PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Michel Santos (ranked 2073 p4p, 2529 weight class) and Julian Diaz (ranked 177 p4p, 211 weight class). Santos comes to the cage accompanied by DMX - Intro. Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Santos
vs
Diaz

170 cm
28
155
13 - 8 - 0

178 cm
24
159
5 - 5 - 0

Good wrestling
Good knees
Very quick

Good wrestler
Good low kicks
Good gas tank

Ma Balls Is Hot Clothing

NARCOS
Groove Gear

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 13 - 8 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Michel Santos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Julian Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Lou da Vinci, Reed Andrews and Russell Pearce.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Diaz misses with a telegraphed body shot
and Diaz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
A punch combination from Santos misses.
Diaz misses with an uppercut. Santos saw that one coming.

Santos shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Diaz lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Santos is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Diaz defends well.
Diaz preventing the sweep.
Santos wants to control but instead he gets his guard passed and Diaz is now in half guard.
Santos's coaches at California Top Team have been working on his defensive grappling in preparation for this fight so let's see if he can get out of this tricky position.
Diaz tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Santos tries to roll over but Diaz keeps him under control.
It looks like Diaz is going to stand back up.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Diaz has decided to stand back up but his arm is trapped. Whilst he's worrying about his arm, Santos works to full guard.
Santos trying to control the position.
Santos seems keen to control rather than go for a submission, at least for now.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Diaz is looking to stand up but Santos won't let him.
Santos looking to control.
Santos is doing well to control the posture of his opponent and prevent any damage.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Diaz wants to get up but he can't break Santos's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Diaz lands with a good body shot.
Diaz with a nice cross.
Diaz on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Julian Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Santos bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Santos misses with a takedown attempt - Diaz sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Diaz was about to counter that last move with a leg kick but changes his mind.
Diaz bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Santos's head.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz misses with a double jab

and Santos counters with a takedown into side control.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet but Santos drags him back down.

Santos working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.
Santos lands a decent elbow from side control.
Santos prevents Diaz from escaping the position.
Diaz taking a bit of punishment here - Santos scoring with strikes.

Santos tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Diaz is pushing Santos's head away, looking to escape. Santos manages to hold on to the position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos scoring with punches and elbows.
Diaz has found himself in a tricky position here. He's been working his transitions in training so let's see if he can work his way out of it.

Santos thinks about going for a far side armbar but bails out and retains the dominant position instead.
Santos has knee on belly and now moves to full mount! Trouble for Diaz!
Santos won't let Diaz get back to his feet... He wants to keep the fight where it is for now.

Santos swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Diaz is now in Santos's guard. A big mistake from Santos there, giving up the dominant position!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Diaz wants to get up but he can't break Santos's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Michel Santos will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Diaz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
A shot to the liver by Diaz. Beautiful body shot.
Diaz stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Diaz wants it to stay on the feet.
Michel Santos is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Diaz throws a sloppy body shot
and Santos counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Diaz looks to throw the jab but Santos is out of range.
Santos is looking to counter punch.
A swing and a miss from Santos.
Santos gets cracked with a nice right hand there by Diaz.
Diaz throws out a powerful jab.
Diaz just misses with a punch to the body.
Santos takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Santos tries to score a power double leg takedown but Diaz sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Santos somewhat.
Diaz does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
Diaz bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Santos's head backwards.
Santos moves away from the strike by Diaz.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz misses with a left hand
and Santos counters with a straight right hand.
Julian Diaz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Diaz misses with a left hand
and Santos counters with a stiff right hand.
Diaz is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Diaz gets his head snapped back by a nice shot there.
Nice uppercut there from Diaz.
Nice sprawl there from Diaz as Santos shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Michel Santos. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Diaz thuds a left hand into Santos's body.
Diaz attempts a low kick but it misses it's target.
Diaz swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Santos steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Diaz.
Diaz has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
A cross from Santos lands.
Santos fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Santos takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Diaz throws a right hand that misses
and Santos counters with a lovely straight right hand!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Santos moves away from the strike by Diaz.
Santos looks to land a right hand but Diaz moved out of range.
A nice leg kick lands there from Diaz.
Diaz will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Diaz takes a big uppercut there. He seems a bit wobbly but no, he's OK.
Santos uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Diaz.
Santos drops down looking for a counter takedown but Diaz sprawls and moves away.
Santos blocks a jab.
Santos uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Diaz.
Santos walks into a stiff left hand from Diaz.

