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#4 Nate Diaz vs Anthony Pettis (Welterweight)
The most anticipated fight of the card was finally here. It was electric. Did the Stockton Zombie stop Showtime's welterweight resurgence? Let's find out.
Round 1: Loud chants for Diaz to begin the fight. Diaz with a lot of pressure early on in the fight. Pettis caught him with a right. Pettis looked to get his kicks going. Diaz with a wild flurry before he clinched with Pettis against the cage. Diaz got in a few punches to the body in the clinch. The broke up and Pettis landed a body punch.
Pettis with a high kick. Many feints and fakes from both fighters. Diaz wanted to make this a dirty boxing fight as he pressed him against the cage again.
A good right from Diaz. Pettis looked for the high kick. Diaz went for a 1-2 but Pettis moved away. Diaz shot for the takedown and got it. Pettis got him in the Guillotine position. Diaz managed to get his head out of the grip. The crowd loved that. Diaz was not on top of Pettis. Big shots from the guard. Pettis flipped around. Diaz got to hold off Pettis' back. He attempted a read naked choke but Pettis delayed it until the bell. Big round for Diaz.
Round 2: Leg kick from Pettis, however, his shin gave in and he lost balance, Diaz rushed in and clinched. They split up and Pettis landed a good left on the break.
Pettis was warned about watching his fingers. Pettis attacked the left leg of Diaz. Nice jab and strike to the body from Pettis. Diaz was having issues with his eye. The referee called for a timeout and got the doctors to check on Diaz. Diaz gave a thumbs up and the fight resumed. Solid right from Pettis. 1-2 from Diaz. Diaz kept pushing forward and didn't allow Pettis to stretch his legs. Diaz got Pettis' back and took him down with ease. Side control from Diaz. A scramble from Pettis. Both men got back on their feet.
Clinch against the cage again. Knees to the body from Diaz. Elbows from Diaz. Big right on the break, Beautiful jab from Diaz. Pettis was hurt but he let his hands loose. Diaz clinched again. Pettis attempted a knee. Right hand from Pettis. Short punches from Diaz. Diaz with a knee to the body Right from Pettis. Elbow from Pettis. Diaz kept unloading with rights and lefts near the cage as the round came to an end. Pettis kept swinging as well. That exchange got the fans on the feet.
Round 3: They clinched again. Diaz continued with the dirty boxing and cut off the Pettis' reach. Pettis tried to go high but Diaz had his guard up. Diaz with a hook followed by a punch to the body.
Short punches from Pettis in the clinch. Diaz with a left, and then a right. Big shots. Pettis tried a spinning back fist. Diaz was relentless. More big shots from Diaz followed. Three brutal knees from Diaz and Pettis was down on the mat. Diaz looked to finish off the fight. Pettis covered near the cage and Diaz unleashed a barrage of strikes. Mike Beltran didn't stop the fight as Pettis was still in it. He somehow survived.
Diaz worked on Pettis and got his back. He tried to lock in the RNC. Pulled gaurd. Pettis reversed it and found himself on top of Diaz. A recovered Pettis tried to land shots from the top. Diaz flipped the fingers back at him. He's back!
Back in the guard, a scramble ensued and Diaz reversed position to get hold off Pettis' back again. Diaz almost got both thse under-hooks but then came another reverse of positions from Pettis. This was beyond incredible at this point. The fight eventually came to an end. Every fan inside Honda Center was on their feet.
Result: Nate Diaz def. Anthony Pettis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Now, that was a satisfying fight to watch. The Stockton native put on a typical performance by using his wretsling and clinch work to nullify the threat of Pettis' kicks. A win in his first fight in three years makes us believe that Diaz is immune to cage rust.
He called out Jorge Masvidal during the post-fight interview. Take all our money, Dana. We want Masvidal vs. Diaz!
