt but Sobhraj pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Dux. That's going to take a lot out of him.

Dux shoots in for a takedown and gets it.
Dux landing with strikes to the body and head, softening up his opponent.
Sobhraj punching from the bottom.
Sobhraj has hold of Dux's hands but Dux slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dux lands strikes from half guard.
Dux really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Dux drops an elbow to the side of Sobhraj's head.
Dux 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.
Sobhraj trying to control but Dux postures up.
Dux not landing any meaningful shots this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobhraj taking some punishment here, with Dux in his half guard.
Dux controlling the action here.
Sobhraj keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Dux prevents Sobhraj from improving his position.
Dux will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Dux content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Dux is trying to control the action in half guard but Sobhraj is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Dux lands a nice short elbow.
Dux performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dux drops an elbow to the side of Sobhraj's head.
Dux looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Sobhraj with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Dux wants to control but Sobhraj is keeping him busy.
Ground and pound from Dux.
Dux performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Sobhraj keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Dux is looking to take a break and control but Sobhraj is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Dux wants to pass the guard but Sobhraj is defending well.
Sobhraj is trying to get back to full guard.
Sobhraj on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Sobhraj is trying to get back to full guard.
Dux drops an elbow to the side of Sobhraj's head.
Dux working the head and body with strikes.
Dux scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
Sobhraj is trying to defend against the ground and pound but Dux scores with a couple of nice shots.
Dux passes to full mount!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dux lands a big shot there that rocks Sobhraj but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.
Sobhraj is trying desperately to improve position.
Sobhraj tries to lock up and control but Dux gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
BOOM! Dux connects with a massive shot to the dome!
Dux lands a couple of good shots and Sobhraj has given up his back, trying to escape the position!

Sobhraj is rocked!
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Dux tries to get the hooks in deep but Sobhraj pushed the leg off.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Sobhraj is trying to break free.
Sobhraj trying to control the hands but Dux breaks the grip.
Sobhraj is covering up but some of the strikes from Dux are getting through and doing damage.
Sobhraj is still in real trouble! Can Dux finish him?
Dux punishes Sobhraj with strikes from the back mount.
Sobhraj is trapped and Dux is scoring with shots to the head and body.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Sobhraj wants to clinch up but Dux keeps it at a distance.
Sobhraj seems to have recovered his senses.
Sobhraj stuffs the takedown.
Dux doesn't succeed with the takedown
and Sobhraj counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Dux uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Sobhraj.
Dux changes levels looking for a counter takedown but doesn't commit.
Dux shoots in but Sobhraj avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Dux. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Dux shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Dux uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sobhraj.
Sobhraj displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Dux.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Dux is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Sobhraj.
Charles Sobhraj is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Dux shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Sobhraj defends it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Dux shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Dux is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sobhraj can do to turn this around?
Dux fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Frank Dux seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Dux closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Sobhraj did well to prevent Dux getting side control.
Sobhraj wants to control but Dux is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Frank Dux overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Sobhraj wants to improve his position but Dux is controlling well.
Dux working over Sobhraj with some ground and pound. Sobhraj looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Dux takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Dux is trying to control the action in half guard but Sobhraj is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

Sobhraj looking for submissions off his back.
Dux passes the half guard and he's now in mount! Big trouble for Sobhraj!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Dux lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.
Dux avoids the attempt from Sobhraj to control.
Dux with a couple of short strikes.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Dux working Sobhraj over with strikes here.
Dux with the ground and pound from mount.
Sobhraj tries to hold on but Dux pushes him away.
Dux is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Sobhraj tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Sobhraj keeps trying to improve his position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sobhraj wants to control but Dux is having none of it.
Dux tucks in and makes sure he doesn't lose the dominant position.
Dux is in the full mount, landing strikes.
Sobhraj is in a horrible position here. Dux smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.
Dux controlling his opponent.
Dux scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Sobhraj?
Dux punishing his opponent with strikes.
Dux trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dux scoring with strikes but Sobhraj is staying in there.
Dux looking to control but Sobhraj is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Sobhraj really wants to buck Dux off and get back to his feet.
Dux tries to control but Sobhraj wriggling away.
Dux lands with some strikes.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sobhraj wants to control but Dux is having none of it.
Dux with a couple of short strikes.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Frank Dux dominated that second round.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down 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.

Dux tries to drive through with a takedown attempt but Sobhraj defends well and Dux ends up having to push Sobhraj into the cage where they will battle it out in the clinch.
Sobhraj stops a takedown attempt from Dux.
Dux is working for takedown but Sobhraj is calmly controlling the position for now.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Frank Dux. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Sobhraj misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Dux can't get the takedown.
Dux takes a shot to the head.
Dux is looking for a takedown.
I was talking to Dux's coach per-fight and he was telling me that they'd been working on the clinch in the runup to this fight.
Sobhraj is defending well against a takedown attempt.
Dux drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Dux can't get the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sobhraj will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Dux up against the cage.
Sobhraj goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Sobhraj is pressed up against the cage. Dux has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Sobhraj down to the mat. Sobhraj avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sobhraj with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Dux avoids a punch combination nicely.
Dux shoots for a takedown but Sobhraj saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Sobhraj looks to land a left hand but Dux moved out of range nicely.
Dux dives in and grabs Sobhraj's left leg, looking for a takedown. Sobhraj pushes down on Dux's head and hops out.
The fight stays on the outside here - Sobhraj looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Dux drops down looking for a counter takedown but Sobhraj sprawls and moves away.
Dux dives in for a single leg takedown but Sobhraj sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Dux has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Sobhraj is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Sobhraj tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Dux is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Sobhraj pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Dux goes for a takedown in the clinch but Sobhraj prevents it.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Dux is looking to take this one to the mat.
Charles Sobhraj has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Sobhraj just misses with a elbow thrown towards Dux's brow.
Sobhraj lands a left hand.
Sobhraj misses with the head strike.
Dux drops to a knee looking for a takedown but Sobhraj gets the underhooks and prevents it.
Dux looking for a takedown.
Dux tries to score a body lock takedown but Sobhraj shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Dux changes levels and goes for a takedown here. Sobhraj fights it off and pushes away nicely.

Sobhraj rushes Dux and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Dux is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Sobhraj is defending well.
Still in the clinch, Sobhraj scores with a nice short uppercut.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Sobhraj swings away with an uppercut that misses.

Sobhraj's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Dux will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Sobhraj forces Dux back against the cage and clinches.
Sobhraj pushes Dux back against the cage and unloads with a body punch.
Dux is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Sobhraj is defending well.
Sobhraj lands an elbow inside that Dux shrugs off.
Dux is looking to take this one to the mat.

Dux has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Sobhraj clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Sobhraj is really stuck here.
Dux punches Sobhraj on the ear.
Dux avoiding Sobhraj 's attempts to control his hands.
Dux controlling well, preventing Sobhraj from escaping the position.
Sobhraj is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Dux off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
This has been an exciting period of action!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Dux just keeping the dominant position. He can't wait too long though, otherwise the referee will stand them back up.
Dux is looking to finish with some ground and pound!
You can see the frustration on Sobhraj's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Dux.
Dux controlling the position well here. Sobhraj rolled but Dux kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Dux lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Sobhraj is in bad spot here.
Frank Dux is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
So, who will make the next big move? In this position it could be crucial.

And that's the end of the fight!
Charles Sobhraj comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Dux 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 Dmitry Maklakov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Valeri Chadov scores the fight 29:28
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 29:28

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