PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Huo Samja (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Ricardo Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Diaz's choice of entrance music: Godsmack- Cryin' Like A Bitch. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Samja
vs
Diaz

180 cm
23
186 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

182 cm
22
180 lbs
4 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Counter striker
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Huo Samja!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Daniel Cesar, Emerson Jorge and Leandro Rodrigues.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
A combination from Diaz does no damage.
Diaz looks to land a left hand but Samja moved out of range nicely.
Diaz tries to bum rush Samja with a series of wild strikes but Samja uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Jab, jab by Diaz - just one landing.
Diaz misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Samja on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Some wild striking there from Diaz.
Diaz rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Samja moves out of range and avoids them all easily.

Samja has Diaz up against the cage in a clinch.
Samja has Diaz pressed against the cage, preventing Diaz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Samja just misses with a elbow thrown towards Diaz's brow.
Samja using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Diaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Samja throws an elbow but it misses.
Samja with a knee to the head.
Samja misses with an elbow over the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz wants to get back to striking at distance but Samja won't allow it.
Samja with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch but Samja keeps him there for the moment.
Knees in the clinch landing for Samja.
Samja looking to throw knees to the head but Diaz is blocking nicely.
Diaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Samja creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Samja tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Samja misses with an elbow over the top.
Samja swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Samja scores with a knee to the head.
Diaz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Samja just stands there and leans against the cage.
Samja tries a body shot but Diaz blocks it.
Samja lands with a left to the head.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Samja misses with a knee to the head.
Samja tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Diaz avoids it.
Samja is breathing heavily.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Samja just misses with a elbow thrown towards Diaz's brow.
Samja lands a nice knee to the body.
Diaz wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Diaz is looking to break free of the clinch but Samja has double underhooks.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Samja misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Diaz.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but Diaz blocks with his arms.
Diaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Samja swings wildly with an uppercut but Diaz uses good head movement to avoid it.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Samja misses with a knee to the head.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Samja just misses with a elbow thrown towards Diaz's brow.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
With the fighters up against the cage, Samja throws an elbow but misses.
Samja throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Diaz blocks it with crossed arms.
Diaz wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Samja prevents Diaz from breaking the clinch.
Diaz blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Samja throws an elbow that misses.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Samja throws a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz is trying to slow down the pace in the clinch, to catch his breath.
Samja throws an elbow but it's blocked.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samja tries to land knees in the clinch but Diaz avoids the damage to the body.
Samja stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.
Samja works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Diaz blocks an elbow strike.
Samja throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Diaz blocks it with crossed arms.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Diaz is trying to force a seperation but Samja has the dominant position.
Diaz tries to break free but Samja pushes him back against the cage.
Samja prevents Diaz from breaking the clinch.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Samja looks to throw an elbow but misses.
Diaz avoiding damage as Samja throws knees to the body.
Samja misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Diaz.

Diaz escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Diaz scores with a sloppy right hand. Samja should have avoided that one.
Diaz uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Samja has time to react.
Diaz works over Samja's head and body with a nice combination.
Diaz throws a one two combo.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Samja forces Diaz back against the cage and clinches.
Diaz looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Samja throws an elbow but it misses.
Samja throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Samja using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Diaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Samja tries a knee to the head but Diaz blocks it.
Diaz tries to score a body lock takedown but Samja shows good agility there to stay on his feet.
Samja throws an elbow that misses.
Diaz looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.
Samja misses with a punch on the inside.
Samja has a couple of punches blocked by Diaz.
Diaz takes a knee right on the jaw!
A head punch blocked on the inside by Diaz.
A head punch on the inside from Diaz fails to land.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Diaz tries for a takedown. No joy.
Huo Samja has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Ricardo Diaz.
Samja keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Diaz's efforts to push away.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Ricardo Diaz will probably get the nod.
That's time! Back to the action!

