For five rounds Nick Diaz and KJ Noons stood and traded punches. At times it was the long, rangy striking of Diaz that was most effective as he worked the jabs and straight right hands with much success. At other times Noons used hard inside hooks, body shots and an effective jab of his own.

In the first round Noons appeared to have trouble finding his range while Diaz landed sharp punches and controlled the action. In the second round Noons started to land powerful shots and opened a cut over the right eye of Diaz. It brought back memories of their first meeting where Noons had won by a cut stoppage. Round three saw Diaz take the action back over while Noons appeared to be tiring and fading. Noons would come back in the fourth round, turning up his punch output and starting to land at a higher rate. The final round saw Diaz control the action and start to pull away on the cards.

The official scorecards read 48-47, 49-47, 49-46 all for Nick Diaz who retained his Strikeforce welterweight championship.