Winner: Josh Montoya vs. Jason Sampson (Fight Game I, December 2011)
One of the hardest categories to pick given the staggering number of exciting fights that have taken place here in North Texas in 2011. However, one fight seems to stand out from the rest for its beautiful display of human fortitude and that was the December battle between Coppell’s Jason Sampson and New Mexico’s Josh Montoya.
There was some undeniable gravity to the fight. For one thing, the fight was a rematch of a summer bout between the two that saw Sampson win easily with a first round submission. Primarily, the majority of the hype surrounding the fight was the fact that it was the then-undefeated Sampson’s first ever fight in front of his hometown fans. On paper the fight seemed like the perfect showcase for Sampson’s incredible fighting talents but someone forgot to tell that to Montoya.
As I wrote while covering the fight:
The fight was as close as war as one will ever see as Sampson came out the gates roaring behind some vastly improved boxing and his awe-inspiring takedowns. Sampson’s relentless pressure in the opening rounds seemed to indicate that the fight would not last the scheduled rounds but Montoya would rally back in a fiercely contested second round. With this fight being a rematch of their bout in August, a fight in which Sampson emerged victorious via an armbar, Montoya apparently did his homework and worked hard to seal up his takedown defense. This paid dividends Friday night as Montoya was able to evade some of the takedown attempts Sampson threw at him. With Montoya able to stuff some of Sampson’s takedown attempts the fight became more of a stand up affair than many would have anticipated. Whereas Sampson appeared to be loading up everything on his shots, Montoya looked to simply score using quick flurries to neutralize Sampson’s advances. The third round was pivotal as both fighters attempted to leave it all on the line. While Sampson kept pressing forward Montoya would counter with quick hands and some hard body shots that looked as if they hurt Sampson. However, Sampson would end the fight strong trying in vain to end the fight with a rear naked choke.
While Sampson tasted defeat for the first time that night the fact remains that his warrior mentality won him a new legion of fans.
Photo Credit: Mike Calimbas
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
