PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Rick Rude (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Slay Sampson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Rude
vs
Sampson

165 cm
18
150 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

175 cm
18
154 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Intelligent

BJJ White Belt
Good elbows
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the featherweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Rick Rude!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of New York, Slay Sampson!
The judges for this bout are Franklyn Lucas, Chad Campbell and Jonathan Paton.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sampson tries to clinch but Rude moves out of range.

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.

Rude has butterfly guard. He's looking to stand up here. He pushes Sampson off him and springs to his feet nicely. The crowd applauds.

Sampson scores a takedown into full mount!
Sampson looking to ground and pound his opponent to a finish here.

Sampson is thinking about an arm triangle here, looking to tighten it up before moving to side control. Rude can see it coming though and defends well with a couple of strikes to the head and some good arm positioning.
Rude wants to control but Sampson is having none of it.
Rude is working to get back to half guard.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Rude bucks Sampson off and manages to get back to his feet!
Rude tries a head kick but it misses.
Sampson shoots in looking for a takedown. Rude tries to sprawl out of it but Sampson keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Rude manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
A punch combination from Rude misses.
Sampson shoots in for a double leg but Rude sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Rude goes for a high kick. It partially lands.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Sampson scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.
Rude tries to close the distance and clinch up but Sampson swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Sampson steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Rude. That one must have hurt.
Sampson looks gassed!
Sampson rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Rude moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Sampson misses with a body kick.
Rude has his takedown stuffed

and Sampson counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Rude trying to hold on to Sampson's head to control him but Sampson postures up.
Rude missing with punches from the bottom.
Sampson tries to stand but his arm is trapped.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Rude regains full guard. Nicely done.
Rude controls Sampson momentarily but Sampson frees himself.
Sampson trying to control the position from guard on top but Rude is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Rude controls Sampson momentarily but Sampson frees himself.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Rude is on top in guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Rude stands up from Sampson's guard - Rude perhaps looking for a knockout.
Rude gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily

and Sampson holds on and brings the fighters into a clinch.
Sampson is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Rick Rude has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Slay Sampson.
Sampson goes for a takedown in the clinch but Rude prevents it.
Rude looking for a takedown.
Sampson is trying to break free.
Sampson tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Rude avoids it.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.

Rude breaks the clinch.
Sampson takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Sampson dips to his left and cracks Rude with an uppercut!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Slay Sampson dominated that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Sampson throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Rude's waist but Rude gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Sampson off to one side.
Sampson fails to land the takedown.
Rude shoots in looking for a takedown. Sampson tries to sprawl out of it but Rude keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Sampson manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.

Rude clinches.
Sampson is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Rude pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Rude shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sampson misses with a takedown

and Rude counters with a shoot takedown into half guard.
Rick Rude has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Slay Sampson.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Sampson trying to control but Rude postures up.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Rude slows the pace down in half guard.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Rude has freed up his trapped foot and advances to mount.
Rude lands a big elbow.
Rude has his opponent pinned against the cage, landing some nasty ground and pound that is really making a bit of a mess out of Sampson's face.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Well. There's a bit of a lull in the action here and the crowd are starting to get restless.

Rude with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.
Sampson is writhing around trying to get back to his feet.
Sampson is working to get back to half guard.
Rude controlling from the full mount.
Sampson is trying to stand up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampson is in all sorts of trouble here.
Rude controlling the pace for now.
Rude tries to control but Sampson wriggling away.
Rude lands a big shot there that rocks Sampson but he's holding on and managing to survive for now.

Rude stands up from the dominant position. He obviously fancies his chances standing.
Rude tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Sampson counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sampson keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Rude's head.
Rude controls Sampson momentarily but Sampson frees himself.
Sampson is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.
Rude bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Sampson's guard.
Slay Sampson has got the better of the ground game so far.

Sampson looking for a guillotine here but Rude defends easily.
Rude passes into half guard.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Rick Rude dominated that second round.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Rude misses with a takedown attempt
and Sampson counters with a two punch combo.

Sampson shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Oh and he's advanced to full mount straight away.
Rude is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Rude is working hard here to advance position.
Rude holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Sampson tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Rude is trying to get back to his feet but can't.
Sampson trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Sampson prevents Rude from getting the reversal.

Sampson jumps to side control looking for an arm triangle but Rude manages to avoid the submission attempt.
Sampson working away.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Rude shoots and misses

and Sampson counters by clinching up.
Sampson taking a breather.
Sampson wants a takedown.
Rude is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Sampson is defending well for now.
Sampson has a body lock and is looking for a takedown. Rude is bouncing around trying to prevent the takedown and somehow he has indeed managed to stay on his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Neither fighter has done anything of merit for a good minute or two here and the crowd are not happy about it.

Rude pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Sampson fails with the takedown

and Rude counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Rude.
Rick Rude has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Slay Sampson.
Rude passes Sampson's right leg, so he's now in half guard.
Rude perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Sampson won't allow Rude to pass to mount.
Rude wants to lay and pray for a moment but Sampson keeps working.
Sampson trying to hold on to Rude's head to control him but Rude postures up.
Rude prevents Sampson from improving his position.
Sampson really doesn't want to stay on the ground with Rude. If he can't get it back to his feet, it's only a matter of time before he'll be tapping out.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Rude is trying to work for a kimura. He's got his hands clasped together - this could be trouble! No, Sampson has managed to free his arm - good work.
Sampson has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Rude is working away from the top position though.
Sampson is trying to get back to full guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are showing their displeasure at the lack of action as loud boos ring out around the arena.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Rude scores with a three punch combo!
Both fighters circling a little - Rude finishes the exchange with a kick to the body.
Rude tries to clinch but Sampson is having none of it.
Rick Rude is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Rude shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Sampson shoots for a takedown but Rude saw that one coming a mile off and avoided it easily.
Sampson with a lazy takedown attempt

and Rude counters with a single leg into guard. Sampson didn't expect that.
Rude stays in close to Sampson's body and controls the position.
Rude passes Sampson's left leg - he's now in half guard.

And that's the end of the fight!
Rick Rude showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Rude 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 Franklyn Lucas scores the fight 29:28
Judge Chad Campbell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jonathan Paton scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Rick Rude!