PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Stratton Hartford (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Carlos Daiz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Stratton Hartford has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hartford
vs
Daiz

190 cm
21
170 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

175 cm
22
180 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Cardio machine

Decent wrestler
Excellent boxer
Powerful

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Stratton Hartford!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Carlos Daiz!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Daiz tries to clinch up.
Daiz misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Daiz misses with a series of wild punches.
Daiz throws a series of punches but Hartford avoids them all with ease.
Daiz throws a head kick that misses.
Hartford takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Carlos Daiz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Daiz throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.

Daiz clinches up against the cage.
A bit of stalling here from Hartford.
Daiz goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Daiz misses with a knee to the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hartford avoids a wild elbow strike from Daiz.
Daiz throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Hartford blocks it with crossed arms.
Hartford displaying some good clinch control by pressing Daiz up against the cage.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Hartford for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.
Daiz missing with knees to the body.
Daiz goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Hartford takes an elbow to the temple.
Hartford is pushing Daiz up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Daiz misses with the head strike.
Hartford avoids the elbow strike from Daiz, against the cage.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daiz tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Hartford avoiding damage.
Hartford really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Hartford blocks a body shot from Daiz.
Daiz slowing the pace effectively.
Daiz trying to land knees to the body.
Hartford blocks an elbow strike from Daiz.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hartford as Daiz tries to tie him up.
Daiz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hartford.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Hartford.
Daiz is looking to control Hartford's arms but Hartford gets an underhook and turns him. Now Daiz has his back to the cage.
Hartford blocks the elbow strike.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hartford's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Daiz is pushing Hartford up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.
Hartford takes a knee to the side of the body.
Daiz throws a nice elbow but it doesn't land.
Daiz tries to land a knee to the head but Hartford blocks with his arms.
Daiz tries to land a knee to the head but Hartford blocks with his arms.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daiz throws a knee to the head but misses.
A bit of stalling here from Hartford.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Stratton Hartford.
Daiz throws a body kick that misses

and Hartford counters by clinching up.
Hartford taking a breather.
Daiz missing with knees to the body.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Daiz lands a nice uppercut.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Daiz is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Daiz using the Thai plumb to throw knees but Hartford has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Daiz wants to clinch up but Hartford keeps it at a distance.
Daiz tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Daiz tries to close the distance and clinch but Hartford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Daiz rushes Hartford and presses him up against the cage.
Daiz trying to land knees to the body.
Hartford goes for a takedown in the clinch but Daiz prevents it.
Hartford tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hartford stalling.
Daiz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hartford.

That's one minute gone in the round.
With the two fighters working up against the cage, Daiz just misses with a elbow thrown towards Hartford's brow.
The referee is keeping an eye on Hartford - much more stalling and he will separate the fighters.
Hartford blocks an elbow strike from Daiz.
Daiz tries to land knees in the clinch but Hartford avoids the damage to the body.
Hartford blocks the elbow strike.
A bit of stalling here from Hartford.
Daiz lands a nice elbow.
Daiz misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Daiz looking to throw knees to the head but Hartford is blocking nicely.
Hartford content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Hartford is trying to trip Daiz. He has hold of a leg but Daiz is hopping around, keeping his balance for the moment. Hartford persists though and gets the takedown into guard.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Hartford won't allow Daiz to get back to his feet.
We get told so often about how wrestlers don't like to be on their backs. Let's see if Daiz can do anything to dispel that myth.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hartford content to stall in guard here.
Daiz really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Hartford. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Stratton Hartford wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Daiz throws a low kick but Hartford avoids it.
Daiz misses with a few strikes there.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Daiz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hartford sees a low kick coming and goes to check it, but it's actually a body kick and it thuds into his unprotected ribs.
Daiz misses with a jab, cross combination.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daiz tries to close the distance and clinch but Hartford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Hartford checks a leg kick nicely.
Daiz is looking to land body kicks.
Daiz darts in trying to clinch
and Hartford counters with a nice leg kick.
Daiz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Carlos Daiz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Daiz misses with an uppercut.
Daiz misses with a double jab.
Daiz fails with an attempt to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daiz lands a jab-cross combination.
Daiz fails with an attempt to clinch.
Daiz throws a head kick but Hartford moves out of range.
Daiz throws the left hand but Hartford avoids the punch easily.
Daiz throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Daiz looks to land a combination but Hartford avoids it well.
Daiz rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Hartford moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Daiz connects with a body shot.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Daiz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Hartford paws at him with a jab and circles away.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Daiz misses with a head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carlos Daiz showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's time! Back to the action!

Daiz misses with a series of wild punches.
Daiz swings away but doesn't land with a series of punches.
Daiz fails with an attempt to clinch.
Daiz tries to clinch but Hartford is having none of it.
Daiz throws a leg kick that is checked

