PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Nate Diaz (ranked 7075 p4p, 548 weight class) and Dirty Thrower (ranked 7947 p4p, 580 weight class). Nate Diaz had real problems making weight for this fight. After initially coming in at 146.3lbs, he had two hours to make the official fight weight. He made it but it will have taken a lot out of him to cut those extra few pounds. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the ring.

Diaz
vs
Thrower

193 cm
20
155 lbs
1 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
144 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter fighter
Good chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Tends to cut

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nate Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Dirty Thrower!
The judges for this bout are Micheangelo Fripello, Ryoma Takatsuka and Colin Fray.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Thrower looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Diaz keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.
Thrower trying to control the pace.
Diaz really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Thrower sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Diaz defending well though.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet.
Diaz avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Thrower.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thrower trying to control the pace.
Thrower is trying to control. Diaz wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thrower is controlling the pace.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.

Thrower scores with a nice takedown into half guard. Let's see what he's got on the ground.
Diaz is trying to stand back up but Thrower is controlling him
Thrower perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Thrower throws a strike but Diaz avoids it easily and moves to full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Thrower is controlling him.
Thrower looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Diaz utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
The fighters are tangled up in the ropes here. We might need a restart if the fighters can't break free themselves.
Thrower trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Thrower accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Thrower looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Diaz was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.
Thrower looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Thrower throws a leg kick
and Diaz counters with a stiff right hand.

Thrower rushes Diaz and pushes him back against the ropes in a clinch.
Diaz is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Thrower pulls him back up using the underhooks.

Diaz decides to pull guard.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet but Thrower is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thrower looking to pass the guard.
Thrower throws an elbow that misses. Diaz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Thrower's guard. Nice move by Diaz!

Thrower looking to control but Diaz passes into half guard.
Thrower tries to get to full guard but Diaz has control of the leg.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Diaz tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Thrower.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Dirty Thrower will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Thrower lands a nice looking body shot.
A punch combination from Thrower misses.
Thrower looks to land a combination but Diaz avoids it well.
Thrower moves into range and throws a lovely three punch combination.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thrower misses with a leg kick
and Diaz counters with a nice uppercut.
Diaz avoids the head kick by Thrower.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Thrower pivots, looking for a leg kick but Diaz is out of range and Thrower settles back down.
A little feinted left hand from Diaz on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Thrower misses with an uppercut
letting Diaz counter with a right hand.
Thrower has been the more effective fighter overall so far.

Thrower rushes Diaz and presses him up against the ropes.
A short right from Thrower.
Diaz tries for a takedown. No joy.
Diaz tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Thrower is defending well against a takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nate Diaz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Thrower tries to land knees in the clinch but Diaz avoids the damage to the body.

Thrower pulls guard.
Thrower wants to get back to his feet but Diaz is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
A real slowdown in the pace of the fight for a moment, as Thrower holds on and takes a little breather.
The fighters are trapped in the ropes so we're going to have a reposition here. The ref calls for a break and repositions the fighters in the center of the ring.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz won't allow Thrower to get back to his feet.
Diaz wanted to stand there but Thrower had control of the position.
Thrower wants to stand but Diaz is controlling the position.
Thrower is breathing heavily.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz trying to stand up but can't free himself from Thrower's guard.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Thrower misses with a double jab
and Diaz counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Diaz is using his reach advantage well here, landing the more effective single shots from range.
Diaz bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.

Thrower shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Thrower showed some decent athleticism there.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
Thrower is trying to advance to mount but he's lost his balance and Diaz reverses the position - he's now on top in Thrower's guard.
Diaz wants to get up but he can't break Thrower's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Diaz won't allow Thrower to sweep him here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dirty Thrower showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Diaz circles away from the clinch attempt.
Diaz is looking to counter punch.
Thrower looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
A little feinted left hand from Diaz on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.

Thrower drives through and clinches with Diaz against the ropes.

Thrower pulls Diaz into guard.
Thrower working a defensive guard but Diaz passes into half guard.
Thrower is trying to stand back up but Diaz is controlling him
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Thrower trying to control here but he's found himself mounted! Oh no!
Thrower takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Thrower is in all sorts of trouble here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz tries to stand up but he's trapped just for the moment.
Diaz controlling the pace for now.
Diaz will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Thrower tries to hold on but Diaz pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Diaz is trying to stand up but he's being controlled by his opponent.
Thrower regains half guard.
Diaz is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Thrower is trying to control but can't.
Diaz wants to stand but Thrower has hold of a leg and an arm, so he's trapped for now.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Thrower has taken the fight to the clinch.

Diaz has managed to pull guard. Let's see whether he can work an aggressive guard. It will also be interesting to see what tactics Thrower uses from the top position.
Diaz wants to stand up but Thrower is controlling him.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Thrower from controlling successfully.
Thrower wants to stand but Diaz is controlling his posture from full guard.
Nate Diaz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Thrower trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
Thrower missing there with some ground and pound from the guard.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Diaz is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Thrower is controlling him.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Diaz moves out of range as Thrower strikes.
Diaz throwing a counter right hand but Thrower manages to avoid it.
Dirty Thrower is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Thrower throws a head kick but Diaz moves out of range.
Diaz was looking to counter that move with a punch but didn't quite pull the trigger.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Dirty Thrower.
I've got Thrower 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 Micheangelo Fripello scores the fight for Dirty Thrower!
Judge Ryoma Takatsuka scores the fight for Dirty Thrower!
Judge Colin Fray scores the fight for Dirty Thrower!

Dirty Thrower wins by unanimous decision!