PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Harvey Holcomb (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Billy Sampson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Both fighter's entrance songs getting the crowd jumping here.

Holcomb
vs
Sampson

188 cm
22
245 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

192 cm
22
265 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Excellent boxer
Cardio machine

Good wrestler
Brawler
Good gas tank

BioPharm Nutrition

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 7 - 5 - 0, fighting out of New York, Harvey Holcomb!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of New York, Billy Sampson!
The judges for this bout are Russell Pearce, Chad Campbell and Columbo Gatti.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sampson fails to land the takedown.
Sampson pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Billy Sampson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Sampson dives in and grabs Holcomb's left leg, looking for a takedown. Holcomb pushes down on Sampson's head and hops out.
Sampson misses with a jab to the body
and Holcomb counters with a straight right hand.
Sampson misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Holcomb.
Holcomb works Sampson's body with a nice hook.
Holcomb's jab looks to have found its range, popping Sampson under the eye.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Sampson misses with a looping right.
Holcomb fails with an attempt to clinch.
Holcomb jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Sampson ducks down and throws a hook to the body but Holcomb moves away.
Holcomb tries to clinch but Sampson moves out of range.
Nice jab there from Holcomb.

Holcomb moves into the clinch successfully.

Sampson is fighting off a takedown attempt but Holcomb is just too persistent for him and manages to trip Sampson to the mat. Sampson regains guard as soon as the fighters hit the mat.
We've had a lack of effective grappling in the last minute or so, which could well see a referee standup.
Holcomb trying to control the position from guard on top but Sampson is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holcomb stopping the sweep attempt from Sampson.
Holcomb is looking to stand up but Sampson won't let him.
Sampson is looking to stand back up... there's a bit of a scramble and Holcomb dives into side control.
Sampson is looking to slip a leg under and get half guard but Holcomb is one step ahead and moves to full mount!
Sampson reaches up to try and control the position but Holcomb seems to have an arm triangle now! Uh oh! Sampson rolls and tries to escape and now Holcomb has his back!
Holcomb tries to get the hooks in deep but Sampson pushed the leg off.
Sampson can't escape the position.
What can Sampson do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holcomb tries to get the hooks in deep but Sampson pushed the leg off.
Sampson just trying to survive but Holcomb is wriggling into a better position, looking to finish.
Good control from Holcomb.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Harvey Holcomb wasn't doing enough on the ground.
Holcomb connects with a looping right hand.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Sampson throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Holcomb connects nicely with a jab. Noted by the judges no doubt.

Sampson shoots in with a lovely double leg takedown. Holcomb manages to land in full guard to minimise the damage.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sampson being controlled here momentarily.
Holcomb trying to control the position.
Sampson throwing strikes from guard but Holcomb blocks nicely.
Sampson postures up in Holcomb's guard and throws a big left but Holcomb blocks it.
Sampson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sampson with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sampson throwing strikes but missing.
Hammerfist, elbow! yells Sampson's corner. There ya go! There ya go!
Sampson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Sampson postures up to throw the ground and pound strikes but they don't connect.
Sampson loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
Sampson postures up in Holcomb's guard and throws a big left but Holcomb blocks it.
Sampson throwing strikes but missing.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Holcomb not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Holcomb preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Holcomb is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Holcomb is trying to control the position but Sampson postures up.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Harvey Holcomb dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Holcomb connects with a crisp jab.
Sampson moves out of range of the body kick from Holcomb.
Holcomb fails in his attempt to clinch.
Holcomb ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
A slow jab from Sampson misses its intended target.
Sampson misses with a right hand
and Holcomb counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Holcomb doesn't manage to clinch there - Sampson circles away.
Holcomb throws a head kick but Sampson moves out of range.

Sampson looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Holcomb trying to control here.
Holcomb is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Sampson's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Sampson's back!
Billy Sampson has got the better of the ground game so far.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
The crowd hopeful of a finish here - Holcomb's supporters are on their feet, screaming for him to go for the rear naked choke.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holcomb is trying to stick to Sampson's back but Sampson is turning into Holcomb. He's managed to reverse the position - now he's in Holcomb's guard. Polite applause from the crowd in appreciation of some nice Jiu Jitsu by Sampson.
Holcomb avoiding any damage from the ground and pound.
Holcomb is pulling down on Sampson's head to control his posture.
Holcomb is trying to keep Sampson in close.
Holcomb working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Sampson.
Holcomb preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Sampson accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Holcomb utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Holcomb looking for a sweep. Not yet Holcomb, not yet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holcomb has momentary wrist control but Sampson slips an elbow through the middle.
Sampson works over Holcomb with some ground and pound from guard.
Sampson with a couple of shots to the head there. Not particularly brutal.

