Nate Diaz brought his trilogy of fights with Gray Maynard to a definitive conclusion tonight with a huge TKO victory in the main event of the TUF 18 Finale.
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Round One
Diaz connects early with a grazing left and right hand. Then Maynard wades in with a few strikes of his own. He’s not looking to exchange for long though as he then goes for a takedown and secures it pretty easily.
Maynard gets Diaz up against the cage, but Diaz manages to get upright and then does a beautiful judo throw to get Maynard down, but doesn’t get on top and they both stand. Maynard’s already sporting a slight cut above his left eye.
Suddenly Maynard is rocked by a left hand from Diaz that drops him to one knee, though he gets right back up.
He’s still not quite right though and Diaz starts to pour it on with big combinations of punches. He’s battering Maynard from pillar to post here, and his rival appears dazed and isn’t really defending himself.
It’s somewhat of a surprise that the referee’s not stopping this – Maynard’s somehow managing to stay standing, but he’s eating shots left, right and center against the cage.
More left and right’s find their target, and finally the referee steps in and puts an end to Maynard’s misery, handing Diaz an emphatic TKO victory with only 2.38mins of the first round gone.
Maynard tries to walk away, but staggers and falls to the mat, making it clear that he was essentially out on his feet during the final stages of that sustained assault.
