PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Donnie O Brien (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Alberto Diagana (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). O Brien comes to the cage accompanied by Rocky Road to Dublin. Diagana is bobbing his head along to his entrance song: Judas Priest - Painkiller. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

O Brien
vs
Diagana

172 cm
27
142 lbs
18 - 4 - 1

168 cm
27
139 lbs
11 - 13 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Very strong

BJJ Purple Belt
Good elbows
Powerful

Fossington & Blythe: Gentlemen's Fight Attire

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 18 - 4 - 1, fighting out of London, Donnie O Brien !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 13 - 0, fighting out of London, Alberto Diagana!
The judges for this bout are William Gold, Richard Clark and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
O Brien shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Diagana as he jumps to the side.
Donnie O Brien seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
O Brien has his takedown stuffed
and Diagana counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps O Brien thinking.
O Brien shoots in for a double leg but Diagana sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donnie O Brien . That's going to take a lot out of him.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt.
Diagana displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from O Brien .
Diagana scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

Diagana drives through and clinches with O Brien against the cage.
Diagana misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from O Brien .
Diagana misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from O Brien .
A nice glancing elbow lands by Diagana.
Diagana lands a knee to the head there! That was nasty!

O Brien gets control of Diagana's arms and successfully pulls guard. O Brien will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
O Brien has Diagana pulled in close to control his posture.

O Brien is active off his back here, looking for submissions.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diagana trying to stand up but can't free himself from O Brien 's guard.
Diagana wants to control from the top but O Brien keeps moving.
Diagana wants to stand but O Brien has a closed guard, so he can't escape.
O Brien has a closed guard, preventing anything of note from happening. Perhaps he's looking to stall.
Diagana engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
Diagana wants to pass the guard but O Brien is keeping the position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

OK we're going to have a standup here. Alberto Diagana hasn't been effective enough on the ground and the referee wants a restart.
A chopping leg kick lands by Diagana.
A punch combination from Diagana misses.
Alberto Diagana is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Diagana tries to clinch up but O Brien circles away and keeps his distance.
O Brien is trying hard to land a takedown here. Diagana sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt.
Diagana fails in his attempt to clinch.

O Brien manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Diagana on his heels. He'll look to pass Diagana's guard now, I'm sure.
O Brien is stalling in the full guard.

Diagana pushes O Brien off and gets back to his feet.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Diagana tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in the close the distance. O Brien manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from O Brien .
O Brien misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
O Brien misses with a few strikes there.
Diagana tries to close the distance and clinch but O Brien swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Diagana tries to close the distance and clinch up but O Brien swats him away and circles back towards the center.
O Brien shoots in for a takedown but Diagana shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Diagana tries to clinch but O Brien moves out of range.

O Brien shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. O Brien showed some decent athleticism there.
O Brien seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Diagana gets full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
O Brien postures up.

Diagana pushes O Brien off and scrambles back to his feet.

Diagana moves into range and clinches up with O Brien .
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Knees in the clinch landing for Diagana.
O Brien tries to pull guard but Diagana forces him back to his feet, against the cage.
Diagana misses with an elbow strike.
Diagana misses with a knee strike.
O Brien tries to pull guard but Diagana won't allow it.
A knee to the head by Diagana.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
O Brien looking for a takedown.
O Brien is trying to pull guard but Diagana has him pressed against the cage.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by O Brien as Diagana tries to tie him up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

O Brien fails with the takedown.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Donnie O Brien is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Diagana stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Diagana wants it to stay on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Donnie O Brien . That's going to take a lot out of him.

Diagana moves into range and clinches up with O Brien .
O Brien managing to block the knees to the body from Diagana.
Diagana landing knees to the body.
Diagana landing knees to the head.
Diagana pushes off an throws an elbow but O Brien leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Diagana tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Diagana lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.

O Brien gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Diagana wants to stand up but O Brien is controlling him.
Diagana looking to hit a scissor sweep but O Brien is one step ahead there.

That's one minute gone in the round.
O Brien is looking to work some ground and pound but Diagana has wrist control.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Diagana is on top in guard.

