PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Vladimir Emelianenko (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Nick Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). There are an array of beautiful celebrities at ringside tonight! I wonder if any of them paid for their tickets.

Emelianenko
vs
Diaz

200 cm
18
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

186 cm
21
183 lbs
1 - 2 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Big heart

BJJ Purple Belt
Brawler
Heavy handed

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 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Vladimir Emelianenko!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 1 - 2 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Nick Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Valeri Chadov, Konstantin Menshow and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Emelianenko cracks the inside of Diaz's front leg.
Emelianenko really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Emelianenko misses with a series of wild punches.

Emelianenko rushes Diaz and presses him up against the cage.

Diaz is fighting off a takedown attempt but Emelianenko is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Diaz to the mat. Diaz regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Diaz wants to stand up but Emelianenko is controlling him.
Emelianenko controls from within his opponent's guard.
Emelianenko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Diaz is keeping the position for now.
Emelianenko content to stall in guard here.
The referee is pacing around the two fighters - he looks like he's thinking about a standup.

Emelianenko drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Emelianenko jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Emelianenko stops Diaz from standing up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Emelianenko distracts Diaz with his right hand and drops a big elbow with his other arm.
Emelianenko wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Vladimir Emelianenko just wasn't active enough.
Diaz throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Diaz shoots in but doesn't get the takedown

and Emelianenko decides to take the opportunity to score a takedown. He's landed in Diaz's guard.
Emelianenko looking to pass the guard.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet but Emelianenko is in a dominant position and won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Diaz is keeping the position for now.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet but Emelianenko is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Emelianenko pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Diaz is keeping the position for now.
Emelianenko won't allow Diaz to get back to his feet.
Emelianenko has to be careful here, sitting in the guard of a superior BJJ player.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Emelianenko from controlling successfully.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.

Emelianenko has gone for a leg lock! Diaz slips out almost immediately though and dives into Emelianenko's guard.

Diaz thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Diaz won't allow Emelianenko to sweep him here.

Diaz drops back for a leg! It's a sloppy attempt though and Diaz jumps back into guard quickly, to retain the dominant position.
Emelianenko wants to sweep but no luck.
Emelianenko is breathing heavily.
Emelianenko looking to control.
Emelianenko looking for a sweep. Not yet Emelianenko, not yet.
Diaz tries to free his leg and advance position but Emelianenko is retaining full guard.

Diaz drops back looking for a leg! Emelianenko is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Emelianenko manages to kick Diaz off! Diaz jumps back into Emelianenko's guard.

Diaz thinks about going for a leg but decides against it, in order to maintain the position.

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 drops back, looking for a kneebar! Emelianenko looks panicked! The fighters roll across the mat, one looking to finish, one looking to escape. Emelianenko looks to have wriggled free... Yes, he's got his leg free and he's dived into side control! Good work there from Emelianenko!
Diaz regains half guard there - taking advantage of Emelianenko's attempt to lay and pray for a moment.

Emelianenko is thinking about going for an arm triangle but he can't free his leg.
Diaz is looking to escape.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Diaz fails with a takedown attempt.
Diaz misses with a takedown

and Emelianenko counters by clinching up.

Diaz is fighting off a takedown attempt but Emelianenko is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Diaz to the mat. Diaz regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
Diaz wants to get back to his feet but Emelianenko is in a dominant position and won't allow it.
Emelianenko trying to control the position from guard on top but Diaz is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Diaz keeping full guard, as Emelianenko tries to pass.
Emelianenko throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Emelianenko throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Emelianenko throws a big right hand that misses.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko landing some decent shots from guard.
Diaz is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Diaz is breathing heavily.
Emelianenko sitting in guard, not really doing much.
Diaz wants to stand up but Emelianenko is controlling him.
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Emelianenko from controlling successfully.
Diaz is looking to get back to his feet but can't, whilst Emelianenko is controlling him.
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.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Vladimir Emelianenko just wasn't active enough.
Diaz doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Emelianenko counters with a nice double leg into side control. Diaz won't be happy with that.
Vladimir Emelianenko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Diaz.
Emelianenko in side control, just content to control the action for now.
Emelianenko advances nicely into full mount.
Emelianenko working the ground and pound effectively.
Diaz's corner are shouting for him to stand up but that's bad cornering - how is he meant to stand up when he's mounted? He should be looking to improve his position on the ground before trying to stand back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko looking to control and managing it successfully.
Diaz is looking to get back to his feet - it's going to be hard from this position.
A nice elbow there by Emelianenko.
Emelianenko can't control as he wanted to and Diaz manages to get the fight back to his half guard.
Emelianenko will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Emelianenko is looking to take a break and control but Diaz is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Diaz pushes Emelianenko off looking to stand but Emelianenko dives back in and keeps control.

