PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight MMA rules bout between Alexander Gustafsson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Cyrille Diabate (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). 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.

Gustafsson
vs
Diabate

195 cm
25
215 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

198 cm
25
212 lbs
0 - 2 - 0

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Granite chin

BJJ White Belt
Excellent MT
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight 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, Alexander Gustafsson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Cyrille Diabate!
The judges for this bout are Frank Dennis, George Francis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Diabate stuffs the takedown attempt from Gustafsson. Gustafsson gets slowly back to his feet.
Gustafsson throws a combination that misses
and Diabate counters with a straight right hand.

It looks like Alexander Gustafsson has been cut.
Gustafsson fails with a takedown attempt.
Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown but Diabate shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Gustafsson tries to clinch but Diabate is having none of it.
Diabate defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Gustafsson.
Gustafsson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Gustafsson looks for a takedown but Diabate sprawls well.
Diabate tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Gustafsson connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Gustafsson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.

A momentary lapse in concentration from Diabate enables Gustafsson to shoot in and score with a neat double leg. Diabate manages to secure a closed guard as the fighters hit the mat.

That's one minute gone in the round.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.
Diabate is looking to stand up but Gustafsson isn't so interested in that idea.
Gustafsson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Diabate wants to stand but Gustafsson is controlling the position.
Gustafsson throws an elbow that misses. Diabate uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Gustafsson's guard. Nice move by Diabate!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diabate trying to stand up but can't free himself from Gustafsson's guard.
Gustafsson tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Diabate prevents Gustafsson from getting back to his feet.

Gustafsson escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Diabate gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Gustafsson looking to control but Diabate passes into half guard.
Gustafsson is looking for a sweep. Diabate is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diabate is trying to get back to his feet now but his leg is trapped.
Gustafsson wants to control but Diabate passes into side.
Gustafsson tries to improve position but can't.

Diabate decides to stand up, so the ref orders Gustafsson to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Gustafsson gets a double leg takedown into Diabate's guard.
Gustafsson content to stall in guard here.
Diabate has a closed guard, preventing Gustafsson from standing up.
Gustafsson looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Gustafsson wants to control from the top but Diabate keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Alexander Gustafsson dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Alexander Gustafsson's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Diabate swinging wildly here.
Alexander Gustafsson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Gustafsson lands a two punch combo.
Diabate looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Gustafsson throws a nice looking combination but Diabate bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Gustafsson fails with a takedown attempt.
Nice takedown defense from Diabate. No joy for Gustafsson on that attempt.
Diabate will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
A slapping body kick lands there for Diabate.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nice sprawl there from Diabate as Gustafsson shoots in.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Gustafsson dodges the punch combination from Diabate.
Both fighters circling a little - Diabate finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Gustafsson avoids the head kick by Diabate.
Gustafsson shoots in looking for a takedown but Diabate manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Gustafsson's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Diabate misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Diabate scores to the head and body with a nice combination!
Diabate misses with a series of wild punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diabate tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Gustafsson needs to keep his hands up - Diabate had a free shot at his head there.
Diabate misses with a head kick.
Diabate throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Gustafsson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Diabate moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A head kick misses from Gustafsson.
Nice takedown defense from Diabate. No joy for Gustafsson on that attempt.
Diabate misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Gustafsson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Diabate swats him away and circles back towards the center.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson shoots for a takedown but Diabate saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Some wild striking there from Diabate.
Gustafsson avoids the body shot from Diabate.
Gustafsson shoots in and drives through. Diabate sprawls well.
A head kick misses from Diabate.
Gustafsson shoots in for a takedown but Diabate shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
A head kick from Diabate lands but Gustafsson takes it in his stride.
Diabate takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Alexander Gustafsson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Gustafsson gets the takedown into side control.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson lands a nice forearm strike.
Gustafsson in side control, trying to ground and pound but not landing this time.

Gustafsson working hard here to secure a kimura but he's not really in the right position for it.

Gustafsson tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Gustafsson wants to control but Diabate is keeping him busy.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Cyrille Diabate will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Alexander Gustafsson's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the final round!

Gustafsson scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Gustafsson scores with a push kick.
Diabate looks to land a right hand but Gustafsson moved out of range.
Gustafsson looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Diabate is fending him off so far but Gustafsson persists. Nope, Diabate circles away and we're back to standing.
Diabate throws a head kick but Gustafsson moves out of range.
Gustafsson tries to close the distance and clinch but Diabate swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Gustafsson pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Diabate throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Gustafsson.
No luck for Gustafsson with that takedown attempt.
Gustafsson tries to clinch up but Diabate circles away and keeps his distance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Gustafsson will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Alexander Gustafsson. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Diabate tries a head kick but it misses.
Diabate scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
Gustafsson closes the distance and clinches up with Diabate, looking for a takedown. Gustafsson pushes Diabate against the cage but Diabate circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
No joy there for Gustafsson, who threw a few shots but didn't land.
Diabate fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Diabate throws a head kick that misses.
Diabate avoids the head kick by Gustafsson.
Gustafsson changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Diabate tries to avoid it but Gustafsson manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Diabate to the ground. Diabate escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Diabate.
Gustafsson closes the distance and clinches up with Diabate, looking for a takedown. Gustafsson pushes Diabate against the cage but Diabate circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Diabate lands a jab followed by a nice looking cross.
Diabate wants to slow Gustafsson down by chopping away at his legs.
Gustafsson slips a jab and a cross from Diabate.
Diabate swats away the attempt to clinch by Gustafsson.
Cyrille Diabate is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.

The fight moves into the clinch position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson wants to break free but Diabate has control.

Diabate breaks the clinch.
Diabate stuffs the takedown.
Gustafsson dodges the punch combination from Diabate.

Gustafsson decides to change it up a bit and drives through with a nice takedown into half guard.
Gustafsson is just content to waste time from the top position. Diabate takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Diabate is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Gustafsson is controlling him.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Gustafsson 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.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Gustafsson postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

And that's the end of the fight!
Alexander Gustafsson showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Gustafsson 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 Frank Dennis scores the fight 29:28
Judge George Francis scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Alexander Gustafsson!