and Hartford counters by moving into the clinch.
Hartford slows down the pace here.
Hartford taking a breather.
Daiz is trying to maintain a safe position but Hartford gets an underhook and turns Daiz into the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hartford blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Daiz tries to land a knee to the head but Hartford blocks with his arms.
Daiz lands an elbow just above Hartford 's eye.
Daiz throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Hartford avoiding damage as Daiz throws knees to the body.
Hartford prevents a body shot from Daiz.
Carlos Daiz seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Daiz tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hartford's elbow.
Daiz misses with an elbow strike.
Daiz throws an elbow but it's blocked.
Hartford dodges an elbow strike from Daiz.
Daiz scores with a shot to the side of Hartford's head.
Hartford managing to block the knees to the body from Daiz.
Daiz lands a left hand that snaps the head of Hartford backwards.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daiz misses with a knee to the head.
Daiz tries a body shot but Hartford blocks it.
Daiz misses with a punch on the inside.
Hartford dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
Hartford blocks the elbow strike.
Hartford takes a shot to the head.
Hartford has Daiz pushed against the cage.
Daiz with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Daiz letting Hartford take a breather here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hartford blocks the elbow strike.
Daiz lands a nice knee to the body.
Daiz tries to land a knee to the head but Hartford blocks with his arms.
Daiz misses with a hook to the ribs.
Hartford's corner are urging him to control the action in the clinch for a moment, rather than mount any serious offense. I'm sure the crowd appreciate those instructions... not.
Hartford blocks an elbow strike.
Daiz misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Hartford avoiding damage.
Daiz misses with a knee strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daiz has a couple of punches blocked by Hartford.
Hartford avoids the elbow strike from Daiz, against the cage.
Daiz tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Daiz looking to throw knees to the head but Hartford is blocking nicely.

Hartford gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.
Hartford stops Daiz from standing up.
Daiz can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Hartford controls the pace.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Stratton Hartford wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Hartford keeps the fight on the outside.
Daiz tries to clinch

and Hartford counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Daiz misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Hartford.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Carlos Daiz really dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Daiz misses with a series of wild punches.
Hartford avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Daiz misses with a head kick.
Daiz tries to grapple but his opponent circles

and Hartford counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Hartford.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Hartford as Daiz tries to tie him up.
Daiz stops a takedown attempt from Hartford.
Daiz lands a body punch - he's looking to wear down Hartford.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Daiz fails to land.
Hartford stalling against the cage.
Hartford gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Daiz misses with a knee strike.
Hartford content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Hartford seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Stratton Hartford.
Daiz throws a series of punches but Hartford avoids them all with ease.
Daiz fails to land with a series of punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daiz throws a head kick that misses.
Hartford swats away the attempt to clinch by Daiz.
Daiz throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Daiz throws a head kick that misses

and Hartford counters by moving into the clinch.
Daiz misses with a knee strike.
Hartford managing to block the knees to the body from Daiz.
Hartford effectively controlling the action here.
Daiz has a couple of punches blocked by Hartford.
Hartford has Daiz pushed against the cage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Daiz throws a knee to the head but misses.
Daiz pressing his opponent against the cage.
Hartford displaying some good clinch control by pressing Daiz up against the cage.
Daiz throws an elbow that misses.
Hartford holding his opponent close, against the cage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Stratton Hartford.
Daiz fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Hartford manages to avoid it.
Hartford keeps the fight on the outside.
Daiz thows a leg kick but Hartford checks it

and Hartford counters with a single leg into guard. Daiz didn't expect that.
Daiz is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Hartford engaging in some classic timewasting tactics.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Hartford throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hartford is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
The referee is asking the fighters to pick up the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Stratton Hartford wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Daiz throws a half hearted mid kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Stratton Hartford had his way with Carlos Daiz in that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! And we move into the final round!

Daiz tries to clinch up.
Hartford avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Daiz thows a body shot but no joy.
Carlos Daiz seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Daiz tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hartford was well out of range. Poor timing from Daiz.
Daiz tries a head kick but it misses.
Hartford circles away from the clinch attempt

and Hartford decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Daiz's guard.
Hartford is in close to Daiz's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Hartford's corner is telling him to maintain position.
Hartford's ground tactics aren't going to win him many fans. Let's hope he's got fireworks for us if he gets back to his feet because he's not doing much on the ground.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hartford wants to control from the top but Daiz keeps moving.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Stratton Hartford wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Daiz tries a head kick but it misses.
Daiz misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Daiz wants to clinch.
Daiz tries to clinch but Hartford is having none of it.
Daiz throws a head kick but Hartford moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Daiz scores with a crisp jab that stopped Hartford in his tracks.
Daiz misses with a body kick.
Hartford circles away from the clinch attempt.
Daiz tries to clinch but Hartford moves out of range.
Daiz throws out a token jab with nothing on it.

Hartford tries to keep at a distance but Daiz has taken the fight into the clinch.

Hartford has picked Daiz up - he's going for a ride! Hartford dumps his opponent to the mat with a thud and settles into half guard.
Hartford content to sit in half guard and control for a moment.
Daiz wants to get back to his feet.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hartford controlling the action here.
Stratton Hartford overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hartford tries to pass the half guard into mount. Daiz knows what he's doing though and prevents the attempt.
Daiz looks like he's trying to stand up.
Hartford performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Stratton Hartford has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Daiz throws a head kick but Hartford moves out of range.
Daiz misses with a jab, cross combination.
Daiz fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Daiz doesn't manage to clinch there - Hartford circles away.
Daiz tries to close the distance and clinch but Hartford swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Daiz doesn't manage to clinch there - Hartford circles away.

Daiz has taken the fight to the clinch.
Daiz misses with a knee strike.
Daiz tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Hartford's elbow.
Hartford stalling the fight.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Daiz misses with a knee to the head.
Hartford avoiding damage as Daiz throws knees to the body.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Stratton Hartford.
I think Daiz has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.

Judge Don Winkell scores the fight for Carlos Daiz!
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight for Carlos Daiz!
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight for Carlos Daiz!

Carlos Daiz wins by unanimous decision!
In his post fight interview, Carlos Daiz started talking himself up. Luckily his charisma kept the crowd on side and gave him a good reception.