PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Thomas R Callahan Jr (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Joe Heller (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

R Callahan Jr
vs
Heller

188 cm
22
195 lbs
1 - 1 - 0

180 cm
22
185 lbs
2 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Good knees
Cuts easily

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter striker
Solid chin

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 1 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Thomas R Callahan Jr!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Joe Heller!
The judges for this bout are Thiago Cunha, Emerson Jorge and Seu Braga.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Callahan Jr knocks Heller to the floor with a head kick! Can he finish him!?

Heller is rocked!

It looks like Joe Heller has been cut.
Heller is looking to regain half guard here but Callahan Jr keeps moving and retains side control.
Heller is still in real trouble! Can Callahan Jr finish him?
Heller struggling a bit here.
Heller manages to get back to half guard.
Heller seems to have recovered his senses.
Heller is trying to maintain the position but Callahan Jr is very close to passing his half guard.
Heller is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Callahan Jr's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Callahan Jr's back!
Callahan Jr tries to escape but Heller has the hooks in and won't let him break free.
Callahan Jr manages to reverse the position and now he's in Heller's guard. Nice work there by Callahan Jr.
Callahan Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Heller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Callahan Jr stopping the sweep attempt from Heller.
Callahan Jr being controlled here momentarily.

Heller is working actively off his back, looking to secure an arm or perhaps work for a triangle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heller looking to control but Callahan Jr passes into half guard.
Heller tries to get to full guard but Callahan Jr has control of the leg.
Heller has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Callahan Jr is working away from the top position though.
Heller gets back to full guard.
Callahan Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Heller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Callahan Jr wants to stand but Heller has a closed guard, so he can't escape.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.
Callahan Jr trying to control the position from guard on top but Heller is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fight is doing enough on the ground.
Callahan Jr tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Callahan Jr uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Heller.
Thomas R Callahan Jr is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Heller misses with a series of wild punches.
Callahan Jr throws a sloppy head kick and Heller moves out of range easily.
Heller lands a nice looking body shot.
Callahan Jr misses with a jab, cross combination.
Callahan Jr is breathing heavily.
Heller will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Callahan Jr fails with an attempt to clinch.

Heller darts in and lands a nice takedown into half guard.
Heller is working hard to pass the guard. He's done it - he's now in full mount! Trouble for Callahan Jr!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heller unloading with bombs!
Callahan Jr is trying to escape the mount.
Heller breaks from Callahan Jr's wrist control and lands an elbow.
Heller dominating with strikes here.
Callahan Jr regains half guard.
Callahan Jr taking some punishment here, with Heller in his half guard.
The referee walks around the fighters to get a better view of the action. Heller lands a nice short elbow.
Heller is looking to take a break and control but Callahan Jr is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
Nice strikes from Heller there.
Heller is trying to control the action in half guard but Callahan Jr is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Heller lands a big shot. The thud that echoes around the arena is like music to the fans' ears.
Heller trying to pass the guard but Callahan Jr defending well.
Heller seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Callahan Jr does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Callahan Jr is trying to stand up here but Heller is controlling him well.
Callahan Jr is staying active underneath Heller, who seems content to just control the action from this position.

Neither fighter is doing enough for the referee's liking and he's decided to stand them back up.
Callahan Jr tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Callahan Jr is looking to clinch but Heller is avoiding it.
Callahan Jr throws a combination that misses
and Heller counters with a three punch combo that has Callahan Jr backing up. Callahan Jr nods at Heller to acknowledge the strikes.
Heller lands with a straight right. Callahan Jr didn't see that one coming.
Thomas R Callahan Jr seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Callahan Jr throws a body kick that digs right into the meat.
Callahan Jr tries to close the distance and clinch up against the cage but Heller paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Callahan Jr cracks the inside of Heller's front leg.
Heller walks into a jab.
Callahan Jr moves in looking to clinch but Heller pushes him off.
Callahan Jr throws a wild body kick that Heller sees coming a mile off.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Callahan Jr tries to clinch but Heller is having none of it.
Callahan Jr tries to clinch up but Heller circles away and keeps his distance.

Heller bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Callahan Jr tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Callahan Jr wants to escape from the position here - easier said than done!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Joe Heller dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Joe Heller's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business.

Callahan Jr closes the distance but Heller moves to the side
and Heller counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Callahan Jr fakes the leg kick and cracks Heller in the body.
Callahan Jr lands a head kick that stumbles Heller and the fighters go to the mat.
Heller controls Callahan Jr momentarily but Callahan Jr frees himself.
Heller keeping moving, preventing Callahan Jr from controlling successfully.
Callahan Jr lands a couple of decent looking shots.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for leaving it all in the cage!

