PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nathan Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rhya Sankfurt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Rhya Sankfurt will no doubt be trying to keep this one on the feet, where he has a distinct advantage.

Diaz
vs
Sankfurt

170 cm
23
169 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

210 cm
26
175 lbs
0 - 5 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Dangerous knees
Solid chin

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nathan Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Rhya Sankfurt!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Gwen Towbar and Tiny Johnson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Diaz tries to clinch up but Sankfurt circles away and keeps his distance.

Diaz moves into the clinch.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Sankfurt.
Diaz has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Sankfurt is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.
Sankfurt is trying to drag Diaz to the mat but Diaz just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Diaz wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Sankfurt has him pressed against the cage.

Sankfurt manages to pull guard.
Sankfurt trying to control the position.
Diaz controlling from the top position.

Diaz gets to his feet. Sankfurt looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
Diaz tries to clinch but Sankfurt moves out of range.
Sankfurt is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sankfurt misses with the combination.

Diaz closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Sankfurt to the mat! Sankfurt manages to get full guard.
Diaz 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.
Diaz passes into half guard.
Diaz wants to pass the guard but Sankfurt is defending well.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Sankfurt is looking to escape.
Diaz controlling the pace.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Sankfurt is defending against the submission attempts here by Diaz.

Diaz seems to be working for a kimura but Sankfurt defends the submission attempt.
Sankfurt is trying to maintain the position but Diaz is very close to passing his half guard.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Diaz not doing much here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sankfurt tries to get to full guard but Diaz has control of the leg.
Diaz moves into full mount! Sankfurt won't be happy about that!
Diaz with the ground and pound from mount.
Diaz controlling from the full mount.
Diaz raining down shots from the mount!
Diaz sitting in mount, just looking to control for the moment.
Sankfurt tries to hold on but Diaz pushes him away.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Diaz working for a guillotine from mount but Sankfurt is in no mood to give up.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Diaz looking to secure an arm triangle but Sankfurt defends it well.
Sankfurt tries to reverse the position but Diaz maintains control.
BOOM! Diaz connects with a massive shot to the dome!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Sankfurt is trying desperately to improve position.

Diaz is standing up out of mount! Strange tactic there - he must really want this one on the feet!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Diaz dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Sankfurt with a poor takedown
and Diaz counters with a series of strikes. Sankfurt will be more careful next time no doubt.

Sankfurt closes the distance and gets a double leg, slamming Diaz to the mat! Diaz manages to get full guard.
Sankfurt trying to control the position from guard on top but Diaz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Diaz might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.

Diaz scrambles and gets back to his feet.
The fight stays on the outside here - Diaz looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nathan Diaz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Sankfurt doesn't manage to clinch there - Diaz circles away.
Sankfurt throws a right hand that misses

and Diaz counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Diaz trying to control the pace.
Diaz has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diaz is looking for a kimura here.
Diaz content to control rather than advance.
Sankfurt flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Diaz postures up and decides to stand up, from the half guard. The ref calls for Sankfurt to stand up.

Diaz looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.

Diaz wants to work for an arm triangle but Sankfurt is really keeping half guard well and defending the submission attempt.
Sankfurt is looking to control Diaz's leg but it's slowly edging free. Can Sankfurt avoid being mounted?
Sankfurt wants to get back to his feet.

Diaz is looking for a kimura but Sankfurt is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Diaz to get the leverage.
Still in half guard, Diaz seems content to control.
Diaz looking to pass the half guard. Not this time.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Diaz in particular looking to stall.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Diaz seems to have a rather negative gameplan on the ground. He seems keen to just score the takedown and hold down Sankfurt for as long as he can get away with.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Nathan Diaz just wasn't active enough.

Sankfurt feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

Diaz has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Sankfurt off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Diaz scores a trip takedown into side control. Nice.
Sankfurt tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but Diaz wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Sankfurt gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Sankfurt tries to roll over but Diaz keeps him under control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Diaz controlling the action here.
Sankfurt has hold of Diaz's hands but Diaz slips his arm to the side and lands an elbow.
Sankfurt wants to control but Diaz is keeping busy and won't allow it.
Diaz trying to control the pace.
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 round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nathan Diaz dominated that second 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. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Sankfurt tries to clinch up.
Nice cross by Sankfurt.
Diaz misses with a double jab
letting Sankfurt counter with a right hand.
Sankfurt shoots for a double leg takedown but Diaz sprawls well. He's pushed Sankfurt's face into the mat and manages to get back to his feet relatively easily.

Diaz throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Sankfurt was covering up waiting for the punch and Diaz finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Diaz lands a couple of elbows.
Diaz throwing strikes but missing.
Diaz in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz stopping the sweep attempt from Sankfurt.
Diaz is stalling in the full guard.

Sankfurt looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Diaz throws a big right hand that misses.
Diaz seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Nathan Diaz.
Diaz misses with a low kick.
Diaz is looking to clinch but Sankfurt is avoiding it.
Sankfurt uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Diaz has time to react.
Diaz misses with a few strikes there.
Sankfurt is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.

Diaz looking to score a takedown here. Sankfurt is defending well but Diaz drives through and ends up in Sankfurt's guard.
Diaz sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Nathan Diaz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sankfurt looking to hit a scissor sweep but Diaz is one step ahead there.
Diaz postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sankfurt looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Sankfurt is trying to keep Diaz in close.

The referee decides to stand the fighters back up, due to lack of activity on the part of Nathan Diaz.
Sankfurt tries to clinch

so Diaz counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Sankfurt takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Diaz postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.
Diaz sitting in guard here, content to control.

Sankfurt throws his legs up looking to secure a triangle. Oh, that looks pretty tight, I gotta say! Diaz escapes and throws Sankfurt's legs to the side, diving into side control!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sankfurt trying to remain calm as Diaz controls from the top position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diaz lands a knee to the body and follows it up with some ground and pound to the head. That will wear Sankfurt down.
Diaz is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Sankfurt can do to turn this around?

Diaz tries for a kimura but Sankfurt is defending well.

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

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:48 of round 3, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Nathan Diaz!