PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Bernhard River (ranked 1350 p4p, 3017 weight class) and Aleksi Heimo (ranked 82 p4p, 183 weight class). River comes to the cage accompanied by Metallica: Enter Sandman. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

River
vs
Heimo

170 cm
28
135
11 - 7 - 0

169 cm
29
146
8 - 16 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Good wrestler
World class boxer
Good gas tank

Brooklyn Threads
Brooklyn Apothecary

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 11 - 7 - 0, fighting out of New York, Bernhard River!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 8 - 16 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Aleksi Heimo!
The judges for this bout are Chris Dean, Ben Watson and Darius Henderson.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Heimo has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from River.
Heimo lands a nice shot to the body.
Heimo misses with a hook. River ducked under it nicely.
River bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Heimo misses with a hook.
A shot to the body from Heimo misses
and River counters with a nice low kick that buckles Heimo's knee momentarily.
Heimo tries a head kick but it misses.
River lands a leg kick and bounces back out of range.
Heimo comes forward and lands a shot to the body, then darts back out of range.
Heimo throws a body shot but no joy.
River throws a right hand that Heimo ducks under and follows up with a left that Heimo also avoids with ease.
River lands a really nice looking cross but Heimo seems unphased.
River just misses with a punch to the body.
River shoots in looking for a takedown. Heimo tries to sprawl out of it but River keeps driving through. The fighters are pinned against the cage. Heimo manages to get underhooks and after a bit of a struggle, circles away and we're back to standing.
Wow, both these guys are really going for it!
Heimo pulls out of a head kick attempt.
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!
Heimo throws a hook but River avoids it easily.
Heimo throws a body punch but River moves out of range.
River misses with a wild body shot.
River throws a nice outside leg kick.
Heimo on the wrong end of a nice jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A clash of legs there as Heimo blocks the low kick.
A cross from River lands.
Heimo lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Heimo lands a high kick!
Heimo stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from River.
Heimo throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Heimo throws a body punch but River moves out of range.
Heimo lands a straight punch to the body, keeping River at a distance.
Aleksi Heimo seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Heimo uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by River.
Aleksi Heimo is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
River misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Heimo.
Heimo scores with a body shot.
River clobbers Heimo with an overhand right that has the crowd gasping. That made a horrendous noise.
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!
Heimo fakes a head shot and lands one to the body.
River throws a feint and then finishes with a kick to the body.

River 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.

Heimo is looking for a triangle here but River uses the submission attempt to pass into side control.
River slows the pace down.
Heimo told us pre-fight that he has been working on his escapes in training. Let's see if he can call on some of his new skills to get back to his feet.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
River is looking to take a break and control but Heimo is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.
River working away.
Heimo tries to buck River off but River is having none of it.
River lands a knee to the body and a forearm to the face.
River trying to control the position but Heimo is working away.
River is working Heimo over with some ground and pound from side control.
Heimo tries to work a leg under to get back to half guard but River wriggles his own leg back out and remains in side control.
Heimo can't do much from the bottom here.
Heimo on the wrong end of some ground and pound.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Heimo is looking to reverse the position.
River working away.
Heimo is working to avoid the ground and pound but River connects with a decent elbow.
You can see the frustration on Heimo's face, being in this tough position on the bottom.

The fighters are starting to get a bit slippery now, which will make submissions a bit more difficult.
River wants to work for a kimura but he's foiled early by Heimo, who protects the arm well.
River grinds an elbow into Heimo's temple.

Heimo is rocked!
Heimo taking a bit of punishment here - River scoring with strikes.
Heimo is still in real trouble! Can River finish him?

River is in a dominant position here, looking for a kimura. Heimo looks calm but he's in trouble here. River gets his leg over his opponent's head and yanks on the arm. Heimo is tapping like a morse code operator on the titanic! SOS! SOS! River lets go of the hold and Heimo can pop his arm back in it's socket.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 4:59 of round 1, we have a winner by way of Submission (Kimura). Bernhard River!
After winning the bout, Bernhard River thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.