PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Elias Kostonopoulos (ranked 5479 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pedro Diaz (ranked 7436 p4p, 0 weight class). Buckle up people - heeeeeeeeeere we go!

Kostonopoulos
vs
Diaz

185 cm
25
180 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

190 cm
18
175 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

Good wrestling
Solid Muay Thai
Big right hand

BJJ Brown Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Elias Kostonopoulos!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of The Island, Pedro Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Santiago Holmes, Dirk Anderson and Michael Johnstone.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Kostonopoulos fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
A solid leg kick lands there for Kostonopoulos.
Kostonopoulos buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Diaz dives in and grabs Kostonopoulos's left leg, looking for a takedown. Kostonopoulos pushes down on Diaz's head and hops out.
Pedro Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Kostonopoulos takes the fight into the clinch.
Kostonopoulos lands a nice knee to the body.
Diaz wants a takedown.

Kostonopoulos breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Diaz avoids the head kick by Kostonopoulos.
Diaz throws a counter combo.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A nice leg kick lands there from Kostonopoulos.
Diaz closes the distance looking to clinch
and Kostonopoulos counters with a left and a right that stings Diaz.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos keeps the fight on the outside.
Diaz tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Kostonopoulos paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Kostonopoulos throws a sloppy head kick and Diaz moves out of range easily.
Diaz finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Kostonopoulos fires out a quick counter leg kick but Diaz just manages to avoid it.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kostonopoulos.
Diaz throws a head kick that misses.
Kostonopoulos throws a quick counter kick to the body but Diaz avoids it.
Kostonopoulos pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Diaz throws a leg kick
and Kostonopoulos makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Diaz misses with a takedown attempt
and Kostonopoulos counters with a big head kick but Diaz shrugs it off.
Elias Kostonopoulos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pedro Diaz.
Diaz looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Kostonopoulos is fending him off so far but Diaz persists. Nope, Kostonopoulos circles away and we're back to standing.
Diaz shoots in but doesn't get the takedown
and Kostonopoulos counters with a head kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Diaz. That did some damage!
Diaz changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Kostonopoulos tries to avoid it but Diaz manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Kostonopoulos to the ground. Kostonopoulos escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Diaz looks winded!
Diaz throws a sloppy head kick
and Kostonopoulos counters with a body kick that stops Diaz in his tracks momentarily.
Diaz is looking to clinch.

Kostonopoulos gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!

Kostonopoulos breaks from the clinch.
Diaz has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kostonopoulos.
Kostonopoulos lands with a thumping leg kick.
Kostonopoulos connects with a high kick.

Kostonopoulos instigates a clinch.
Kostonopoulos slows down the pace here.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos stalling the fight.
Kostonopoulos gets a warning from the ref for wasting time.
Come on Kostonopoulos - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Kostonopoulos landing knees to the body.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Elias Kostonopoulos.
Kostonopoulos slaps away a takedown attempt from Diaz, before circling back to the center of the mat.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.
Diaz misses with a takedown
and Kostonopoulos counters with an inside leg kick.
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.
A nice leg kick lands there from Kostonopoulos.
Elias Kostonopoulos is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
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.
Kostonopoulos works the jab nicely.
Kostonopoulos connects with a leg kick. Diaz looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Kostonopoulos digs a good hook to Diaz's body.

Kostonopoulos closes the distance and clinches.
Diaz's leg has a nasty welt from taking a succession of leg kicks. That must be slowing him down.
Diaz tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Kostonopoulos avoids it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Elias Kostonopoulos dominated that 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.

Kostonopoulos moves into the clinch successfully.
Diaz wants to get back to striking at distance but Kostonopoulos won't allow it.
Diaz jumps guard but Kostonopoulos turns him against the cage and keeps the fight standing.
Diaz tries to break free but Kostonopoulos pushes him back against the cage.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.
Diaz tries for a takedown. No joy.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diaz is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Kostonopoulos pulls him back up using the underhooks.
Elias Kostonopoulos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pedro Diaz.
Stalling in the clinch from Kostonopoulos.
Diaz taking a breather.
Diaz is breathing heavily.
Kostonopoulos unloads a knee to the mid-section. Diaz lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos landing knees to the body.
Kostonopoulos has Diaz pushed against the cage.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.
Kostonopoulos manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Kostonopoulos unloads a knee to the mid-section. Diaz lets out a prehistoric sounding urrrrgh.

