PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Ahmet Yapan (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rob Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Diaz is bouncing up and down as he enters the arena, backed by My Buddy. We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Yapan
vs
Diaz

192 cm
21
136 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

183 cm
18
155 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Solid Muay Thai
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Decent boxing
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Ahmet Yapan!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Rob Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Jeff Smith, Chris Saunders and Ryoma Takatsuka.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Yapan tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Diaz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

Yapan clinches.

Yapan works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.
Diaz tries to land a sweep but no joy.

Diaz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

Yapan gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Yapan fails to land with a series of punches.
Diaz tries to bum rush Yapan with a series of wild strikes but Yapan uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
A slow jab from Diaz misses its intended target.
Yapan dodges the punch combination from Diaz.
Diaz lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.

Yapan clinches.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A bit of stalling here from Yapan.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz tries to pull guard but Yapan holds him up against the cage and eventually Diaz drops back down to his feet.

Yapan breaks from the clinch.
Rob Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Yapan manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Diaz on his heels. He'll look to pass Diaz's guard now, I'm sure.

Yapan is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.

Diaz working for a triangle but Yapan defends it easily.

Yapan is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Diaz knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Yapan throws a knee to the body but it doesn't do much damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is looking to reverse the position.
Diaz is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Diaz regains half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Diaz moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.

Diaz is looking for a triangle but Yapan pushes his legs off easily.
Yapan is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Yapan has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Yapan's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.
Yapan really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Yapan is one step ahead there.

Diaz looks to be working for a triangle here. Oh, it looks like he might have it! Yapan has picked Diaz up and slammed him! Diaz can't keep hold of the triangle and Yapan manages to pass to side control!
Yapan wants to control but Diaz is keeping him busy.
Diaz is looking to reverse the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Yapan thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Yapan is breathing heavily.
Diaz being controlled for a moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Yapan has had enough of the ground for now and decides to stand.
Yapan shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Diaz as he jumps to the side.
A punch combination from Diaz misses.
Yapan shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Diaz pinned against the cage. Diaz gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Diaz throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Yapan.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Yapan dives in and grabs Diaz's left leg, looking for a takedown. Diaz pushes down on Yapan's head and hops out.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Ahmet Yapan. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Yapan closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Ahmet Yapan will probably get the nod.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Diaz fails to land with a series of punches.
Diaz misses with a double jab

and Yapan holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.

Yapan manages to pull guard.
Ahmet Yapan overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Diaz is looking to advance position but Yapan has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Diaz is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Diaz holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Yapan tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Diaz keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Yapan sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Diaz keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yapan with the ground and pound from mount.
Diaz working to try and regain half guard.
Yapan sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Diaz tries to improve his position but instead Yapan has taken his back!
You can see the frustration on Diaz's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.
Yapan doesn't have the hooks in and Diaz manages to turn into his guard.
Yapan pulls Diaz in close to prevent any damage.

Diaz postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Yapan is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Diaz, into his guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Diaz looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Yapan looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Diaz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Yapan is one step ahead there.

Yapan drops back looking for a leg! Diaz is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Diaz manages to kick Yapan off! Yapan jumps back into Diaz's guard.

Yapan decides he's had enough of playing guard and decides to stand. Come on Diaz, up you get!
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Yapan takes one to the side of the head.
Diaz displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Diaz throws a nice looking combination but Yapan bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Yapan slips a jab and a cross from Diaz.
Diaz keeps the fight standing with a nice sprawl.
Rob Diaz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Diaz misses with a series of wild punches.
Yapan ducks under a wild hook from Diaz.
Yapan fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Diaz throws a combination that misses

and Yapan counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Yapan.
Diaz wants a takedown.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz tries to score a body lock takedown but Yapan shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.
Diaz fails to pull guard.
Ahmet Yapan has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rob Diaz.
Yapan gets double underhooks to prevent a takedown attempt from Diaz.
Diaz tries to pull guard but Yapan won't allow it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Yapan manages to break the clinch.
A combination from Diaz does no damage.
Yapan dodges the punch combination from Diaz.
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 Ahmet Yapan will probably get the nod.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

No joy there for Diaz, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Yapan connects with a high kick.
Diaz throws a nice looking combination but Yapan bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Yapan dodges the punch combination from Diaz.
Diaz lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Diaz looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Sloppy strikes from Diaz. Those never looked like landing.

Yapan moves into range and clinches up with Diaz.

Yapan successfully pulls guard.
Diaz stopping the sweep attempt from Yapan.

Yapan is looking for a triangle but Diaz pushes his legs off easily.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Yapan is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
Yapan throws a couple of shots from the bottom but they don't land.
Yapan is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.

Diaz is trying to work a guillotine from the top, or something like that? Don't know how he thinks he's going to get a finish from there.
Yapan can't keep his opponent in guard - Diaz advances to half guard, no doubt looking to mount.
Diaz tries to stand but can't do so whilst Yapan controls his leg.

Diaz is looking for a kimura. It's going to be difficult to finish that from half guard though and Yapan defends it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Diaz is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.

Diaz wants to work for an arm triangle but Yapan is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.

Diaz is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Yapan has managed to free his arm - good work.

Diaz is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Yapan sees it coming and defends easily.

Diaz is looking for a kimura. It's pretty deep but Yapan still has the half guard so he's probably OK. Oh, Yapan has exploded into a beautiful escape there and after a quick scramble, he's ended up in side control on top! Nice work!
A bit of a lull in the action. I'm sure it will pick up again soon... even if the ref has to physically pick them up and put them back on their feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz tries to bench press Yapan off him but Yapan keeps the position.
Diaz is trying to work for a sweep but Yapan has mounted him!
Diaz sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.
Yapan thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Yapan is looking to pass the guard... He's managed it - he's now in full mount!
Diaz keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Yapan thowing shots but they're missing.
Diaz is trying desperately to improve position.
Yapan misses with a head shot.
Diaz is wriggling around trying to escape.
Diaz bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diaz passes Yapan's left leg - he's now in half guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Diaz stops Yapan from getting back to his feet.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rob Diaz.
I think Yapan 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 Jeff Smith scores the fight for Ahmet Yapan!
Judge Chris Saunders scores the fight for Rob Diaz!
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight for Rob Diaz!

Rob Diaz wins by split decision!
An intense looking Rob Diaz took to the microphone post fight and gave a little speech: 'Don´t be scared homie'.