PBP Commentary

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

Diaz
vs
Ward

183 cm
27
181 lbs
5 - 5 - 0

178 cm
30
183 lbs
5 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Cardio machine

Excellent grappler
Excellent MT
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 5 - 5 - 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 5 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Greg Ward!
The judges for this bout are Gwen Towbar, Frank Dennis and Robert Twigg.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Diaz slips a jab from Ward.
Diaz misses with a left hand

so Ward counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Ward 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.
Ward postures up and lands some nice ground and pound.
Ward working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Ward from controlling successfully.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Ward looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diaz not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diaz working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Ward doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Ward manages to throw the legs off his shoulder and he's back into guard - no problem.
Ward is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Diaz controls Ward momentarily but Ward frees himself.
Ward controls the pace of the fight for a moment.
Diaz trying to control the position.
Ward with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ward wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
Ward advances position into side control!
Ward trying to control the position but Diaz is working away.
The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Ward landing a few strikes.
Ward trying to control the position but Diaz is working away.
Diaz is trying to improve his position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is working hard here to advance position.
Ward trying to control the action but Diaz is working from the bottom.
Diaz is looking for a sweep.
Diaz manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Ward gets back to full guard.
Diaz looking to pass the guard.
Ward is trying to control the position but Diaz postures up.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Ward is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Ward wants to sweep but no luck.

Diaz drops back, looking for a kneebar! Ward looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Ward looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Ward!

Diaz is looking to reverse the position.

Ward is looking to finish here, going for an Americana. Diaz knows the correct defense though, so he's OK.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Diaz is looking for a sweep.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Greg Ward dominated that round.
That's time! Diaz's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Ward scores with a jab to the body.
Ward works Diaz's body with a nice hook.

Ward gets a double leg takedown into Diaz's guard.
Ward working from the guard for now, landing some ground and pound.
Ward lands a couple of elbows.
Ward landing some decent shots from guard.
Ward chips away with some ground and pound.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Ward trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Ward is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Ward looking to pass the guard.

Diaz has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Ward can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Diaz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ward is one step ahead there.
Ward controlling from the top position.
Ward sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Diaz's guard.
Diaz is trying to maintain the position but Ward is very close to passing his half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

Diaz looking to work for a kimura from the bottom.
The two fighters exchange a few words. I couldn't hear what they were saying but maybe it's more fun if you make it up yourself. Ward connects with a nice short shot to Diaz's temple.
Diaz on the receiving end of some nice ground and pound.
Ward is thwarting Diaz's attempts to control the position.
Ward drops an elbow to the side of Diaz's head.
Ward is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Ward's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.
Let's hope that Ward has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward is trying to control the action in half guard but Diaz is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Ward has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Ward winds up and cracks Diaz with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Ward seems content to maintain position for now, rather than mounting any offense.
Diaz wants to get back to full guard.
Ward is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.

Diaz looking for submissions off his back.

Diaz is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Ward pulls his head out easily.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.
Ward trying to control from half guard but Diaz is working away.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.
Ward controlling the pace.
Diaz is trying to get back to full guard.
Ward looks towards his corner to check for any instructions. The corner give him nothing to work with, so he cracks Diaz with a short hammerfist. I guess that's as good as any advice he could get in this position.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Ward lands with an elbow from half guard - that looked like it hurt.
Ward moves nicely into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Greg Ward showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action! This is the final round!

Diaz misses with a hook. Ward ducked under it nicely.
Nice jab there from Ward.
Diaz slips a jab from Ward.
Diaz scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Ward uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Diaz.
Ward scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Diaz slips a jab and a cross from Ward.
Nick Diaz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

Ward fakes a strike and closes the distance, dragging Diaz to the ground. Ward is now in Diaz's guard.

Diaz throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
Ward is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Diaz manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Ward manages to get himself to full guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diaz gets to his feet. Ward looking to butt scoot but the ref puts an end to that. On your feet son!
A looping hook to the body misses from Diaz. Ward does a little dance to reset his feet.
Ward steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Diaz.
Ward misses with a hook. Diaz ducked under it nicely.
It looked like Diaz was looking amped, ready to throw a big counter but didn't commit.
A nice combination there by Diaz.
Nick Diaz is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Ward misses with a head kick.
Diaz falls off balance throwing a combination

and Ward decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Diaz's guard.
Diaz is trying to keep Ward in close.
Ward scoring with some ground and pound.
Ward trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
Ward has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz being controlled here, momentarily.
Greg Ward has got the better of the ground game so far.
Ward throws an elbow that misses. Diaz uses the momentum to reverse the position. He's now in Ward's guard. Nice move by Diaz!

This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Ward is on top in guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Ward showing good wrestling skills to control the position.
Ward won't allow Diaz to sweep him here.
Ward postures up.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Ward's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Ward is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Ward controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Diaz looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Nick Diaz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Ward avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Diaz is trying to control the position from the bottom.
Diaz looking to hit a scissor sweep but Ward is one step ahead there.
Ward showing good wrestling skills to control the position.

Diaz looking for subs off his back but Ward has passed one foot through into half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Greg Ward comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Ward has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. 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 Gwen Towbar scores the fight 27:30
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 27:30
Judge Robert Twigg scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Greg Ward!
Our winner, Greg Ward, 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.