PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Reynaldo Garrison (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Sampson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). John Sampson has the better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Garrison
vs
Sampson

216 cm
24
194 lbs
3 - 2 - 0

200 cm
23
185 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Basic striking
Very confident

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Reynaldo Garrison!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, John Sampson!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Thiago Cunha and Felipe Paraventi.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Sampson shoots in for a takedown but Garrison shows good takedown defense.

Sampson moves into the clinch.
Garrison can't break the clinch.
Sampson lands a left hand that snaps the head of Garrison backwards.
Sampson has Garrison pressed against the cage, preventing Garrison from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Garrison is looking to break free of the clinch but Sampson has double underhooks.
Garrison using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Sampson is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Sampson trying to land knees to the body.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Garrison breaks the clinch.

Sampson forces Garrison back against the cage and clinches.
Garrison can't break the clinch.

Garrison manages to break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Sampson forces Garrison back against the cage and clinches.

Sampson gets control of Garrison's arms and successfully pulls guard. Sampson will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.
Garrison keeps in close for a moment and lands a decent shot to the side of Sampson's head.
Garrison postures up and lands a big shot to Sampson's brow.
Garrison throwing strikes from guard but Sampson blocks nicely.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Garrison with a flurry of punches that miss.
Garrison throws a big right hand that misses.
Sampson manages to sweep nicely, so he's now on top. Garrison manages to get himself to full guard.

Sampson lands a couple of digs.
Garrison 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.
Sampson postures up.
Garrison is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.

Sampson is looking for a sweep. Garrison is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Garrison will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Garrison winds up and cracks Sampson with a swinging punch to the side of the head.
Garrison scores with a couple of good hammerfists.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Sampson wants to get back to full guard.

Garrison is sneakily working for an arm triangle but Sampson sees it coming and defends easily.
Sampson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Garrison seems to be working for a kimura but Sampson defends the submission attempt.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Sampson is looking to regain full guard. Not this time though.

Garrison stands, ready to strike. The ref makes him back up and allows Sampson to get to his feet.
Sampson shoots in for a takedown. "Ole!" shouts Garrison as he jumps to the side.
Garrison seem to be loading up, looking for a big counter.

Sampson clinches.

The fighters are starting to perspire pretty heavily.
Garrison breaks from the clinch.
John Sampson seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Sampson closes the distance and clinches.
Garrison is looking to break free of the clinch but Sampson has double underhooks.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Sampson keeps control of Garrison as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Sampson tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Garrison just stands there and leans against the cage.
Reynaldo Garrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Sampson.
Sampson jumps guard but Garrison stands there with Sampson around his waist. Sampson gives up and drops back to his feet. We remain in the clinch.

Garrison breaks from the clinch.
Sampson shoots in looking for a takedown. Garrison tries to sprawl out of it but Sampson keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Garrison manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Sampson scoring well with a low kick there.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Reynaldo Garrison will probably get the nod.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action!

Sampson darts in looking for a takedown but Garrison gets double underhooks and turns Sampson into the cage.
Sampson tries for a takedown but Garrison circles away easily

and Garrison counters by moving into the clinch.
Garrison is looking to break free of the clinch but Sampson has double underhooks.

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

Sampson closes the distance and clinches.

Sampson has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Garrison is trying to keep an underhook but Sampson manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Garrison is doing well to control the position and prevent Sampson from advancing to side control.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Sampson scoring with strikes to the body and head.
Garrison makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Garrison.
Garrison wants to sweep here but Sampson controlling him for the moment.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Garrison keeping moving, preventing Sampson from controlling successfully.
Sampson makes a bit of distance and scores with some ground and pound, still in guard.
Sampson in full guard, throwing the ground and pound. No damage this time.
Garrison utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Garrison keeping moving, preventing Sampson from controlling successfully.
Garrison is trying to keep Sampson in close.
Garrison keeping moving, preventing Sampson from controlling successfully.

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.
Sampson trying to pass the guard but can't manage it just yet.
Garrison controlling the position.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Garrison looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.

Sampson instigates a clinch.

Garrison breaks from the clinch.
Sampson misses with a wild combination.
As Sampson looks to move away, Garrison throws a big counter combo but Sampson just gets out of the way.

Sampson gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Sampson tries for a takedown but Garrison manages to get underhooks.
Reynaldo Garrison has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of John Sampson.
Sampson keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Garrison's efforts to push away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Garrison breaks the clinch.
Sampson misses with a takedown attempt - Garrison sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.
Garrison thinks about countering with a body kick.

Sampson closes the distance and scores a nice trip takedown into half guard. Garrison did well to prevent Sampson getting side control.
Garrison really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Sampson is breathing heavily.
Garrison regains full guard. Nicely done.
Sampson wants to control from the top but Garrison keeps moving.
Garrison wants to sweep here but Sampson controlling him for the moment.
Sampson content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Garrison working from the bottom, still in full guard. He's managed to get a loose triangle. Sampson doesn't seem to be doing much to defend here, obviously he feels comfortable in the position. Oh but Garrison is tightening it up a little... Sampson has to be careful here... He's got his foot tucked under now, this looks tight! Sampson reacted too slowly and this one could be over in a matter of seconds! YES! Sampson taps out! Nice BJJ there by Garrison!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:22 of round 2, we have a winner by way of Submission (Triangle Choke). Reynaldo Garrison!