Diagana gets to his feet. O Brien looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Diagana tries to clinch but O Brien moves out of range.
O Brien shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Diagana defends it nicely.
No luck with that takedown attempt from O Brien .
O Brien fails to land the takedown.
O Brien misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Diagana.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
O Brien fails with a takedown attempt.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
O Brien avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Diagana tries to clinch but fails miserably

and O Brien counters with a takedown into side control.
Donnie O Brien overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
You can see the frustration on Diagana's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.
O Brien prevents Diagana from escaping the position.
Diagana regains half guard.
Diagana is pressing down on O Brien 's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Diagana being controlled here, momentarily.
Diagana trying to keep a closed guard but O Brien is proving a slippery customer.
Diagana wants to stand but O Brien is controlling the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Brien with a nice head shot there.
O Brien in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
O Brien prevents Diagana from getting back to his feet.
O Brien with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
O Brien works over Diagana with some ground and pound from guard.
Diagana is trying to keep O Brien in close.
O Brien won't allow Diagana to sweep him here.
O Brien wants to pass the guard but Diagana is keeping the position.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diagana tries to land a sweep but no joy.
O Brien passes Diagana's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Diagana wants to control but O Brien is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diagana might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control O Brien kaven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Diagana is trying to defend against the ground and pound but O Brien scores with a couple of nice shots.
O Brien seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
O Brien seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Diagana does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diagana punching from the bottom.
O Brien perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.

Diagana is defending against the submission attempts here by O Brien .
O Brien has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Diagana blocking the ground and pound attempt from O Brien .
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Diagana slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
Diagana is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Diagana looking to hit a scissor sweep but O Brien is one step ahead there.
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 Donnie O Brien will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Diagana stuffs the takedown attempt from O Brien . O Brien gets slowly back to his feet.
A leg kick checked by O Brien .
Diagana wants to clinch.
Diagana misses with a low kick.
O Brien shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Diagana counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Diagana.
Diagana misses with a knee to the head.
O Brien on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
O Brien tries to break the clinch but Diagana is controlling the position.
O Brien dodges an elbow strike from Diagana.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diagana tries to land knees in the clinch but O Brien avoids the damage to the body.
Diagana misses with a short punch on the inside.

O Brien jumps guard and drags Diagana to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.

O Brien working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Diagana doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Diagana manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Diagana has decided he wants to stand but the closed guard of O Brien is proving hard to escape from.
Diagana controlling from the top position.
O Brien is trying to keep Diagana in close.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

O Brien working for a triangle but Diagana defends it easily.
Diagana tries to free his leg and advance position but O Brien is retaining full guard.

O Brien is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Diagana is aware though and is defending well.
Diagana trying to control but O Brien is working from the bottom.
Diagana would like to get this fight back to the feet but can't get free from the closed guard.
Diagana is using up a lot of energy trying to get back to his feet. Perhaps he should improve his position first.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
O Brien keeping moving, preventing Diagana from controlling successfully.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Diagana is looking to advance position but O Brien has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
O Brien putting on the heat here with some good ground and pound!
Diagana is working to get back to half guard.
O Brien avoids the attempt from Diagana to control.
O Brien working Diagana over with strikes here.
O Brien lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.
O Brien fakes a shot to the body and cracks his opponent in the head. Nice ground and pound there!
Diagana keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diagana is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Diagana takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Diagana tries to get back to half guard but can't.
O Brien lands a shot to the body, followed up by a shot to the exposed head of his trapped opponent.

Diagana is rocked!

O Brien working to secure an arm triangle but it's not happening for him just yet.
Diagana is still in real trouble! Can O Brien finish him?
BOOM! O Brien connects with a massive shot to the dome!
O Brien dominating with strikes here.
O Brien with a couple of short strikes.

O Brien is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Diagana can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Diagana is looking to improve his position but O Brien isn't that keen on the idea.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

And that's the end of the fight!
Donnie O Brien showed his dominance in that final round.
I think O Brien has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 William Gold scores the fight for Donnie O Brien !
Judge Richard Clark scores the fight for Donnie O Brien !
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight for Donnie O Brien !

Donnie O Brien wins by unanimous decision!
Post fight, Donnie O Brien stared into the camera and said 'It was the turning point! if i have lost i'd quit, but i've just won, and I'm still here - I still kick asses!'.