PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Romo Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dwight Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Dwight Howard told me before the fight that he's been watching a lot of DVDs so let's see if that helps him in this one! I can't wait to find out!

Diaz
vs
Howard

200 cm
26
285 lbs
13 - 1 - 0

211 cm
24
265 lbs
12 - 9 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid boxing
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 13 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Romo Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Dwight Howard!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howard lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Howard pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Howard throws out a leg kick but Diaz moves out of range and Howard only half commits.
Howard is looking to slow Diaz down with leg kicks.
Howard scores with a jab to the body.
A head kick from Howard lands but Diaz takes it in his stride.
Howard takes a swing at Diaz's ribcage but misses.
Diaz looks to land a left hand but Howard moved out of range nicely.
Howard tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Diaz takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Howard misses with a hook to the body

and Diaz counters with a nice double leg into guard.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Diaz trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Howard utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Howard is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Diaz is controlling him.
Howard looks more muscular than last time we saw him. He must have been on the weights.
Diaz wants to control from the top but Howard keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz with a nice head shot there.
Diaz stops Howard from standing up.
Diaz pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Howard is keeping the position for now.
Diaz won't allow Howard to get back to his feet.
Diaz trying to control but Howard is working from the bottom.
Diaz is pushing down on Howard's leg trying to pass to half guard. Howard is fighting to maintain full guard but Diaz has managed to sneak the leg through.
Diaz stops Howard from getting back to his feet.
Diaz looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Howard wants to control but Diaz is keeping busy.
Howard wants to get back to his feet.
Diaz working Howard over with strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Howard pushes Diaz off and gets back to his feet.
Howard scoring well with a low kick there.
Diaz blocks a head kick by Howard.
Dwight Howard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Howard tries a head kick but it misses.
Howard ducks under a wild hook from Diaz.
Howard connects with a nice looking jab.
Howard throws a hook but Diaz avoids it easily.
Howard lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
Howard lands a really nice looking cross but Diaz seems unphased.
Howard jabs Diaz to the body, keeping him at a distance.
Howard ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Diaz moves away.
Dwight Howard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Diaz misses with a looping left.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A telegraphed right hand from Howard misses the target.
Howard misses with a wild body shot.
Diaz on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Diaz on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Howard. Howard obviously looking to wear him down.
Howard throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Howard throws a body punch but Diaz moves out of range.
Howard is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Howard throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Howard tries a head kick but it misses.
Howard is throwing a lot of body shots here, looking to wear down Diaz rather than just go for the knockout.
Diaz checks a leg kick.
Howard misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
A lazy left from Howard finds it's target.
Howard lands a slapping body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is pinned up against the cage taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Diaz closes this distance looking for a takedown but Howard circles away.
Howard throws a shot from downtown. Diaz moves away and avoids it.
Howard tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Diaz was well out of range. Poor timing from Howard.

Diaz gets a double leg takedown into Howard's guard.
Diaz won't allow Howard to get back to his feet.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Diaz's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Howard keeping moving, preventing Diaz from controlling successfully.

Howard manages to escape and get back to his feet.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Howard misses with a leg kick.
Howard missing with a left hand there. Diaz was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Howard dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Howard goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Howard pulls out of a head kick attempt.
A nice leg kick lands there from Howard.
Diaz ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
Howard throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Howard tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Howard slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Howard throws a wild body kick that Diaz sees coming a mile off.
A left lands for Howard.
Diaz tries to shoot in for a takedown. He's got hold of a leg but Howard swivels and escapes.
Diaz shoots in for a takedown but Howard shows good takedown defense.
A slapping leg kick lands for Howard.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.

Diaz feints and as Howard raises his hands in defense, Diaz changes levels and drives through with a takedown into guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Diaz won't allow Howard to get back to his feet.
Romo Diaz overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Howard is breathing heavily.
Howard has momentary wrist control but Diaz slips an elbow through the middle.
Diaz won't allow Howard to get back to his feet.
Diaz lands a couple of digs.
Howard is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Diaz is controlling him.
Diaz makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Diaz stays in close to Howard's body and controls the position.
Diaz stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Howard swivels though and keeps the full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard looking to control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Diaz prevents Howard from getting back to his feet.
Diaz passes Howard's left leg - he's now in half guard.
Diaz is looking to take a break and control but Howard is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Howard wants to get back to his feet.
Diaz looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Diaz is trying to control the action in half guard but Howard is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.

We're going to have a standup here because Romo Diaz wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Diaz connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A big left from Howard misses.
Howard throws a sloppy head kick and Diaz moves out of range easily.
Howard connects with a body shot that sends Diaz's belly button to the back.
Howard attempts a leg kick but it's missed by a good margin.

Diaz darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Diaz working over Howard with some ground and pound. Howard looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
Diaz wants to pass to mount but Howard is defending the position.
Both fighters really going for it on the ground here!
Howard wants to get back to his feet.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Diaz works his foot free and advances to mount.
Howard wants to try and get back to his feet.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz lands a couple of good shots and Howard has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
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!
Diaz has Howard flattened out and is raining down punches.
Howard looking very determined here, making life difficult for Diaz.
Diaz is going to have to think about doing something other than just controlling because Howard is managing to avoid having the position dictated to him.
Diaz controls the action.
Howard is in a world of trouble here. He's outmatched on the ground here and he'd better get Diaz off his back sharpish unless he wants to be submitted.
Diaz is not going to allow Howard to sit and survive in this position.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Howard grimaces as he takes a shot to the body.
Diaz loading up with punches from the back mount - how long can Howard hold on?
Howard covers up after that shot from Diaz.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Romo Diaz dominated that second round.
That's time! Diaz's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Diaz takes a kick to the side of the head.
Howard lunges at Diaz with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Diaz's hand.

It looks like Romo Diaz has been cut.
Howard has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Howard misses with an uppercut. Diaz saw that one coming.
A good leg kick by Howard.
A jab from Howard does it's job there.

Diaz 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.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howard wants to stand and escape but Diaz is having none of it.
Diaz looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Howard keeping full guard, as Diaz tries to pass.
Howard is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Diaz is controlling him.
Diaz scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Howard wants to get back to his feet but Diaz is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Diaz wants to control from the top but Howard keeps moving.
Diaz 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.
Diaz not doing a lot at the moment. He'll have to show some more aggression or the fight will get stood up.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
Diaz postures up and lands a big shot to Howard's brow.
Diaz cracks Howard with a solid left hand.

Howard throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Howard takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Diaz with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Howard is looking to stand up but Diaz isn't so interested in that idea.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Diaz's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Diaz won't allow Howard to get back to his feet.
Diaz with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Howard wants to stand up but Diaz is controlling him.
Diaz postures up and lands a big shot to Howard's brow.

Howard is rocked!
Diaz is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Howard is still in real trouble! Can Diaz finish him?
Diaz might be looking to lock onto one of his opponent's long limbs for a submission, whilst we're on the ground.
Diaz chips away with some ground and pound.
Diaz stands up over Howard, holding on to his feet. Diaz throws the legs to one side and dives in with a huge shot that lands flush on the chin! Howard is out cold! Diaz lands a couple more shots and the ref tackles him out of the way! What a brutal finish!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3:57 of round 3, we have a winner by way of KO (Strikes). Romo Diaz!
Our winner, Romo Diaz, made sure he spent some time buttering up the crowd during his post fight interview, which will no doubt bring him a few more fans.