Santos looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Diaz wants to stand but Santos is controlling the position.
Santos postures up and lands a big shot to Diaz's brow.
Santos tries to free his leg and advance position but Diaz is retaining full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Santos wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
Diaz is looking to stand up but Santos isn't so interested in that idea.
Santos slips nicely into half guard.

Santos is looking for a kimura but Diaz is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Santos to get the leverage.
Santos wants to control but Diaz is keeping him busy.
Diaz is trying to stand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Nice strikes from Santos there.
Diaz tries to kick Santos off but Santos keeps his base steady and stays in half guard.
Diaz has hold of Santos's hands but Santos slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Santos trying to mount his opponent but Diaz defends it.
Diaz is looking to escape.

The referee has stepped in and called for a break in the action. We'll restart on the feet.
Nice straight punches there by Diaz. You know Roy Jones Jr respects the hands of Diaz.
Diaz fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Santos moves out of range of the body kick from Diaz.
Diaz throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Diaz with a nice calf kick.
Santos thows a left - swing and a miss!
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Julian Diaz will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Diaz looks to throw the jab but Santos is out of range.
Diaz misses with a leg kick
and Diaz takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Diaz misses with a series of wild punches.
Diaz lands a jab, followed by a cross and another cross, as Santos backs up against the cage.
Santos walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Santos lands a jab to the nose.
Santos scores with a jab. Diaz acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Santos changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Diaz tries to avoid it but Santos manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Diaz to the ground. Diaz escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Santos stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Diaz.
Santos staying out of range there.
Diaz stalks Santos and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Santos's face. Santos staggers backwards, shaken.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Santos on the wrong end of a decent looking cross there.
Diaz throws a jab to the body, straight down the pipe. Boom. That sent Santos stumbling backwards but he manages to regain his composure quickly.
Diaz scores with the left hand. Santos knows he should have avoided that one.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz displaying good standup as he scores with a three punch combination.
Santos throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Diaz sees it coming and avoids it easily.

Santos shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Santos showed some decent athleticism there.
Diaz tries to kick Santos off in order to stand up. Santos Avoids the leg push though and dives into side control.

Santos tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Diaz is trying to buck Santos off.
Santos landing a few strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz gets back to half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet.
Santos lands with a punch from half guard.

Santos is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Diaz has managed to free his arm - good work.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Diaz is trying to escape back to his feet but Santos uses the scramble to pass into side control.
Diaz is trying to buck Santos off.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Santos scoring with punches and elbows.
Diaz is not in a great position here, taking some shots.
Diaz is working hard to escape and get back to his feet. After a battle for position, Santos asserts his dominance and retains side control.

Santos tries for a kimura but Diaz is defending well.
Santos landing with strikes to the head and body from side control.
Santos is staying tight to Diaz's torso, preventing him from escaping.

Santos tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Santos wants to lay and pray for a moment but Diaz keeps working.
Diaz is looking to work his way out of this bad position but Santos is controlling him well.

Santos tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Santos has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!

Santos has hold of Diaz's arm. He's looking for a kimura. Diaz seems comfortable defending it but Santos has shifted his position slighty and is cranking on the arm! Diaz is real pain and he's forced to tap out! Diaz is disgusted with himself for not defending it better but Santos couldn't care less - he's delighted!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:46 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Michel Santos!
A very excited looking Michel Santos rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.