PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Nathan Diaz (ranked 3910 p4p, 5653 weight class) and Miguel Richer (ranked 460 p4p, 535 weight class). Nathan Diaz could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Miguel Richer's chin.

Diaz
vs
Richer

183 cm
19
163
0 - 1 - 0

178 cm
18
162
0 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Basic striking
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Brawler
Good gas tank

The Dirty Needle Project
Vegan Gains

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 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Nathan Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Montreal, Miguel Richer!
The judges for this bout are Steve Erwin, Ron Honeybunn and John Mangel.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Diaz shoots in for a takedown from distance. He catches Richer napping and manages to drive through into side control!
Diaz trying to control the position but Richer is working away.
Richer tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Diaz misses with a strike but at least he's keeping busy, looking to cause some damage - that will still help him when it comes to the judges scorecards.
Diaz taking a break here but Richer is having none of it and regains half guard.
Diaz is looking to take a break and control but Richer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Richer is trying to maintain the position but Diaz is very close to passing his half guard.

Diaz is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Richer gets back to full guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Richer keeping full guard, as Diaz tries to pass.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Richer manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Diaz manages to get himself to full guard.

Richer sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Richer looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Diaz keeping full guard, as Richer tries to pass.
Diaz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Richer engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Richer's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

That's two 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 is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Richer defends well.
Richer not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
Richer tries to free his leg and advance position but Diaz is retaining full guard.
Richer controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Diaz has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Richer can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richer sitting in guard here, content to control.
It looks like Richer might be adopting somewhat of a lay and pray gameplan here, which I'm sure won't go down too well with the paying fans in attendance... Or the ring announcers come to think of it.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.
More stalling from Richer.

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

Diaz gets the takedown into side control.
Diaz advances to full mount.
Richer is desperately trying to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz tries to control but Richer wriggling away.
Richer tries to hold on but Diaz postures up.
Diaz lands with some strikes.
Richer is looking to get to half guard.
Diaz avoids the attempt from Richer to control.
Diaz can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Richer is looking to escape.
Richer bucks up and manages to get a nice reversal! He's in guard on the top - nicely done!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Richer showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

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

Richer shoots in from a long way out. He's driving through with the takedown attempt and he eventually gets it, landing in Diaz's guard.
Richer controls from within his opponent's guard.
Let's hope that Richer has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.
Nathan Diaz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Diaz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Diaz is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Richer is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Richer is stalling in the full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diaz is looking for a triangle but Richer pushes his legs off easily.
Richer slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Diaz darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Diaz is looking to take a break and control but Richer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Richer controlling the position well.
Richer tries to roll over but Diaz keeps him under control.
Diaz trying to pass the guard but Richer defending well.
Diaz prevents Richer from improving his position.
Diaz is trying to control. Richer wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Richer slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Richer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Diaz stays in close to Richer's body and controls the position.
Diaz wants to control from the top but Richer keeps moving.

Richer working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Diaz doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Diaz manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Richer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Richer pulls Diaz in close to his closed guard and prevents Diaz from doing any damage or advancing position.
Richer keeping moving, preventing Diaz from controlling successfully.
Richer looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Richer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Richer seems keen to control Diaz's posture.
Diaz trying to control the position from guard on top but Richer is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Richer keeping full guard, as Diaz tries to pass.

Richer had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Diaz defends it easily.

Richer is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Diaz content to sit in guard, stalling... Great. Oh but he could get punished here because Richer has locked up a guillotine! Richer's face is contorted as he sqeezes tight on the submission attempt - will he finish? Diaz is holding on here and Richer must be using up a lot of energy. Diaz has gone limp! He's out! He's out cold! Richer gets to his feet, tossing aside his stricken foe. Arms raised, he milks the applause from the crowd. Great submission!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:57 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Guillotine). Miguel Richer!
Miguel Richer decided to hype himself up post fight. It was going well but he went on about it a bit too long and the crowd turned on him a little.