PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Justin Anthony (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Solomon Burke (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Burke has chosen Discoboys - I came for you as his entrance music. Both these guys have really solid chins. Will we see a standup war or will they both decide that a knockout is unlikely and try to win the fight elsewhere?

Anthony
vs
Burke

184 cm
26
198 lbs
13 - 4 - 1

188 cm
27
192 lbs
21 - 4 - 0

Good wrestling
World class MT
Very strong

Good wrestler
Lethal high kicks
Granite chin

Hell's Balls Fightwear

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 13 - 4 - 1, fighting out of Tokyo, Justin Anthony!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 21 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Helsinki, Solomon Burke!
The judges for this bout are Marco Blurström, Matti Vanhoillinen and Arvi Lind.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Horrible takedown by Anthony or perhaps it was just good defense by Burke which made him look bad.
Anthony closes the distance and clinches up with Burke, looking for a takedown. Anthony pushes Burke against the cage but Burke circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Burke tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Anthony fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Burke is out of range.
Anthony misses with a left hand
and Burke makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
Burke steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Anthony. That one must have hurt.

Anthony gets a clinch.
Anthony blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Burke tries to land knees in the clinch but Anthony avoids the damage to the body.
Burke misses with a body punch.
Anthony slows down the pace here.
Burke tries to land knees in the clinch but Anthony avoids the damage to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Anthony goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Still in the clinch, Anthony scores with a nice short uppercut.
Anthony prevents a body shot from Burke.
Burke doesn't land with the attempted body shot.
Anthony blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Burke cracks Anthony with a nice body shot.
Burke lands a left hand.
Anthony lands a nice shot to the body.
Burke misses with a hook to the ribs.
Anthony tries a knee to the head but Burke blocks it.
Anthony will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Burke up against the cage.
Anthony lands a left hand.
Burke is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Anthony is defending well for now.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Anthony slows down the pace here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short right from Burke on the inside.
Anthony managing to block the knees to the body from Burke.
Anthony lands a right hand that snaps the head of Burke backwards.
Anthony on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Anthony looking to stall.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Anthony.

Anthony works for the underhooks and manages to get a trip takedown into guard.
Burke trying to control the position.
Anthonyis looking to pass into half guard but Burke pushes him away with his feet and jumps on top - now Burke is in guard.
Burke wants to control from the top but Anthony keeps moving.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Anthony wants to sweep but no luck.
Anthony looking to control.
Anthony wants to sweep but no luck.
Anthony not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.

Justin Anthony has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.
Anthony misses with a straight right.
Burke is looking to clinch but Anthony is avoiding it.
Burke slaps away a takedown attempt from Anthony, before circling back to the center of the mat.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Anthony. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Burke moves out of range as Anthony throws a body kick.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Anthony throws a head kick that misses.
Anthony checks a leg kick nicely.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Anthony is defended easily by Burke.
A telegraphed takedown attempt from Anthony is defended easily by Burke.

Anthony rushes Burke and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Anthony tries to work over Burke's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Justin Anthony dominated that round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business.

Burke tries to close the distance and clinch but Anthony swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.

Anthony has managed to clinch.
Anthony is looking to control Burke's arms but Burke gets an underhook and turns him. Now Anthony has his back to the cage.
Burke goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
A battle for position here, against the cage.
Anthony avoiding damage as Burke throws knees to the body.
Anthony tries to throw a body punch but Burke avoids it by throwing Anthony back against the cage.
Anthony has a couple of punches blocked by Burke.
Burke tries a body shot but Anthony blocks it.
Anthony lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
Burke stops a takedown attempt from Anthony.
A hook to the body from Burke.
Anthony goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Justin Anthony has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Burke tries to land a knee to the head but Anthony blocks with his arms.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Anthony fails to land.
Anthony misses with a punch to the body.
Anthony jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Burke walks away with a smile on his face. Anthony gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Burke is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Anthony throws a sloppy body shot
letting Burke counter with a right hand.
Anthony takes a swing at Burke's ribcage but misses.
Burke fails with an attempt to clinch.
Anthony takes a nasty kick to the mid section... That should keep him thinking. Does he try and block and risk a head kick landing?
Anthony throws a right and a left that both miss.
Anthony misses with a body shot
and Burke counters with a nice kick to the body.
Solomon Burke is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Burke feints and then cracks Anthony's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Anthony down.
Burke wants to clinch
and Anthony counters with an inside leg kick.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Anthony swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Burke throws a low kick but Anthony avoids it.
Burke stuffs the takedown attempt from Anthony. Anthony gets slowly back to his feet.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Anthony. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Anthony circles away from the clinch attempt.
Justin Anthony seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Anthony feints and then cracks Burke's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Burke down.
Burke takes a solid shot to the body. That one hurt him but he's trying not to show it.
Anthony thows a leg kick but Burke checks it
and Burke counters with a nice low kick that buckles Anthony's knee momentarily.
Burke cracks a nice hook into Anthony's ribs.
Anthony checks a leg kick nicely.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burke moves out of range of the body kick.
Anthony misses with a low kick.
Anthony will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Burke scores with a leg kick.
Anthony misses with a wild body shot.
Burke just misses with a punch to the body.
Anthony throws a leg kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Solomon Burke seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Burke's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Anthony connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Burke scrambles back to his feet.

