Nate Diaz made a big statement in his final UFC fight by submitting Tony Ferguson with a guillotine choke in the fourth round at UFC 279.
Round One:
The main event is underway in Las Vegas!
Diaz presses forward immediately but Ferguson meets him with a punch. Diaz looks for the jab and Ferguson attempts a spinning backfist.
Kick from Diaz is caught by Ferguson who puts him to the mat with that. Diaz back up. Ferguson with a front kick to the body.
Jab to the body from Diaz. Now a side kick to the body from him. Nice right hand from Ferguson sends Diaz backwards.
Ferguson already has blood leaking from his shin from a checked leg kick.
Body punch for Ferguson. Ferguson turns his back for a moment and Diaz tries to follow up with a couple of punches. Leg kick for Ferguson.
Nice left hand from Ferguson. One-two for Diaz. Right hand for Ferguson. Uppercut from Ferguson from an unusual angle.
Elbow attempt from Ferguson but it doesn’t land and Diaz lands solid punches.
Leg kick for Ferguson and Diaz looked a little uncomfortable on that leg for a moment afterwards. Another leg kick for Ferguson.
Spinning backfist attempted from Ferguson but doesn’t land. One-two for Diaz and Ferguson is trying to fire back as the round ends.
Round Two:
Ferguson fakes a takedown attempt to start the second round. Solid leg kick from Diaz. Ferguson lands one of his own.
Ferguson overreaches with an elbow attempt. Left hand for Ferguson. He lands a nice right hand. Short left for Diaz as Ferguson was out of position, as he’s been a few times in the fight so far.
Diaz lands to the body but can’t find a clean connection upstairs afterwards. Body kick for Diaz. Ferguson with a kick too. Side kick to the knee from Ferguson.
Ferguson lands nicely with an uppercut and another punch behind it. left hand for Diaz. He lands it again.
Right hand for Diaz and one from Ferguson too. Kick for Ferguson. He lands one low to the inside of the leg too.
Leg kick from Diaz. Ferguson out of position again and throws out a spinning backfist to get himself back in position.
Ferguson wiping blood from a cut to his eye. Nice elbow strike from Ferguson. Jab for Diaz. He lands another couple of solid punches.
Body kick for Ferguson as Diaz lands a jab. Body punch from Diaz. Leg kick for Ferguson. He lands it again on the inside.
Ferguson with significant bleeding to his right eye. Leg kick again for Ferguson. Diaz lands a punch.
Both men swing a bit wildly in the center of the Octagon without landing as the round ends.
Round Three:
Diaz just misses with a front kick. Ferguson with a leg kick. Diaz lands over the top with a punch. Head kick attempt from Ferguson.
Kick to the body from Ferguson. He tries to go higher with one but it’s blocked. He goes back to kicking the leg. Another lands and Diaz’s leg buckled on that one.
Diaz tries to throw a punch and his leg looked a bit unsteady as he did so. Suddenly Diaz is shaking his head and walking around the Octagon and Ferguson lets him go. Not sure exactly what that’s all about, but eventually he gets back to it.
More heavy leg kicks from Ferguson. Now Diaz throws a nice flurry of punches. Afterwards he smiles and hangs onto the cage for a moment. Strange stuff, but they quickly get back to it.
Ferguson lands the leg kick again. Diaz puts his hands on his knees for a moment. Again they go back to it. Diaz presses forward aggressively and Ferguson turns his back and starts scurrying away against the cage. He gets away and Diaz is clearly frustrated, but then goes back towards him.
Diaz with another flurry and again Ferguson looks a bit unsettled and rushes away. Diaz points at him and laughs.
Ferguson with blood pouring down his shin. Ferguson with a couple of jabs and now back to the leg kick.
Diaz lands a punch. Now Diaz holds onto the top of the Octagon taking a breather, but then throws a side kick as Ferguson comes into range. He tries to head kick him from that same position just before the bell.
Round Four:
Body punch from Ferguson and Diaz grazes him with counter punches in response. Diaz feels out with push kicks. He lands one to the body.
Inside leg kick from Ferguson. Ferguson just misses with an uppercut. He odes land a nice dig to the body though. He lands an inside kick to the thigh too.
Left hand gets through for Diaz. Ferguson with a punch and then spins away. Diaz just out of range with a hook.
Right hand lands for Ferguson. Diaz scores with a left hand and Ferguson backs off quickly as Diaz continues to press forward.
Diaz steps in with heavy left and right hands that forces Ferguson to cover up. Leg kick for Ferguson. Diaz lands again and Ferguson backs out.
Body punch for Ferguson. Jab from Diaz. Another grazing right hand from him and then body punches.
Diaz looking to punch upstairs too and Ferguson opts to take him down. However Diaz instantly locks him into a guillotine choke and it’s tight! Ferguson’s not getting out of this and that’s it, Ferguson’s tapped out and Diaz ends his UFC contract with a big submission win at 2.52mins of the fourth round!
What a perfect ending for Diaz if this is to be the final fight of his UFC career, heading into free agency with the world at his feet thanks to that win – certainly not what the UFC brass had in mind when they first lined him up to face Khamzat Chimaev!
