PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Mickey Diaz (ranked 4013 p4p, 441 weight class) and Niko Puhkuri (ranked 3328 p4p, 366 weight class). Diaz comes to the cage accompanied by Coming For You, by The Offspring. These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Diaz
vs
Puhkuri

185 cm
25
185 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

188 cm
19
194 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

BJJ Brown Belt
Solid boxing
KO power

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

Forge Clothing Co.

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Hilo, Mickey Diaz!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Niko Puhkuri!
The judges for this bout are Bruno Hogan, Ben Watson and Ron Honeybunn.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Puhkuri shoots in and gets a takedown into Diaz's guard.
Diaz being controlled here, momentarily.
Puhkuri stands up over Diaz, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

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

Diaz working for a triangle but Puhkuri defends it easily.
Diaz working a defensive guard here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Puhkuri looking to sit in guard and control but Diaz gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Puhkuri swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Puhkuri looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
Puhkuri keeps trying to improve his position.
Diaz stops Puhkuri from standing up.
Puhkuri striking off his back but it's not causing Diaz any problems.
Diaz passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Diaz misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Puhkuri sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Diaz has improved his flexibility recently so we will have to see if he can use that to his advantage.
Puhkuri moves into full guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz postures up and scores with a shot to the body and a follow up elbow to the head.

Puhkuri is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Diaz is aware though and is defending well.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Diaz accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Diaz tries to free his leg and advance position but Puhkuri is retaining full guard.
Diaz sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Diaz trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Puhkuri bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Diaz's guard.

Puhkuri is looking to work some ground and pound but Diaz has wrist control.
Puhkuri really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Diaz. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.
Diaz working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Puhkuri.
Diaz trying to control the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Diaz is throwing his legs up, looking for submissions. Puhkuri is aware though and is defending well.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Puhkuri defends well.
Puhkuri throws a big right hand that misses.

Diaz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Puhkuri with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Puhkuri won't allow Diaz to sweep him here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.
Diaz trying to control the position.
Puhkuri landing some decent shots from guard.
Puhkuri stays in close to Diaz's body and controls the position.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Puhkuri connects with a couple of short punches.
Puhkuri controls the pace of the fight for a moment.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Puhkuri defends well.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Puhkuri throwing strikes but missing.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Puhkuri uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Diaz.

Puhkuri moves into the clinch.

Puhkuri gets double underhooks and manages to take the fight to the ground.

Diaz working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Puhkuri has passed into half guard!
Puhkuri prevents Diaz from improving his position.

Diaz actively working from the bottom here.
Puhkuri has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

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

Diaz actively working from the bottom here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.
Puhkuri is thwarting Diaz's attempts to control the position.
Puhkuri seems to be taking a bit of a break to think of his next move. He lands a short punch in the meantime.
Diaz wants to control but Puhkuri is keeping busy.
Puhkuri 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.
Puhkuri works his way into side control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz gets back to half guard.
Diaz is controlling Puhkuri's position as best he can from this difficult position.
Puhkuri performing his best blanket impression for a moment.
Puhkuri lands strikes from half guard.
Diaz is trying to maintain the position but Puhkuri is very close to passing his half guard.
Puhkuri trying to control the action but Diaz is working from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.

Diaz looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.

Diaz looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Puhkuri is just sitting in guard, looking to avoid any submissions.
Puhkuri lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Puhkuri lands a couple of decent looking shots.
Diaz is trying to control the position from the bottom.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Diaz looking for a guillotine here but Puhkuri defends easily.
Diaz being controlled here, momentarily.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Diaz looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Niko Puhkuri showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Puhkuri misses with a few strikes there.
Diaz tries to bum rush Puhkuri with a series of wild strikes but Puhkuri uses good footwork to avoid the assault.

Puhkuri clinches with his opponent.

Puhkuri breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Puhkuri cracks Diaz with a right hand to the side of the head.
Mickey Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Diaz fails to land with a series of punches.
Puhkuri appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.
Diaz scores with a nice strike.
Diaz scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Mickey Diaz is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Puhkuri throws a head kick that Diaz semi-blocks.

It looks like Mickey Diaz has been cut.
Puhkuri shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Diaz ducks right into an uppercut from Puhkuri.
Diaz keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.

Puhkuri closes the distance and looks for a trip takedown... aaaand he's got it - Puhkuri lands in his opponent's guard.

Diaz escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Puhkuri gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Puhkuri stands up over Diaz, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Diaz tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Puhkuri must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Diaz trying to control the position.
Puhkuri stands up over Diaz, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Puhkuri defends well.
Diaz being controlled here, momentarily.

That's two 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.
Puhkuri throws a big elbow that misses.

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

Diaz is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.
Puhkuri working some strikes from top position.

Diaz looking for a guillotine here but Puhkuri defends easily.
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.

Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Puhkuri pushes Diaz off looking to stand but Diaz dives back in and keeps control.
Diaz scoring with strikes to the body and head.

Diaz is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.
Puhkuri keeping his head moving to avoid the ground and pound.

Puhkuri looking for submissions off his back.
Puhkuri wants to improve his position but Diaz is controlling well.

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.

Diaz is working for a kimura but Puhkuri is defending it quite comfortably.
Puhkuri wants to control but Diaz is keeping busy.
Niko Puhkuri has got the better of the ground game so far.
Mickey Diaz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Puhkuri might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Diaz haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Niko Puhkuri is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Puhkuri is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Niko Puhkuri.
I've got Puhkuri winning every round here. Surely the decision will go his way and he'll pick up a well deserved decision victory. 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 Bruno Hogan scores the fight 27:30
Judge Ben Watson scores the fight 28:29
Judge Ron Honeybunn scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Niko Puhkuri!