Transcript
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Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz entered to
no music
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Matt Hughes entered to
no music
Matt walked the aisle followed by a huge entourage. The fans were going nuts and he looked pumped for the fight. Matt came out to jeering from the crowd. He is the one everyone loves to hate. But to his credit, Matt doesn't let it faze him, but rather basks in the spotlight. Brimming with confidence, Nicholas seemed eager to give the crowd what they wanted, namely the beating of Matt.
Now, the interesting part about this fight is, Matt is a very smart fighter. He knows exactly where he wants to take the fight, and isn't afraid to trade punches with Nicholas until he gets there. The question is, will the standup portion of the fight fare well for Matt, or will he get caught with a knockout punch? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Matt Hughes looked in exremely good shape for this one. More cut than usual, you could tell he went on a cardio kick for this one. Nicholas did not look like he trained quite so hard for this one in comparison. There was no shaking of hands, or touching of gloves in this one. After the ref was done his talk, there was no show of respect between these two combatants. Clearly, they were all business in this one.
The round begins with both fighters touching gloves in the center of the ring. Matt shoots in with a double leg and Diaz sprawls and defends the takedown. Diaz is more stationary with Matt Hughes moving laterally more. Matt Hughes wanted to do it all with his punches, but now "Diablo" was controlling the distance well enough to stymie these attacks. Diaz is footstomping ala Ruas then jumps to standing guard. Matt slams him down. Diaz is starting to breathe heavy with an open mouth, but continues to throw leather. "Diablo" in the guard position, was working well, exerting a burst of energy as he must have felt the time ticking down on the round. He threw some impressive elbows and punches from his back, with more than a few landing to noticeably redden the face of Hughes on top. "Diablo" got the better of the exchange of punches thrown as the round finished.
Round 2 saw good ground action, with Matt taking the no association trained fighter's back and looking for the tapout from bad position. After a reversal that resulted in "Diablo" scoring top position, he landed a brutal elbow that opened a heavy gash on Matt's face. Diaz attempts a side choke and Matt maintains posture, landing a hard right hand. After a restart "Diablo" scores with a knee but Matt Hughes scrambles and gets the top position. Hughes goes for a weak anaconda choke attempt but is rebuffed. Feeling firmly in control at this point, Matt got a little sloppy and Nicholas seized his chance, snagging on a leg kimura. Matt tried to wriggle free, but only managed to get himself trapped tighter. With a grimace he had nothing to do but tap or gut it out. He chose the latter with his corner screaming to hold on for the few remaining seconds left in the round.
Round 3 opens with Matt throwing leg kicks. Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz counters and throws a great punches that connects. Nicholas comes forward and lands a nice jab and right hand, forcing Hughes to back up. Nicholas lands a left elbow from the ensuing clinch. "Diablo" throws a couple of knees, Hughes clinches with "Diablo" having the over/under-hooks, he is bleeding and has a huge welt on his forehead. Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz throws some light punches and shoots, Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz easily sprawls. Matt got into some trouble, as feeling overmatched he exhibited a Wesley Correira-like ability to absorb serious punishment, as he ate fierce punches, withstood takedowns, knees
you name it before finally getting knocked down to the mat. Fortunately for him, the round ended soon after.
"Diablo" exploded in at the start of round 4 in crowd-pleasing fashion, connecting with a couple of soccer kickss. Hughes lands a picture-perfect outside trip and works to pass Nicholas's loose half guard. Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz looks to gain the top position off of a scrammble but is forced to his back again. Matt on top now working some strikes. "Diablo" holding on and has him in a butterfly guard. "Diablo" starts to get active with some elbows. Matt pushes off with his legs and gets to his feet. Both guys clinch as the bell rings to end round 2.
Both fighters on their feet are looking to strike to start the round. Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz hooks, Hughes throw an outside kick, and Nicholas "Diablo" Diaz returns the favour. They are circling in the center with Diaz stalking. Crowd chanting huge for Diaz. Diaz feels out Matt with short lefts and he covers up. Matt shoots and gets a takedown into Nicholas's guard. Not a lot of actions as Nicholas holds on tight and both exchange light punches. Back up as "Diablo" eats a punch but throws Matt Hughes off like its nothing. The two traded punches and kicks before Matt finally came in, took the fight to the mat, and then methodically went from side-mount, to mount, and then to arm lock when he forced "Diablo" to tap for the 00:17 round 5 win.
Hughes really played up to crowd afterwards, and they ate up every bit of it. Clearly this is one star that is on the rise. Matt takes the mic. This is awesome! Matt gets down on his knees and begs the SCF management for a match with top contender Dan "Hendo" Henderson. The crowd seems to want the fight to happen as well. Hughes was really happy with the victory, and proceed to play up to the crowd after the fight. He posed and high-fived the fans abundantly on his victory walk to the back.