PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Burke Heimer (ranked 1200 p4p, 125 weight class) and Balbus Michael (ranked 2064 p4p, 213 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Heimer
vs
Michael

170 cm
30
146 lbs
10 - 7 - 1

178 cm
36
150 lbs
23 - 14 - 2

Abu Dhabi Champ
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

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 10 - 7 - 1, fighting out of London, Burke Heimer !
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 23 - 14 - 2, fighting out of New York, Balbus Michael!
The judges for this bout are Stewart Dunkirk, George Francis and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Michael throws a series of punches but Heimer moves out of range.
Heimer throws a nice outside leg kick.
Michael moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Heimer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Heimer misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Michael.
Heimer lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Michael fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Heimer checks it well.
Burke Heimer seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Heimer fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Michael manages to avoid it.
Michael tries to score with a low kick but Heimer moves his leg out of the way.
Jab from Heimer .
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
The fighters circling - Michael throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Heimer is trying to close the distance and clinch up, after that failed offence from Michael.
Heimer swings away with a body shot that misses
and Michael counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A jab from Heimer misses.

Heimer closes the distance and clinches.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Heimer misses with a punch to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Michael's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
A real battle for position is taking place between these two warriors.
Heimer pushes Michael back against the cage and lands a hook to the side of the head.

Michael escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Michael throws a right hand that misses
and Heimer counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Michael defending well as Heimer loads up on a big left hand.
Heimer swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Michael throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Heimer rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Michael makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Michael takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Heimer misses the jab.
Heimer moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
Heimer swings widly with a right hand
and Michael cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Heimer looks to throw the jab but Michael is out of range.
Heimer looks to land a combination but Michael avoids it well.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Michael tries to work over Heimer 's front leg with a kick but Heimer checks it.
Heimer misses the shot to the body.
Heimer misses with an uppercut. Michael saw that one coming.
Michael appeared to try and counter that last move with a leg kick.
A big right from Heimer misses.
Michael tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Heimer was well out of range. Poor timing from Michael.
Michael dodges the punch combination from Heimer .
Heimer misses with a straight left.
Heimer misses with an uppercut
and Michael makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Michael steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Heimer .
Michael keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Heimer throws a looping overhand right but Michael ducks down to avoid it.
Michael staying out of range there.
Michael moves out of range as Heimer strikes.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Michael stuns Heimer with a nice body shot, before stepping back out of range.
Michael dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Heimer . That did some damage!
Heimer throws a nice inside leg kick.
Heimer moves forwards but Michael connects with a nice, crisp jab.
A swing and a miss from Heimer .
The fighters circling - Heimer throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
Heimer misses with a straight left.
Michael looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Heimer moves in looking to clinch but Michael pushes him off.
A big left from Heimer misses.
Heimer misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Michael.
Michael shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Michael slips a jab and a cross from Heimer .
Michael looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Heimer blocks a head kick by Michael.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Michael connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Heimer comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Heimer 's jab looks to have found its range, popping Michael under the eye.
Michael connects with a leg kick. He turned his hip over nicely there.
Heimer uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Michael has time to react.
Heimer doesn't react quick enough there as he takes a shot to the body.
Michael staying out of range there.
Michael swings away with a counter right hand but no contact made.
Michael ducks right into an uppercut from Heimer .
Michael is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Heimer .
Heimer swung with a counter punch to the body but it didn't connect.
A bone on bone clash there as Heimer blocks the leg kick.
A bone on bone clash there as Michael blocks the leg kick.
Heimer misses with a wild combination.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Burke Heimer dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Michael wings a very wild body shot but it does the job and lands to the midsection.
Michael keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Heimer takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Heimer bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Michael slips under a jab from Heimer .
Michael doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Heimer scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Michael throws a leg kick which misses Heimer 's front leg but catches the back leg as Heimer tries to avoid it.
Heimer throws a poor cross that misses
and Michael counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Heimer ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Heimer throws a head kick that half lands.
Burke Heimer is winning the standup battle so far.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
A good leg kick by Michael.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Michael.
Heimer misses with a hook. Michael ducked under it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heimer lands a head shot.
Michael tests Heimer 's chin there with a solid looking shot.
Heimer keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Michael.
Heimer scores with a nice right hand.
Heimer swinging wildly here.
Michael takes a jab right on the kisser.
Heimer is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Michael showing good head movement there, avoiding the strikes from Heimer .
Nice defenses there by Michael.
Michael appears to be waiting to throw a counter punch to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Michael lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Heimer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Michael looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
A swing and a miss from Heimer .
Heimer throws a hook but Michael avoids it easily.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Michael takes a jab on the nose. He smiles like he loves it and keeps coming.
Heimer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Michael can do to turn this around?
Heimer swings and misses with a shot to the body
and Michael cracks him with a counter punch right on the button.
Michael throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Heimer throws a jab when Michael was well out of range.
Michael doesn't fully commit to the body shot counter.
Heimer lands an overhand right.
Heimer pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Michael looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Heimer punishes Michael's body with a nice straight punch.
Some wild striking there from Heimer .
Heimer is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heimer misses with a wild body shot.
Heimer misses with a looping left.
Heimer doesn't manage to clinch there - Michael circles away.
Heimer cracks Michael with a good jab.
Heimer connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Heimer scores with a jab to the head.
A head kick from Heimer lands but Michael takes it in his stride.
Heimer throws a body shot but no joy.
Michael walks into a stiff left hand from Heimer .
Michael misses with a hook
and Heimer counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Good shot there by Michael.
A low kick from Michael is predictable there
and Heimer counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Heimer fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Michael manages to avoid it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Heimer darts in and out, connecting with a jab.
A big left from Heimer misses.
Michael throws out a counter right but Heimer avoids it with no problem.
Heimer throws a body punch but Michael moves out of range.
A punch lands to the side of Michael 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Michael scores with a nice head shot.
Heimer digs a good body shot into Michael's ribs.
Michael has a pretty nasty looking mouse under his right eye.
Heimer swings away with a body shot that misses
and Heimer takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
Heimer tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Michael was well out of range. Poor timing from Heimer .
Heimer throws an ugly left hook that misses
letting Michael counter with a right hand.
Michael drops his hands and takes a jab to the jaw for his troubles.
Michael throws a low kick but it's checked well by Heimer .