Samja takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Diaz misses the shot to the body.
Diaz lands a jab-cross combination.
Diaz throws a series of punches but Samja moves out of range.
Jab by Diaz.
Diaz misses with a body shot.
Diaz throws a nice looking combination but Samja bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Diaz lunges in with swinging rights and lefts but Samja circles away quickly and effectively.
Ricardo Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Samja takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Diaz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Diaz bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Diaz tries to break the clinch but Samja is controlling the position.
Diaz takes an elbow to the forehead.
Diaz takes an elbow to the temple.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Samja misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Diaz.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Samja landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Samja comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Samja with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Diaz is trying to force a seperation but Samja has the dominant position.
Samja with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Diaz dodges an elbow strike from Samja.
Diaz blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Samja tries to work over Diaz's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz can't break the clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Samja creates a bit of distance and throws an elbow that only just misses.
Samja missing with knees to the body.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Samja is controlling him.
Knees in the clinch landing for Samja.
Samja tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Samja has Diaz pressed against the cage, preventing Diaz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Samja pushes off an throws an elbow but Diaz leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Diaz tries to break the clinch but Samja is controlling the position.
Diaz wants to break the clinch but can't.
With the fighters up against the cage, Samja throws an elbow but misses.
Samja throws a head punch that misses.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but Diaz blocks with his arms.
Samja lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz tries to break the clinch but Samja is controlling the position.
Diaz is stalling here.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samja misses with an elbow over the top.
Diaz avoiding damage as Samja throws knees to the body.
Samja tries a body shot but Diaz blocks it.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Samja lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Samja keeps control of Diaz as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Samja tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Samja using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Diaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
A frustrated look appears on Diaz's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Diaz wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Samja tries to land knees in the clinch but Diaz avoids the damage to the body.
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Samja trying to land knees to the body.
Samja misses with a hook to the ribs.
Diaz cracks Samja with a nice body shot.
Diaz throws a hook to the body. More of an arm punch but it's all scoring with the judges.
Samja throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Diaz blocks it with crossed arms.
Samja has Diaz pressed against the cage, preventing Diaz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Diaz jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Samja walks away with a smile on his face. Diaz gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

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.
Diaz lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Diaz closes the distance looking to clinch

and Samja counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Samja fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Samja throws an elbow but it misses.
Diaz is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Samja throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Diaz blocks it with crossed arms.
Samja lands a nice looking hook to the body, against the cage.
Samja throws an elbow but it misses.
Diaz blocks an elbow strike from Samja.
Samja throws a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz avoiding damage as Samja throws knees to the body.
Samja tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Diaz avoids it.
Diaz tries to break free but Samja pushes him back against the cage.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Ricardo Diaz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. This is the final round!

Diaz lands a right hook to the body.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Samja prevents Diaz from breaking the clinch.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Diaz managing to block the knees to the body from Samja.
Samja tries a knee to the head but Diaz blocks it.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Samja keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Diaz's efforts to push away.
With the fighters up against the cage, Samja throws an elbow but misses.
Samja with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Samja is controlling him.
Samja keeps control of Diaz as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Samja throws an elbow that misses.
Samja throws a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Samja looking to throw knees to the head but Diaz is blocking nicely.
Samja throws a knee to the head but misses.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Samja misses with a knee to the head.
A frustrated look appears on Diaz's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Samja tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch but Samja keeps him there for the moment.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Samja.
Samja misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Diaz.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Diaz blocks the elbow strike.
Samja using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Diaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Samja has Diaz pressed against the cage, preventing Diaz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Samja throws a knee to the head but misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Diaz tries to break free but Samja pushes him back against the cage.
Diaz tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Samja just stands there and leans against the cage.
Samja tries a knee to the head but Diaz blocks it.
Samja prevents Diaz from breaking the clinch.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Samja tries a knee to the head but Diaz blocks it.
Diaz avoids the elbow strike from Samja, against the cage.
Diaz is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Diaz wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
Diaz on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Samja with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Diaz is trying to break free.
Diaz working hard to break the clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Samja swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Samja throws a head punch that misses.
Diaz avoiding damage as Samja throws knees to the body.
Diaz working hard to break the clinch.
Diaz is trying to force a seperation but Samja has the dominant position.
With the fighters up against the cage, Samja throws an elbow but misses.
Samja tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Diaz's elbow.
Samja throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Diaz blocking some punches.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Samja has him pressed against the cage.
Diaz is looking to break free of the clinch but Samja has double underhooks.
Diaz is trying to force a seperation but Samja has the dominant position.
Diaz can't break the clinch.
Diaz is looking to control Samja's arms but Samja gets an underhook and turns him. Now Diaz has his back to the cage.
Samja struggles to land a body shot inside as Diaz controls his hands.
Diaz takes a knee to the side of the body.
Diaz blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.

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.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch but Samja keeps him there for the moment.
Samja with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Samja using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Diaz has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Diaz has had enough of the clinch but Samja keeps him there for the moment.
Diaz is looking to break free of the clinch but Samja has double underhooks.
Diaz tries to circle away but Samja has him pinned against the cage.
Diaz tries to break free but Samja pushes him back against the cage.
Samja lands a body shot.
Samja misses with the head strike.
Diaz is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.
Samja misses with an elbow over the top.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.
Diaz tries to break the clinch but Samja is controlling the position.
Samja tries to land a knee to the head but Diaz blocks with his arms.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Diaz tries to break free but Samja pushes him back against the cage.
Samja has Diaz pressed against the cage, preventing Diaz from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Diaz is looking to break free of the clinch but Samja has double underhooks.
Diaz wants to break free but Samja has control.

And that's the end of the fight!
Ricardo Diaz comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I've got Diaz 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 Daniel Cesar scores the fight for Ricardo Diaz!
Judge Emerson Jorge scores the fight for Ricardo Diaz!
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight for Ricardo Diaz!

Ricardo Diaz wins by unanimous decision!