This is the Diaz vs. KJ Noons 2 live blog for Nick Diaz vs. K.J. Noons, a welterweight bout on tonight's Strikeforce card from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.Diaz will be defending his Strikeforce welterweight title. Noons won his previous match against Diaz in November 2007 when both were in Elite XC, earning a TKO when it was ruled Diaz couldn't continue because of cuts.
The live blog is below.
More Coverage: Diaz vs. Noons 2 Results | Strikeforce News
Round 1: Neither fighter looked at the other during referee instructions. Diaz comes out with a leg kick early. Noons swings with a wild left hook that misses. The pair exchange hard jabs. Diaz stuns Noons with a short right and takes Noons down. Diaz lands in side control with an eternity left. Diaz tried to step over into full guard but Noons fought his way upright. Diaz is fighting right-handed now. Noons throws a right and Diaz tries to duck under for a takedown, but no dice. Both men landed punches in an exchange. Diaz is talking to Noons as the round runs down and Noons answers with a hard left hook before the bell. Round goes to Noons, 10-9.
Round 2: Noons landed a hard left that cut Diaz's right brow. Now Noons is talking to Diaz. Diaz dives in for a takedown, Noons easily backs away. Noons tags Diaz with a left. Diaz doubles up on the jab. The blood is running down Diaz's face now as we reach the midpoint of this heavily standup round. Noons throws a nice combo with a double jab and then a left to the body. A right catches Noons seconds later. Excellent comeback round for Noons. Noons lands a knee to the body. Noons is really mixing up his shots well, going back and forth between the head and body. Diaz's usual breakneck pace isn't anywhere to be seen. Noons takes the round 10-9.
Round 3: The doctor checks Diaz's cut, but it's not issue. Diaz tries another takedown early, but Noons sees it coming. The two exchanged left hooks from the pocket as Diaz tied to re-find his rhythm. Diaz began to move forward in his typical style, even sticking his jaw out for Noons. The round's even midway. Diaz turned it up even further as the round went under a minute. Noons jumped into a left hook with 15 seconds left but missed. A very close round that could be the decider depending on how the judges score it. I score it for Diaz 10-9.
Round 4: Diaz's pace continues. Noons is bleeding from the nose now, so Diaz has a bigger target. Diaz lands a hard left as he switches back to southpaw briefly. Noons lands a hard left. Diaz scores with about six straight jabs. With two minutes left, a flurry between the two. Diaz gets the better of it and finishes with a knee to the head from a brief clinch. A Noons right uppercut finds Diaz's jaw with a minute left. Diaz with another knee, then a right that lands flush. Noons backs away and shakes his head but that was the biggest two-strike combo of the fight. Diaz starts taunting Noons as they close out the round. Diaz takes it 10-9.
Round 5: If anything, Noons has proven the result of the first match was no fluke, but he's likely behind on the scorecards. Diaz nearly scores a takedown. Noons smirks at him. The two settle back into the striking. Noons isn't showing any sense of urgency as he continues the same style. Noons throws a hard left that lands. Diaz initiates a clinch but Noons pulls free. We're under two minutes left as the two keep the standup war going. Noons starts swinging as we get under 45 seconds to go. Diaz's amazing pace has slowed and Noons has stayed with him.. They fire off their remaining bullets as the round runs out. Both men make it to the final horn, and walk away from each other, both with their hands in the air, both bleeding from the face. Noons steals the round, 10-9.
Winner: Nick Diaz via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-47, 49-46)
Diaz raises his hands in the air while Noons shakes his head in disappointment. The two then share an embrace, putting away the bad blood.
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