PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a lightweight MMA rules bout between Sherm Davis (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Bartel Diakite (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Diakite has chosen Diamonds as his entrance music. Bartel Diakite is the more experienced fighter, so let's see if that makes a difference tonight.

Davis
vs
Diakite

182 cm
24
166 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

186 cm
26
161 lbs
11 - 9 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
World class MT
Cardio machine

Powerful takedowns
Decent boxing
Fast

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the lightweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Sherm Davis!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 9 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Bartel Diakite!
The judges for this bout are Shigeki Sano, Shirou Masuda and Tatsuya Matsuyama.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Diakite shoots in and bounces Davis off the cage to secure the takedown into guard.
Diakite is a painfully thin specimen of a man. You do wonder whether a good body kick would snap him clean in two.
Diakite won't allow Davis to sweep him here.
Davis managing to control the position.
Diakite preventing the sweep.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Diakite gets to his feet - Davis follows without any prompting.

Davis has taken the fight to the clinch.
Davis working aggressively here.
Diakite blocks a punch to the side of the head.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Davis tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Diakite's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Davis tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Davis can't find room to land a body shot as Diakite controls the action.
Diakite jumps guard but Davis stands there with Diakite around his waist. Diakite gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Davis works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Davis trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Davis content to stall in guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diakite trying to keep a closed guard but Davis is proving a slippery customer.

Diakite has his foot on Davis's thigh. He's trying to push off and get in position for a triangle, I think. Davis works his way back into a safe position though.
Davis looks to be in better condition than last time we saw him fight. Obviously he's been working hard on his cardio.

Diakite isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Davis stacks Diakite on his neck as he steps over and passes to the side. He's now in a much more dominant position where he can look to do some serious damage. Nice move by Davis!
Davis slows the pace down.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diakite tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Diakite is trying to control Davis's posture but Davis avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.
The referee tells the fighters to keep busy.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
No luck for Diakite with that takedown attempt.
Nice jab there from Davis.

Davis forces Diakite back against the cage and clinches.
Davis swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Davis working aggressively here.
Diakite tries to pull guard but Davis won't allow it.
Sherm Davis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bartel Diakite.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Davis lands a hook that snaps the head of Diakite backwards.
Davis throws a punch but it's blocked by Diakite.
Davis tries to work over Diakite's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Sherm Davis dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Diakite shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Davis pinned against the cage. Davis gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Diakite swats away the attempt to clinch by Davis.
Diakite shoots in but Davis avoids the takedown attempt easily.
Diakite looks for a takedown but Davis sprawls well.
Sherm Davis has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Bartel Diakite.
Diakite changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Davis tries to avoid it but Diakite manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Davis to the ground. Davis escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Davis bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Davis throws an overhand right that lands on Diakite's shoulder, as Diakite tries to avoid the shot.
Diakite shoots in but no luck this time.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diakite changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Davis tries to avoid it but Diakite manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Davis to the ground. Davis escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Davis fails to land with the punch combination there - jab, cross, hook, miss, miss, miss.
Davis ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Diakite moves away.
Diakite drops down looking to force a counter takedown but Davis defends it well.
Diakite is breathing heavily.
Diakite uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Davis.
Diakite thinks about the counter body kick.
Diakite tries for a takedown but Davis circles away easily

and Davis counters by clinching up.
A nice left hand lands by Davis.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Diakite manages to pull guard.
Davis content to stall in guard here.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Davis has controlled the position for a good 20 seconds, which will no doubt be starting to frustrate his opponent.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A few boos can be heard. I'm sure they will multiply if the fighters don't pick up the pace.
The referee claps his hands together and tells the fighters to work.

Diakite pushes a forearm under Davis's chin to create some space. He's escaped his hips and pivoted quickly for an armbar! Can he extend the arm? Yes, Davis is tapping out! Damn, that was fast!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 2:56 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Armbar). Bartel Diakite!
During a confident post fight interview, Bartel Diakite thanked all his fans. He seemed very genuine when describing how motivated his fans keep him.