PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight MMA rules bout between Bill Goldberg (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Samuel Hovac (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The atmosphere really building for this one as we go over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Goldberg
vs
Hovac

193 cm
31
265 lbs
7 - 5 - 0

199 cm
27
275 lbs
6 - 2 - 0

Decent wrestler
Solid boxing
Granite chin

BJJ Blue Belt
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

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 Los Angeles, Bill Goldberg!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Samuel Hovac!
The judges for this bout are Anni Minnemäki, Marco Blurström and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Goldberg slips a straight right by Hovac.

Goldberg rushes Hovac and presses him up against the cage.
Goldberg keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Hovac's efforts to push away.
Hovac is trying to push Goldberg away but Goldberg has him pressed against the cage, so he's going nowhere.
Goldberg goes for a takedown in the clinch but Hovac prevents it.
Goldberg tries to pull guard but Hovac holds him up against the cage and eventually Goldberg drops back down to his feet.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Goldberg blocks an uppercut.
Goldberg wants to take the fight to the mat but Hovac manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Goldberg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hovac pressing his opponent against the cage.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Goldberg fails to pull guard.

Goldberg jumps guard and drags Hovac to the mat. He's obviously going to be looking for submissions off his back.
Goldberg looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

Hovac gets to his feet and steps away from his opponent.
Hovac fails to land with a series of punches.
Hovac scores with the left hand. Goldberg knows he should have avoided that one.
Hovac works the jab nicely.
Hovac lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Hovac misses the shot to the body.
Hovac avoids a lazy jab quite easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hovac. Goldberg does a little dance to reset his feet.
It looked like Goldberg was trying to counter with a body shot coming off that last attack from Hovac.
Hovac throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hovac lands a nice hook to Goldberg's body. Goldberg takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!

Goldberg 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.
Goldberg throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hovac works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Goldberg throws a big right hand that misses.
Goldberg wants to stand and escape but instead Hovac has hit a sweep and he's now on top in guard.

Goldberg working for submissions but it's allowed Hovac to get to half guard.
Goldberg tries to roll over but Hovac keeps him under control.
Goldberg has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Hovac decides to stand up.
Goldberg throws a head kick that misses
and Hovac counters with a shot to the ribs. That looked like it hurt.
Hovac scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
Hovac looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Goldberg throws a head kick that misses.
A big right from Hovac misses.
A low kick from Goldberg is predictable there
enabling Hovac to counter with a crisp jab.
Goldberg definitely looks more muscular than last time we saw him fight.
Goldberg closes the distance and clinches up with Hovac, looking for a takedown. Goldberg pushes Hovac against the cage but Hovac circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
A shot to the liver by Hovac. Beautiful body shot.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Hovac.
Goldberg takes a punch right to his stomach. That took the wind out of him momentarily.
Goldberg is breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Nice shot lands for Hovac.
Goldberg shoots in for a takedown. "I don't think so" says Hovac as he avoids it easily.
Hovac rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Goldberg moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Hovac throws a two punch combo that lands nicely.
Hovac lands a slapping body shot.
Hovac sizes up Goldberg with a pawing jab and scores with a straight right down the middle.
Hovac throws a nice looking combination but Goldberg bobs and weaves to avoid any damage.
Hovac with a nice cross.
Goldberg's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Hovac connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Goldberg scrambles back to his feet.
A solid leg kick lands there for Goldberg.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Samuel Hovac dominated that round.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Goldberg on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Hovac looks to land a combination but Goldberg avoids it well.
Goldberg is looking to counter with a body kick.
Hovac stuffs a takedown. It's all about dictating where the fight takes place and Hovac wants it to stay on the feet.
Samuel Hovac seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Goldberg moves out of range as Hovac strikes.
Hovac connects with the punch.
Goldberg shoots in and drives through. Hovac sprawls well.
Goldberg takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.

Goldberg looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Hovac looks like he's trying to stand up.
Goldberg is trying to control. Hovac wants to improve his position but can't escape this time.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hovac is trying to control but can't.
Goldberg works his way into full mount!
Hovac tries to hold on but Goldberg pushes him away.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Hovac is trying to stand.
Goldberg throwing strikes here but Hovac is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hovac avoids a series of strikes thrown by Goldberg.
Goldberg wants to control the pace but Hovac is squirming around nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Goldberg trying to control but Hovac is having none of it.
Goldberg controlling from the full mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hovac is desperately trying to improve his position but Goldberg has a good base and remains in mount.
Goldberg controlling the position easily from mount.
Hovac is squirming around, avoiding Goldberg's attempts to control the action.
Hovac looking to escape from mount but he's given up his back!

Goldberg looking for the RNC.

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.
What can Hovac do to escape this position? He's going to have to figure it out pretty quick if he wants to stay in the fight!

Hovac showing good submission defense here.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Goldberg biding his time, looking for the opening.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Bill Goldberg dominated that second round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Hovac punishes Goldberg's body with a nice straight punch.
Goldberg dives in and grabs Hovac's left leg, looking for a takedown. Hovac pushes down on Goldberg's head and hops out.
And an attempted straight right on the counter from Hovac! But no joy.
Hovac throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Goldberg shoots in for a takedown. He's persisting with it as Hovac sprawls well. Hovac wins this battle and keeps the fight standing. Goldberg gets slowly back to his feet.
Hovac lands a lovely overhand right.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hovac misses with a body shot.
Hovac stalks Goldberg and leaps in with a furious combination of punches. Uppercuts and crosses smash into Goldberg's face. Goldberg staggers backwards, shaken.

Goldberg gets a clinch.
Hovac letting Goldberg take a breather here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hovac stalling the fight.
Hovac gets underhooks to prevent Goldberg's takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Bill Goldberg. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Goldberg misses with the head strike.

Goldberg escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

Goldberg closes the distance and clinches.
Hovac is trying to break the clinch but Goldberg is controlling him.
Hovac has a couple of punches blocked by Goldberg.
Goldberg controlling the action here for a moment.
Hovac is trying to force a seperation but Goldberg has the dominant position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hovac throws a blind hook that connects with the side of Goldbergs head.
A head punch on the inside from Hovac fails to land.
Goldberg looking for a takedown.

Hovac manages to break the clinch.
Hovac misses with a series of wild punches.
Bill Goldberg is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Jab by Hovac.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg on the wrong end of an overhand right that came out of nowhere.
Hovac throws a combination but it was largely blocked by Goldberg.

Goldberg has managed to clinch.

Goldberg's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
A swing and a miss from Goldberg.
Hovac cracks Goldberg with a good shot that sees him stumbling back into the cage.
Hovac throws a body punch but Goldberg moves out of range.
A punch combination from Hovac misses.

Goldberg gets the takedown into side control.
Hovac sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Hovac takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hovac is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Goldberg is trying for a guillotine from the top but the pressure isn't in the right place so Hovac is just riding it out for now. Goldberg eventually gives up the hold.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Goldberg tries to stand but his hand is stuck under Hovac.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Goldberg trying to pass the guard but Hovac defending well.

And that's the end of the fight!
Samuel Hovac comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Hovac has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Anni Minnemäki scores the fight 28:29
Judge Marco Blurström scores the fight 28:29
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Samuel Hovac!
Samuel Hovac made sure to mention his sponsor, Namunamu Clothing in his post fight interview.