PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Jay Mendoza (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Norbutt Diaz (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Mendoza
vs
Diaz

187 cm
24
151 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
25
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Jay Mendoza!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Norbutt Diaz!
The judges for this bout are Jonathan Paton, David Schapiro and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Diaz closes the distance and clinches up, looking for a takedown. He shifts his weight and gets a nice trip into half guard.
Mendoza is positioning himself well to prevent Diaz advancing to mount.
Diaz not landing any meaningful shots this time.
Mendoza is in trouble now - Diaz has advanced to mount!
Diaz scoring with some good ground and pound from mount here. Will he manage to finish Mendoza?
Mendoza in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Diaz lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Mendoza hang on?
Mendoza'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.
A nice elbow there by Diaz.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Diaz tries to control but Mendoza wriggling away.
Diaz thowing shots but they're missing.
Diaz trying to control but he's not successful this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz throws some wild stikes that Mendoza manages to avoid easily.
Mendoza is in a horrible position here. Diaz smacks him with another shot as he tries to escape the position.

Diaz jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Mendoza manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Diaz in side control lands a nice looking series of punches and elbows.
Mendoza is not content to let Diaz control the position.
Diaz controlling from side mount.
Diaz wants to control but Mendoza is keeping him busy.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Diaz is trying to get an arm triangle but Mendoza is defending well.
Mendoza is looking for a sweep.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

Diaz swings around for an armbar but Mendoza sees it coming a mile off and turns beautifully into Diaz's guard.
Mendoza really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.

Diaz is active off his back here, looking for submissions.
Mendoza looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
Mendoza is working Diaz over from the guard. He should look to pass the guard and do a little more damage with these strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mendoza defends well.
Mendoza trying to control but Diaz is working from the bottom.
Diaz has the superior BJJ but he's also working some ground strikes into his gameplan.
Diaz avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.

Diaz is looking for a guillotine. You can't force these things though and Mendoza defends well.
Diaz looks winded!
Mendoza scoring with punches to the head and body.
Mendoza is stalling in the full guard.

Mendoza avoids a guillotine attempt easily.

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.
Mendoza sitting in guard, not really doing much.

Diaz working for a triangle but Mendoza defends it easily.
Mendoza is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Diaz tries to strike from the bottom.
Mendoza controls from within his opponent's guard.

The ref stands the fighters back up due to a lack of activity.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Norbutt Diaz dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Mendoza takes the fight into the clinch.

Mendoza turns his hips and lands a very nice judo throw into side control!
Mendoza is looking to take a break and control but Diaz is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Diaz has been the more effective fighter overall so far.
Diaz struggling a bit here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mendoza lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
Diaz managing to avoid any damage from the strikes thrown by Mendoza.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Mendoza decides to take the fight back to the feet.
Mendoza tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Diaz is able to avoid easily.
Jay Mendoza is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Diaz misses with a takedown attempt
and Mendoza counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Jay Mendoza is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
A punch combination from Mendoza misses.
Diaz looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Mendoza is fending him off so far but Diaz persists. Nope, Mendoza circles away and we're back to standing.
Norbutt Diaz seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Diaz is breathing heavily.
Diaz dives in for a single leg takedown but Mendoza sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Jay Mendoza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Norbutt Diaz.

Diaz gets tackled into the cage by Mendoza. Mendoza maintains the clinch.

Mendoza drags the fight down to the ground.
Diaz with a flurry of punches that miss.
Mendoza working a defensive guard here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.

Mendoza is looking for a triangle but Diaz pushes his legs off easily.
Diaz throws a big elbow that misses.
Diaz throwing strikes but missing.
Mendoza is trying to stand up but he's not managed so far.
Diaz makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.

Diaz avoids a guillotine attempt easily.
Diaz throws a big right hand that misses.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza has taken the fight to the clinch.

Mendoza ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Mendoza no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Diaz won't allow Mendoza to get back to his feet.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Diaz's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Mendoza avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Mendoza is trying to keep Diaz in close.
Diaz stands and throws Mendoza's legs to the side, diving into side control.
Diaz gets to mount! Mendoza was on the offensive and wasn't defending properly.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Mendoza is squirming around, avoiding Diaz's attempts to control the action.

Diaz swings around for an armbar but it's a sloppy attempt and Mendoza is now in Diaz's guard. A big mistake from Diaz there, giving up the dominant position!
Diaz keeping moving, preventing Mendoza from controlling successfully.
Mendoza scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendoza wanted to stand there but Diaz had control of the position.
Mendoza wants to control from the top but Diaz keeps moving.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jay Mendoza dominated that second 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. Let's get this one finished - here comes the final round!

Diaz shoots in looking for a double leg takedown. Mendoza defends it nicely.
Diaz misses with a takedown attempt - Mendoza sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Mendoza shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Diaz shoots in but no luck this time.
Jay Mendoza has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Norbutt Diaz.
Mendoza throws a right and a left that both miss.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Diaz takes a shot to the body in his stride.
Diaz takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.

Mendoza rushes Diaz and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

Mendoza gets control of Diaz's arms and successfully pulls guard. Mendoza will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Mendoza tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Mendoza is looking to stand up but Diaz isn't so interested in that idea.
Mendoza has Diaz pulled in close to control his posture.
Diaz wants to control from the top but Mendoza keeps moving.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Diaz scores with a decent looking elbow strike.
Diaz loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Mendoza striking off his back but it's not causing Diaz any problems.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Mendoza tries to work over Diaz's front leg with a kick but Diaz checks it.
Diaz tries to score a power double leg takedown but Mendoza sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Diaz somewhat.
Mendoza is looking to score with low kicks.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Mendoza gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.

Mendoza manages to pull guard.
Mendoza lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Mendoza is looking to work some ground and pound but Diaz has wrist control.
Diaz working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Mendoza.

Diaz isolates an arm and boxes in a triangle. Mendoza stacks Diaz 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 Mendoza!
Mendoza controls the position from side control.
Mendoza knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Diaz on the ground.
Mendoza working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Diaz on the wrong end of some ground and pound.
Mendoza working the ground and pound from side control.
Mendoza landing a few strikes.
Mendoza lands an elbow.
Mendoza staying calm.
Mendoza continues to stall.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Mendoza lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jay Mendoza showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Mendoza 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 Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:27
Judge David Schapiro scores the fight 29:27
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jay Mendoza!