Heimer manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Michael on his heels. He'll look to pass Michael's guard now, I'm sure.
Michael is looking to stand back up but Heimer counters by passing into half guard. Oops... bit sloppy there by Michael.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Burke Heimer dominated that second round.
That's time! Heimer 's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. And we move into the final round!

Michael with poor footwork there. He got himself in a bit of a tangle, enabling Heimer to score with a decent uppercut.
Michael throws a nice inside leg kick.
Heimer lands a powerful looking uppercut that connected with his opponent's jaw.
Michael misses with a hook.
Heimer tries to check a leg kick but that clearly hurt him.
Michael bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Heimer 's head backwards.
Michael circles away from the clinch attempt.
Heimer throws an overhand right that lands on Michael's shoulder, as Michael tries to avoid the shot.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Michael throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Heimer swung with a counter right hand that didn't connect.
Heimer cracks Michael with a nice right hand that draws applause from the crowd.
Some bone on bone action there as Heimer checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Michael looks to score with a jab to the body but Heimer is just out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Heimer throws a body shot but no joy.
Michael leaves Heimer with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
The crowd cheers as Michael lands an impressive looking overhand right. Heimer doesn't seem phased though.
A slow jab from Michael misses its intended target.
Michael is on the wrong end of a nice combination from Heimer .
Heimer changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.
Michael walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Heimer loads up on a big right hand but Michael slips the punch.
Michael uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Heimer .
Heimer checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Heimer throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Heimer misses with a double jab
and Michael counters with a leg kick that reverborates around the arena.
Heimer misses with a double jab
and Michael counters with a low kick, right behind Heimer 's knee.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Heimer throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Michael throws a jab when Heimer was well out of range.
Heimer scores with a nice head shot.
Nice shot by Heimer .
Heimer misses with a double jab
letting Michael counter with a right hand.
Heimer lands a jab to Michael's midsection.
A jab from Michael does it's job there.
Michael misses with a shot to the body
and Heimer connects with a straight left hand counter down the middle.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
A slapping leg kick lands for Michael.

Heimer takes the fight into the clinch.
Heimer tries a body shot but Michael blocks it.

Michael manages to break the clinch.
Michael throws a quick inside leg kick.
Heimer misses with a low kick.
As Heimer backs off Michael throws a huge counter combo but Heimer manages to avoid it all.
Heimer swings for the body but Michael moves out of range.
Heimer throws a body shot but no joy.
Heimer walks into a straight right hand from Michael.
Michael misses with an uppercut. Heimer saw that one coming.
Heimer lands a head kick!
Michael throws a right hand that misses
and Heimer counters with a two punch combo.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Heimer throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Michael lets it all go there with a big combo counter but none of the punches connected.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Michael digs a good hook to Heimer 's body.
Heimer tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Michael was well out of range. Poor timing from Heimer .
Heimer throws a left and a right that both miss
and Michael counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Heimer misses with a hook to the body
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Heimer misses with a right hand
and Michael counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Michael throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Michael moves out of range of the strikes.
Burke Heimer is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Heimer jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Michael is clearly trying to counter these attacks from Heimer with a body shot.
Balbus Michael has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Michael throws a leg kick which misses Heimer 's front leg but catches the back leg as Heimer tries to avoid it.
Michael uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Heimer .
Michael looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Heimer scores with a three punch combo!
Michael avoids the clinch attempt nicely.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Burke Heimer .
Well Heimer has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Stewart Dunkirk scores the fight 30:27
Judge George Francis scores the fight 30:28
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Burke Heimer !
An out of breath Burke Heimer thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.