Kostonopoulos's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Kostonopoulos is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Diaz can do to turn this around?

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Kostonopoulos scores with a head kick.
Diaz with a lazy takedown attempt
and Kostonopoulos counters with a head kick.
Kostonopoulos cracks the inside of Diaz's front leg.
Kostonopoulos fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Diaz.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Kostonopoulos.
Kostonopoulos thuds his shin into the meat of Diaz's side.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Diaz has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kostonopoulos.
Kostonopoulos lands a nice leg kick that just misses Diaz's sensitive parts.
Diaz takes a kick to the side of the head.
Kostonopoulos lands a high kick!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos connects with an inside leg kick.
Kostonopoulos connects with an inside leg kick.
Diaz shoots for a takedown but Kostonopoulos saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
As Diaz backs away, Kostonopoulos returns fire with a leg kick that just misses.
Kostonopoulos with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Kostonopoulos scores with a kick to the body.
Kostonopoulos fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Diaz has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Kostonopoulos moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.

Kostonopoulos moves into the clinch.
Kostonopoulos with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Kostonopoulos manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
Kostonopoulos makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos connects with a knee to the head.
Kostonopoulos is struggling to control the position.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Kostonopoulos stalling the fight.
Diaz is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Kostonopoulos to keep the fight standing.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.
Kostonopoulos leaning his opponent against the cage.
Kostonopoulos seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Kostonopoulos stalling the fight.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Elias Kostonopoulos dominated that second round.
That's time! Kostonopoulos's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Diaz chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Kostonopoulos can pounce on him.
Diaz tries to clinch but Kostonopoulos is having none of it.
Kostonopoulos lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Kostonopoulos lands a leg kick that knocks Diaz off balance momentarily.
Diaz doesn't manage to clinch there - Kostonopoulos circles away.
Kostonopoulos scores with a one two! Diaz had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.
Diaz fails to land the takedown.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Kostonopoulos pushes Diaz up against the cage in a clinch.
Diaz being controlled against the cage.
Kostonopoulos effectively controlling the action here.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Kostonopoulos for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.

That's one minute gone in the round.
The ref breaks the fighters up, due to lack of action by Elias Kostonopoulos.
Diaz avoids the head kick by Kostonopoulos.
Diaz looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Kostonopoulos lands with a thumping leg kick.
Diaz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kostonopoulos swats him away and circles back towards the center.
An inside leg kick lands from Kostonopoulos.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Kostonopoulos, right into the meat.
Diaz tries to clinch but Kostonopoulos is having none of it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz is looking to clinch.
It appears Kostonopoulos was looking to counter with a kick there.
Kostonopoulos fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.
Kostonopoulos moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Kostonopoulos throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Diaz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Ouch! a nice leg kick from Kostonopoulos, right into the meat.
Diaz is trying desperately to land a takedown but Kostonopoulos is having absolutely none of it. This is turning into a bit of a nightmare for Diaz.
Kostonopoulos lands a front kick.
Kostonopoulos throws a head kick that misses.
Diaz thinks about the counter body kick.
Kostonopoulos avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Diaz has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Kostonopoulos.
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!
Kostonopoulos throws a nice head kick!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Diaz. That did some damage!
Diaz steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Kostonopoulos. That one must have hurt.
A solid leg kick lands there for Kostonopoulos.
Horrible takedown attempt by Diaz or perhaps it was just good defense by Kostonopoulos, which made it look bad.
Elias Kostonopoulos has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Pedro Diaz.
Kostonopoulos bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Diaz tries to close the distance and clinch up but Kostonopoulos swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Diaz takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
A head kick by Diaz misses
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Kostonopoulos fakes a jab and scores with a low kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Kostonopoulos dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Diaz. That did some damage!
Kostonopoulos lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Diaz tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
A slapping leg kick lands for Kostonopoulos.
A chopping leg kick lands by Kostonopoulos.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Kostonopoulos gets a clinch.
A knee to the head by Kostonopoulos.
The pace slowing considerably in the clinch, as Kostonopoulos takes a break from that fighting nonsense to think about the finer things in life.

Kostonopoulos escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

And that's the end of the fight!
Elias Kostonopoulos showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Kostonopoulos has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Santiago Holmes scores the fight 30:24
Judge Dirk Anderson scores the fight 30:24
Judge Michael Johnstone scores the fight 30:24

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Elias Kostonopoulos!