It looks like Harvey Holcomb has been cut.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sampson throws a strike but Holcomb rolls with it and manages to sweep. Now he's in guard on top.
Sampson looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
Holcomb trying to control but Sampson is working from the bottom.
Holcomb slips effortlessly into side control - very nice.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampson is looking to reverse the position.
Sampson can't do much from the bottom here.
Sampson tries to improve position but can't.

Holcomb decides to stand up, so the ref orders Sampson to his feet.
Sampson digs a good body shot into Holcomb's ribs.
Holcomb misses with a few strikes there.
Holcomb stuffs the takedown.

Sampson feints and then dives in with a takedown. That was a long way out but the feint bought him enough time to close the distance and complete the takedown. Now we'll play guard for a bit and see who can get the better of that position.
Sampson with a flurry of punches that miss.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Sampson throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
Sampson scoring with punches to the head and body.
Sampson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Sampson landing some decent shots from guard.
Sampson sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Holcomb's guard.
Sampson thows a huge punch but Holcomb dodges it nicely.
Ground and pound from Sampson.
Sampson working over Holcomb with some ground and pound. Holcomb looks like he wants out of this position, which is understandable.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Sampson thows a wild elbow that connects with the canvas.
Sampson thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Holcomb's head.
Sampson thows a huge punch but Holcomb dodges it nicely.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Billy Sampson showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Harvey Holcomb's cut.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. This is the final round!

Sampson thows a left - swing and a miss!
Holcomb connects with a high kick.
Nice defenses there by Holcomb.
Holcomb throws a series of punches but Sampson avoids them all with ease.
Sampson misses with a body shot.
A looping hook to the body misses from Holcomb. Sampson does a little dance to reset his feet.
Holcomb tries to clinch up but Sampson circles away and keeps his distance.
Holcomb lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Holcomb tries to clinch there but Sampson circles away.
Sampson blocks a jab.
Holcomb lands the left hand.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Sampson swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Holcomb lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Sampson lands a nice shot that snaps Holcomb's head back.
Holcomb is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Holcomb missing with a left hand there. Sampson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.
Harvey Holcomb is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Holcomb lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sampson.
Sampson checks the leg kick nicely there.
Sampson throws a body punch but Holcomb moves out of range.
Holcomb feints a jab promting Sampson to slip. Holcomb then demonstrates his capabilities by jabbing again. Sampson slips again and ducks right into an uppercut.
A jab from Sampson misses.
Holcomb moves out of range of the strikes.
Holcomb uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sampson.
Sampson throws a looping overhand right but Holcomb ducks down to avoid it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Holcomb tries to close the distance and clinch but Sampson swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Sampson.
Harvey Holcomb is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Sampson with a jab.

Harvey Holcomb's cut is getting worse.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Sampson misses with a body shot.
Holcomb scores with a crisp jab that stopped Sampson in his tracks.
Nice uppercut there from Sampson.
Holcomb lands with an overhand left.
Holcomb lands a jab.
A punch lands to the side of Sampson 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Sampson swats away the attempt to clinch by Holcomb.
Holcomb scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampson shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Holcomb sprawls well. Holcomb wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Sampson gets slowly back to his feet.
Harvey Holcomb has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Billy Sampson.
Sampson takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Holcomb stuffs the takedown attempt from Sampson. Sampson gets slowly back to his feet.
Holcomb lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Holcomb.

It looks like Billy Sampson has been cut.
Sampson throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Holcomb is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Holcomb lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Holcomb fails in his attempt to clinch.
Holcomb slips a jab from Sampson.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sampson fails with a takedown attempt.
Holcomb tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Holcomb scores with a three punch combo!
Holcomb uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Sampson.
Sampson throws a lazy right hand but Holcomb sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Sampson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Holcomb's waist but Holcomb gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Sampson off to one side.
The fight stays on the outside here - Holcomb looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Holcomb connects with a jab.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Holcomb lands with a two punch combination before moving back out of range.
Sampson fails with a rather predictable takedown attempt.
Sampson throws a right hand that misses
letting Holcomb counter with a right hand.

And that's the end of the fight!
Harvey Holcomb showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Holcomb has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Russell Pearce scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Columbo Gatti scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Harvey Holcomb!
Harvey Holcomb took to the microphone after his victory and thanked his sponsors, BioPharm Nutrition for their support in the buildup to the fight.