Diaz v Pettis

Diaz.... Pettis hates preassure. Very bad style matchup for him. Diaz UD.

 

I'm picking Pettis.

 

I'm leaning towards Diaz, Wonder boy was beating Pettis up before he was caught. Diaz range and pressure might not let Pettis get that type of chance again. Even if he lands it's likely Diaz gets back up and goes to work again.

 

It's a great match up. Pettis has folded under pressure. We've seen what Diaz' pressure, and accuracy, can do against Cerrone and McGregor.

Pettis is the faster of the two, and we've seen how quickly he can capitalize on a opening standing and on the ground....Hendo, Gilbert, Thompson. If anyone is capable of KOing Diaz the way Thompson did, it's Pettis. How much will Pettis' leg kicks come into play? Diaz isn't checking them for ****.

I'm leaning toward Pettis by stoppage, but won't be surprised by any outcome.

 

Pettis needs space to get his fancy shots off though. If you apply educated pressure he shuts down. The low kicks could be a factor but Pettis isn't exactly known for them. How about Thompson though... He got KO'd hard by USADA. He looked like a real killer for a few fights and then suddenly fell off.

Surprised that most are going with Pettis, he's the favorite too. Sure Diaz has been inactive but Pettis hasn't exactly wowed with his performances since - even the Thompson fight he was getting schooled before finding lightning in a bottle. Hope I'm wrong as I like Pettis a lot more than Diaz but just seems like a horrible matchup for him.

 

Thompson was winning, but it wasn't one sided. Pettis came out aggressive and pressured the entire fight. Pettis' body kicks were the first significant strikes landed, and he landed numerous leg kicks. Pettis threw a lot of leg kicks against Ferguson as well.

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It was pretty one sided man. I've seen it. Both rounds(obviously before the KO) were extremely clear Thompson rounds. We'll see. Pettis would be smart to stick to a gameplan and not go to war with Nate because if that happens he almost certainly loses.

 

https://fightmetric.rds.ca/fight/7697
Significant Strikes
Round 1: Thompson 17 of 44 38%...Pettis 12 of 25 48%
Round 2: Thompson 30 of 63 47%...Pettis 20 of 30 66% including the most significant strike of all for the finish

 

You're forgetting octagon control as well. Not saying Pettis was disgraced in either round but there's no way you could score either for him. I don't think this fight has a lot of relevance to this one though. If anything Thompson is an opponent where Pettis can shine because he has more space to get his shots off - with Diaz that shouldn't be the case. Again... We'll see but gut says Nate walks him down and grinds out a UD. Hope I'm wrong though.

 

What's your take on the main event and Romero/Costa? Why do think Stipe came in so light? To be more nibble in the ring? DC is also a lot lighter. Not buying the Costa hype at all. He's faced no one. Romero does a demo job on him. Tentatively lean towards Miocic avenging the L.

 

I didn't score the first for Pettis. Thompson's shots appeared heavier, and he landed a few more. Pettis appeared to control the cage though. He pressed, which won't work on Nate, the entire fight. Pettis answered every kick with a kick, taking advantage of Thompson's wide stance...this was taken from the commentary.

I said the fight wasn't one sided. Losing a competitive round and stopping your opponent while landing 2/3rds of your blows in the 2nd is not a one sided bout.

 

I favor Romero.

I think DC's hand speed caught Stipe by surprise, and Stipe wants to be faster for this fight. I think DC's hand speed is the difference again, minus eye poke talk

 

I'm talking minus the KO. Whatever. Not going to go in circles about this. My point is that Pettis hasn't exactly look great in any of his recent fights. He has flashes and that might be enough tonight but I don't think it's something he should bank on. Would like to see him stick to a kick and movement centric gameplan. But unfortunately think he'll fall into Nates world and go to war.

 

Nate’s inactivity makes Pettis a narrow favorite for me here. We know that leg-kicks are Diaz’ kryptonite

Plus’ for Diaz are he’s always in shape, fights hungry, and can take enough punishment to kill 3 ordinary men.

Pettis by UD in a balls-to-the-wall FOTN