Rafael dos Anjos completely dominated Nate Diaz tonight at UFC On FOX 13 with leg kicks being a major factor in his success, though he was also able to land takedowns and control the action on the mat too over the course of a 15 minute showcase of his future title challenger credentials.
Round One:
The two men circle each other to start and Diaz throws a high kick. He tries another one but again comes up short. He starts to work the jab and Dos Anjos lands a solid leg kick.
Jumping kick for Dos Anjos and then one to the body. He lands hard to the lead leg again. Dos Anjos pressing forward and Diaz tries to counter to the body.
Hard leg kicks continue for Dos Anjos. Diaz with a one-two, but Dos Anjos continuing to pressure. Diaz lands over the top.
Diaz switching stance, potentially hurt to the leg already. Diaz checks a kick to the leg soon after eating one. Diaz trying to land punches, but his range is off a bit at the moment. Another leg kick and Diaz is clearly hurt by these shots.
Diaz with a little flurry. He catches a kick, but can’t get Dos Anjos down. Dos Anjos really in the ascendancy here and he gets a takedown to puncuate that fact, landing some solid ground and pound.
Dos Anjos continues to land and Diaz scrambles for a submission, thinking about a leg lock. Dos Anjos breaks free and remains on top, moving briefly to north-south, then into half guard for more ground and pound to finish the round. Convincing round for RDA.
Round Two:
Diaz trying to pump out the jab, but Dos Anjos is already scoring with more leg kicks. Diaz losing his footing as Dos Anjos continues with this winning strategy. Diaz in clear pain when these kicks land and his base is completely compromised.
Dos Anjos into the clinch and takes Diaz down. Diaz sporting a cut to his right eye from a left hand that connected in the stand-up just beforehand. He’s had very little for RDA so far – it’s rare to see Diaz like this at lightweight.
Diaz briefly gets to his feet, then is dragged down again. Dos Anjos connecting with a few strikes where possible. Diaz back up again with his face smeared with blood. More kicks immediately come from Dos Anjos.
The ref opts to stop the fight momentarily to get a doctor to look at Diaz’s cut. Diaz mean-mugging Dos Anjos, but he’s probably grateful for some respite.
It doesn’t last long as he’s cleared to continue and they are back at it. More of the same from RDA though Diaz is still trying to let his hands go despite having no real power in his legs.
Dos Anjos knocks Diaz to the mat and ends the round on top with more ground and pound. Another one-sided round.
Round Three:
Diaz with a left hand that lands. Dos Anjos with a leg kick and Diaz winces. Surprisingly Diaz tries a head kick. However Dos Anjos then throws one of his one and it grazes Diaz’s head.
Dos Anjos lands a powerful takedown and start with ground and pound from full guard. He moves into half guard as Diaz tries a few elbows from his back.
Dos Anjos backs out and up, standing over the still grounded Diaz. He goes back down into his guard. Strikes land for the Brazilian. Diaz still trying to lands strikes of his own from his back.
You can see some nasty welts on Diaz’s right leg from all the kicks earlier in the fight. A few nice elbows land for Dos Anjos. Diaz’s cut is bleeding again, but he’s taunting his opponent and starts to try to slap him.
Dos Anjos slaps back and then with 10 seconds to go he starts landing some real heavy leather, but Diaz survives to the final bell.
Decision:
Dos Anjos once again proved himself to be one of the lightweight divisions very best fighters with a dominant display against Diaz and it earns him a clean sweep on the scorecards ().