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.
Neither fighter is being very active at the moment, with Emelianenko in particular looking to stall.
Emelianenko stops Diaz from getting back to his feet.
Emelianenko not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Emelianenko lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Diaz blocking the ground and pound attempt from Emelianenko.
Emelianenko not throwing his punches with enough precision this time.
Emelianenko missing with some ground and pound from the half guard.
Emelianenko throwing shots but Diaz is blocking nicely.
Emelianenko not doing much here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Emelianenko gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
Diaz is trying to drag Emelianenko to the mat but Emelianenko just about manages to keep his footing. He used the cage to his advantage there.
Diaz goes for a takedown in the clinch but Emelianenko prevents it.
Emelianenko displaying some good clinch control by pressing Diaz up against the cage.
Emelianenko is trying to work for a single leg takedown but Diaz pulls him back up using the underhooks.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diaz drops down for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Vladimir Emelianenko has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Nick Diaz.
Emelianenko is stalling here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Emelianenko goes for a takedown attempt but Diaz pushes him away and we're back to fighting at a distance.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Diaz misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Diaz with a poor takedown

and Emelianenko counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Emelianenko.

Emelianenko has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Diaz is trying to keep an underhook but Emelianenko manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Emelianenko content to control rather than advance.

Emelianenko seems to be looking for submissions.
Emelianenko controlling the pace.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Emelianenko is looking to take a break and control but Diaz is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Diaz is trying to stand up here but Emelianenko is controlling him well.
Emelianenko is looking to take a break and control but Diaz is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
If this pace continues, the referee will definitely step in and force a standup.
Diaz is trying to stand back up but Emelianenko is controlling him

We're going to have a standup here because Vladimir Emelianenko wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Diaz throws a series of punches but Emelianenko moves out of range.
Diaz throws a sloppy head kick and Emelianenko moves out of range easily.
Diaz throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Emelianenko rushes Diaz and presses him up against the cage.

Emelianenko has moved round to his opponent's back and is looking for a suplex! Oh snap! He's tossed Diaz clear over his head and slammed him to the mat!
Diaz is trying to get back to his feet but Emelianenko has full control of the position and if anything, Diaz has just worked his way into a worse spot.
Emelianenko struggling to keep hold of the position.
Diaz trying to get back to his feet but Emelianenko is in full control for now.
Watch the back of the head! Comes the shout from the referee towards Emelianenko.
Vladimir Emelianenko overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Emelianenko is controlling his opponent, waiting for an opportunity to finish.
Diaz is keeping busy.
Diaz is trying to get back to his feet but he's not managed it yet.
Vladimir Emelianenko is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
You know, I was talking to some of our celebrities at ringside tonight and they were split right down the middle on who was going to win this fight.
Diaz looking to stop the rear naked choke attempt by controlling the hands.
Nick Diaz has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Emelianenko throwing damaging strikes from the back! Diaz could be in trouble here!
Emelianenko keeps control of the position easily here as Diaz tries to buck him off.
Diaz prevents Emelianenko from getting a body triangle.

And that's the end of the fight!
Vladimir Emelianenko showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Emelianenko 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 Valeri Chadov scores the fight 30:27
Judge Konstantin Menshow scores the fight 30:27
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Vladimir Emelianenko!