Callahan Jr stands and steps away. Heller gets to his feet too and we're back to the striking game.
Thomas R Callahan Jr is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Callahan Jr throws a jab when Heller was well out of range.
Heller looks for a takedown but Callahan Jr sprawls well.
Heller dodges the punch combination from Callahan Jr.
Callahan Jr misses with a head kick.
Callahan Jr tries a head kick but it misses.
Heller lands a nice hook to Callahan Jr's body. Callahan Jr takes it in his stride and looks to land his own strikes.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heller works Callahan Jr's body with a nice hook.
Heller wants to slow Callahan Jr down by chopping away at his legs.
Callahan Jr throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

Heller moves into the clinch successfully.
Heller digs a right hand into Callahan Jr's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Callahan Jr's gas tank.
Heller wants to break free. God knows he wants to breaaaak freeee.
Heller lands a shot to the body.

Heller breaks from the clinch.

Heller scores a takedown into full mount!
Callahan Jr keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Callahan Jr is bucking up trying to escape but Heller cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Callahan Jr is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
Callahan Jr is working hard here to advance position.
Heller punishing his opponent with strikes.

Callahan Jr is rocked!

It looks like Thomas R Callahan Jr has been cut.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Heller cracks Callahan Jr with a nasty head shot there - the crowd let out an audible gasp there, as the noise reverberated around the arena.
Oh Callahan Jr is still in real trouble! Will he be able to recover?!!

Thomas R Callahan Jr's cut is getting worse.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Heller misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Callahan Jr is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Heller throwing strikes here but Callahan Jr is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Callahan Jr is in a horrible position here, under a barrage of strikes, he's managing to avoid any damage.
Joe Heller has got the better of the ground game so far.
Heller throwing sloppy strikes here. Perhaps if he tightened up his striking from such a dominant position, he'd be able to finish easier.
Heller thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Heller throws some wild stikes that Callahan Jr manages to avoid easily.
Heller throwing shots from mount but they're not landing.
Poor strikes thrown by Heller there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!

Heller has control of Callahan Jr's right arm, working for a kimura. It's a bit of a token attempt though and Callahan Jr regains control of the situation pretty easily.
Callahan Jr holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Heller tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Poor strikes thrown by Heller there. More accuracy and less frantic strikes would help!
Heller throwing strikes here but Callahan Jr is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Heller punching from mount but Callahan Jr doing a good job of avoiding damage.
Heller throws an elbow from mount that misses. Lucky escape for Callahan Jr because Heller loaded up on that one.
Heller thowing strikes but they're hitting the gloves, not doing any damage.
Callahan Jr holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Heller tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Heller throwing strikes here but Callahan Jr is writhing around nicely and avoiding any serious damage.
Heller thuds his fist into the canvas! Oooouch!
Heller sends his fist crashing into the mat - the crowd let out a collective ooooooh. Let's hope he's not broken it!
Callahan Jr holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Heller tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Callahan Jr seems to have got his legs back now.
Heller misses with a series of strikes from mount. He'll no doubt be working on his ground and pound when he gets back to the gym.
Heller tries to control but Callahan Jr wriggling away.
Callahan Jr taking shots to the head.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Callahan Jr is trying to get to the cage to help him get back to his feet.
Callahan Jr slips a leg in and gets back to half guard.
Callahan Jr looks like he's trying to stand up.
Callahan Jr manages to get to full guard.
Callahan Jr wants to stand but Heller is controlling the position.
Heller stands up and looks to throw the legs aside to pass to side control. Callahan Jr swivels though and keeps the full guard.
Heller is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Callahan Jr controls Heller momentarily but Heller frees himself.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Callahan Jr keeping moving, preventing Heller from controlling successfully.
Heller loading up with the ground and pound but he's missing more than he's landing in this flurry.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Thomas R Callahan Jr will probably get the nod.
Both fighters have cut men working on them during the interval.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Heller gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Callahan Jr is working for a takedown up against the cage. He can't get it on this occasion though.
Heller drops down looking for an ankle pick but Callahan Jr pulls his leg out and moves away.
Callahan Jr misses with a straight right.
Callahan Jr clinches but Heller breaks the clinch
and Heller counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Heller lands an overhand right.
Callahan Jr takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Callahan Jr tries to clinch but Heller moves away
and Heller cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Heller scores with a punch to the gut of his opponent.
Heller drops Callahan Jr with a straight left! Oh this is bad for Callahan Jr! Heller dives in and starts dropping bombs - the referee has no choice but to step in and save him!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:45 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (strikes). Joe Heller!