PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Matt Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and David Byrne (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Diaz
vs
Byrne

181 cm
27
193 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

184 cm
24
201 lbs
8 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Matt Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 4 - 0, fighting out of London, David Byrne!
The judges for this bout are Chris Edwards, James Glass and James Atkins.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Diaz uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Byrne.
Byrne throws a leg kick which misses Diaz's front leg but catches the back leg as Diaz tries to avoid it.
Byrne gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Diaz.
Byrne scoring well with a low kick there.
Byrne ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A good leg kick by Byrne.
A clash of legs there as Diaz blocks the low kick.
Diaz looks to score with a jab to the body but Byrne is just out of range.
Diaz lands a straight punch to the body, keeping Byrne at a distance.
David Byrne seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
A low kick from Byrne is predictable there

and Diaz counters with a nice single leg takedown and he's in Byrne's guard now.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Diaz is fighting to break Byrne's control of his arms but Byrne is doing a good job of controlling the position at the moment.
Diaz slips nicely into half guard.

Diaz is working for a submission of some sort.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diaz is looking for a kimura but Byrne is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Diaz to get the leverage.
The fighters are battling for position here. Byrne manages to regain full guard. Nice work.
Byrne keeping moving, preventing Diaz from controlling successfully.
Diaz pushes down on Byrne's leg and manages to get into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Diaz is looking for a kimura but Byrne is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Diaz to get the leverage.

Diaz looking for a kimura but he'll have to free his other leg if he wants to finish that. Perhaps he's just using it as a distraction technique.
Byrne is staying active underneath Diaz, who seems content to just control the action from this position.
Byrne tries to roll over but Diaz keeps him under control.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz works his way into full mount!
Diaz looking to control but Byrne is working nicely, looking to advance position himself.
Byrne is trying to escape the mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz controlling from the full mount.
Byrne is squirming around, avoiding Diaz's attempts to control the action.
Diaz controlling from the full mount.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Matt Diaz.
Nice cross by Diaz.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Matt Diaz dominated that 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.

Diaz looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Byrne is fending him off so far but Diaz persists. Nope, Byrne circles away and we're back to standing.
Byrne walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Diaz checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Diaz keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Byrne.
Diaz throws a body kick, spinning off balance
and Byrne counters with a thumping low kick.
Diaz avoids the head kick by Byrne.
Diaz ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Diaz throws a nice outside leg kick.
A nice inside leg kick there by Diaz. That's going to slow Byrne down.

Diaz drives through with a takedown into Byrne's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Byrne is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Byrne is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Byrne keeping full guard, as Diaz tries to pass.
Byrne keeping moving, preventing Diaz from controlling successfully.
Byrne working a defensive guard but Diaz manages to pass into side control anyway.

Diaz is trying to get an arm triangle but Byrne is defending well.
Diaz is trying to move to mount but Byrne reverses beautifully and ends up in Diaz's guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is trying to keep Byrne in close.
Byrne not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.

Byrne stands up from Diaz's guard - Byrne perhaps looking for a knockout.
Byrne throws a head kick but Diaz moves out of range.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Byrne tries to close the distance and clinch up but Diaz swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Diaz misses with a body shot.
Nice defenses there by Diaz.
Byrne uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Diaz.
Diaz wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Diaz lands a really nice looking cross but Byrne seems unphased.
No joy there for Byrne, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Diaz is looking to score with low kicks.
Byrne ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Diaz moves away.
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.
A looping hook to the body misses from Diaz. Byrne does a little dance to reset his feet.
Byrne fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Diaz.
Diaz misses with a wild body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz connects with a body shot.
Byrne scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Diaz swings for the body but Byrne moves out of range.
Byrne tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Diaz was well out of range. Poor timing from Byrne.
Diaz on the wrong end of a nice jab.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Byrne turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
A jab from Byrne misses.
Byrne fails in his attempt to clinch.
Byrne closes the distance looking to clinch
and Diaz counters with a stiff right hand.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Byrne moves out of range as Diaz throws a body kick.
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 Matt Diaz 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!

Byrne tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Diaz was well out of range. Poor timing from Byrne.
A big left from Byrne misses.
Diaz takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Diaz is looking to wear down Byrne with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.
Byrne cracks the inside of Diaz's front leg.
Diaz cracks Byrne with a good jab.
Byrne misses with an uppercut

and Diaz counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Diaz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Byrne is keeping the position for now.
Byrne looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Diaz trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
Diaz looking to pass the guard.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Byrne scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Byrne throws a front kick aimed at Diaz's knee but Diaz avoids it well.
Byrne moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Diaz slips a straight right by Byrne.
A leg kick checked by Diaz.
Diaz misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Byrne.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Byrne waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Diaz.
Byrne connects with a crisp jab.
Diaz misses with a right hand
and Byrne counters with a straight right hand.
David Byrne seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Diaz throws a quick inside leg kick.
Diaz lands a glancing blow to the side of Byrne's head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diaz moves away from the strike by Byrne.
Diaz takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Byrne rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Diaz counters with a nice double leg into guard.
Diaz trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Byrne manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Byrne trying to stand up but can't free himself from Diaz's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Byrne wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
Byrne content to stall in guard here.
David Byrne has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Diaz wants to sweep but no luck.
Matt Diaz is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Byrne trying to pass the guard. He's being very persistent here but Diaz manages to land a sweep and now he's on top!
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Byrne is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz looking to sit in guard and control but Byrne gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Byrne content to stall in guard here.
Byrne tries to free his leg and advance position but Diaz is retaining full guard.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Byrne defends well.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Matt Diaz.
Well I reckon that's a shut out for Diaz, winning every round. Will the judges agree? They are the ones who matter, even if they are often depressingly incompetent. 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 Chris Edwards scores the fight 30:28
Judge James Glass scores the fight 30:28
Judge James Atkins scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Matt Diaz!