PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Nick Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Rick Rich (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Diaz comes to the cage accompanied by Fort Minor-Remember The Name. Nick Diaz has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Diaz
vs
Rich

185 cm
30
180 lbs
8 - 8 - 0

177 cm
31
180 lbs
15 - 9 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Excellent grappler
Excellent boxer
Good gas tank

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 8 - 8 - 0, fighting out of New York, Nick Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 15 - 9 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rick Rich!
The judges for this bout are Reed Andrews, Russell Pearce and Chad Campbell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Rich motions for Diaz to come forward. Rich throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Diaz shoots and misses
and Rich counters with a three punch combo that has Diaz backing up. Diaz nods at Rich to acknowledge the strikes.
No luck for Diaz with that takedown attempt.
Diaz stuffs the takedown.
Rich fails to land the takedown.
A slapping body kick lands there for Diaz.
Diaz shoots in for a takedown but Rich shows good takedown defense.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Nick Diaz. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Rich dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Diaz looks to land a left hand but Rich moved out of range nicely.
Rich shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Diaz sprawls well. Diaz wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Rich gets slowly back to his feet.
Diaz misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.

Diaz shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.
Rich lands some strikes from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz works over Rich with some ground and pound from guard.
Diaz with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
Diaz trying to control but Rich is working from the bottom.
Rich looking to hit a scissor sweep but Diaz is one step ahead there.

Diaz stands up from guard. Let's bang!
Rich fails with a takedown attempt from distance.
Rich tries to move into range but Diaz moves to the side and lands with a nice right hand.
Diaz misses with a takedown attempt. He shot from a bit too far out.
A punch combination from Diaz misses.
Diaz keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

Rich drops down and drives through with a powerful takedown into guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Diaz trying to control the position.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Diaz looking to control.
Rich is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Diaz looking for a sweep. Not yet Diaz, not yet.
Rich scoring with punches to the head and body.
Rich trying to control the position from guard on top but Diaz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Diaz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Rich stays in close to Diaz's body and controls the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Diaz has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Rich can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Rich got a little sloppy there for a moment and Diaz has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Rich has managed to get both his arms back between Diaz's legs - danger averted.
Rich is stalling in the full guard.

Diaz is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Rich is aware though and is defending well.
In the pre-fight buildup videos we saw Rich working his ground and pound in the gym. So far it seems to be working well.
Diaz has control of Rich's left arm, preventing Rich from doing any damage.

Diaz looking for a guillotine here but Rich defends easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz trying to keep a closed guard but Rich is proving a slippery customer.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Rich from controlling successfully.
Rich controls from within his opponent's guard.

Rich avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Rich wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Nick Diaz dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Rich tries to clinch up.
Rich is looking to clinch but Diaz is avoiding it.
Rich fails with a takedown attempt.

Rich rushes Diaz and presses him up against the cage.
Diaz is trying to break the clinch but Rich has him pressed against the cage.

Rich ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Rich no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Rich preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Diaz looking to sit in guard and control but Rich gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Diaz is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Diaz is looking to take a break and control but Rich is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rich is trying to maintain the position but Diaz is very close to passing his half guard.

Rich looking for submissions from an awkward position here.

Diaz seems to be looking for submissions.

Diaz is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

Diaz is looking for a kimura but Rich is holding onto that half guard position, so it's hard for Diaz to get the leverage.
Diaz missing with the ground and pound from half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz working the head and body with strikes.
Diaz trying to control from half guard but Rich is working away.
Rich wants to get back to his feet.
Rich is not content to let Diaz control the position.
Rich flails away from the bottom but he's not doing any damage.

Diaz is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Rich wants to improve his position but Diaz is controlling well.

Diaz is trying to work for a kimura. This could be trouble! No, Rich has managed to free his arm - good work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.

Diaz is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Diaz sitting in half guard, looking to land shots. Rich defending well though.
Rich wants to control the action here but instead Diaz manages to pass to full mount!
Rich wants to control but Diaz is having none of it.
Rich tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Rich stops Diaz from taking his back. Still, being mounted isn't any better.
Rich keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Rich is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Rich tries to hold on but Diaz postures up.

Rich defends a decent attempt at a guillotine from Diaz.
Rich is looking to improve his position but Diaz isn't that keen on the idea.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Diaz goes for an armbar but he's fallen flat on his backside there and now Rich is on top in guard.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Rich fails with an attempt to clinch.
Diaz cracks Rich with a right hand to the side of the head.
Nice cross by Diaz.
Rich takes a body punch but keeps moving.
Diaz shoots in but no luck this time.
Nick Diaz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rich shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Diaz defends it nicely.
Rich shoots and misses
letting Diaz counter with a right hand.
Rich will have to do better than that with his takedown attempts.
Nick Diaz has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Rick Rich.
Rich tries to clinch
and Diaz counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Rich throws a nice hook to the body that draws an oooh from the crowd.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Rich moves out of range as Diaz throws a body kick.
Diaz throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rich's waist but Rich gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Diaz off to one side.
Diaz tries for a takedown but Rich sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Rich displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Diaz throws out the jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rich wants to clinch up but Diaz keeps it at a distance.
Rich misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Rich throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Rich avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rich walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
No luck with that takedown attempt from Diaz.
Rich throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Rich is trying hard to land a takedown here. Diaz sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.

Rich closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Diaz did well to prevent Rich getting side control.
Rich takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Diaz gets full guard.

Diaz has his foot on Rich's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Rich works his way back into a safe position though.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Rich from controlling successfully.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Rich 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 had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Rich defends it easily.
Diaz is trying to keep Rich in close.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Rich from controlling successfully.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Rich controls from within his opponent's guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rich trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
The referee wants the fighters to be more active or he's going to reset them on the feet.

The ref calls for a clean break and stands the fighters back up. Rick Rich wasn't active enough on the ground.
Diaz misses with a leg kick.
Rich tries to clinch but Diaz moves out of range.
Rich avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Rich scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

Rich throws the overhand right but ducks down into a quick takedown attempt. Diaz was covering up waiting for the punch and Rich finishes the takedown easily into guard.
Rich 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 four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz working a defensive guard here.

Diaz looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Rich trying to stand up but can't free himself from Diaz's guard.
Rich sitting in guard here, content to control.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Diaz working for a triangle but Rich defends it easily.
Rick Rich has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

Diaz is edging up against the cage. He's using the cage to get back to his feet. Nice work there - the fighters are clinched.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Rick Rich.
I think Diaz 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 Reed Andrews scores the fight 30:28
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 30:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Nick Diaz!
A very excited looking Nick Diaz made sure he remembered to thank all the fans both in the arena and on the internet. He said all the coolest people spend all day on MMA websites, which got a big reaction.