Anthony closes the distance and clinches.
Burke looking to throw knees to the head but Anthony is blocking nicely.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burke missing with knees to the body.
Anthony prevents a body shot from Burke.
Burke swings wildly with an uppercut but Anthony uses good head movement to avoid it.
Anthony misses with a hook to the ribs.
Burke tries to throw a body punch but Anthony avoids it by throwing Burke back against the cage.
Burke swings away with an uppercut that misses.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Anthony.
Burke tries a body shot but Anthony blocks it.
Burke tries to throw a body punch but Anthony avoids it by throwing Burke back against the cage.
Anthony is trying to stall.
Burke is pressed up against the cage. Anthony has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Burke down to the mat. Burke avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Anthony throws a low kick but his opponent is out of range.
Anthony throws a half hearted mid kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Solomon Burke will probably get the nod - 10:9.
That's time! Back to the action! This is the final round!

Anthony circles away from the clinch attempt.
Burke moves to clinch but Anthony breaks away
and Anthony counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Burke thinking.
A good leg kick by Anthony.
Anthony misses with a leg kick
and Burke counters with a good low kick that Anthony was not able to check.
Anthony shoots in looking for a takedown but Burke manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Anthony's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Burke checks a leg kick nicely.
Anthony keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Anthony has a takedown stuffed.
Anthony keeps the fight on the outside.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Burke misses with a double jab.
Burke leaves Anthony with his face pressed against the mat as he sprawls beautifully, defending against a solid takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Justin Anthony. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Anthony tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Burke misses with an uppercut. Anthony saw that one coming.
A low kick from Burke is predictable there
and Anthony counters with a nice body kick.
Anthony cracks the inside of Burke's front leg.
Anthony throws a body punch but Burke moves out of range.
Burke throws a leg kick but Anthony sees it coming and checks it nicely.
Burke moves out of range of the leg kick from Anthony.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Anthony lands where it shouldn't have, right in the... well, you know what he did? He kicked him in the penis. He's injured, injured bad. The referee sends both fighters to their corners and Burke has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Burke and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
A clash of legs there as Burke blocks the low kick.
Burke misses with a body kick.
Burke moves in looking to clinch but Anthony pushes him off.
Burke connects with an inside leg kick.
Burke misses with a body kick.
Anthony looks for a takedown but Burke sprawls well.
Anthony fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Burke is out of range.
An inside leg kick lands from Anthony.
Burke displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Anthony throws out the jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Burke goes for a high kick. It partially lands.
Burke looks to throw the jab but Anthony is out of range.
Anthony takes a head kick and shrugs it off.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Anthony.

Anthony has managed to clinch.
Anthony tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Anthony trying to stall but Burke improves his position.
Anthony blocks a body shot from Burke.
Anthony misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Anthony blocks an uppercut.
Anthony misses with a body punch.
Burke can't find room to land a body shot as Anthony controls the action.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Burke misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Burke tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Anthony's elbow.
Anthony tries a body shot but Burke blocks it.
Burke tries to throw a body punch but Anthony avoids it by throwing Burke back against the cage.
Burke trying to land knees to the body.
Anthony lands with a light punch inside.
Anthony wants to stall.
Anthony misses with a hook to the ribs.
Burke has a couple of punches blocked by Anthony.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Anthony can't find room to land a body shot as Burke controls the action.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Anthony is working Burke over against the cage.
Burke struggles to land a body shot inside as Anthony controls his hands.
A head punch on the inside from Anthony fails to land.
Anthony can't find room to land a body shot as Burke controls the action.

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 Justin Anthony.
I think Anthony has won this one but let's see what the judges have to say. 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 Marco Blurström scores the fight 29:28
Judge Matti Vanhoillinen scores the fight 29:28
Judge Arvi Lind scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Justin Anthony!