PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a featherweight MMA rules bout between Dean Pope (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Hunt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hunt has chosen The Breaks as his entrance music. Both fighters look fresh as a daisy as they make their way towards the cage.

Pope
vs
Hunt

176 cm
25
152 lbs
5 - 2 - 1

170 cm
29
154 lbs
5 - 2 - 0

BJJ Purple Belt
Solid boxing
Very quick

BJJ Purple Belt
Dangerous knees
Granite chin

Reaper Combatwear

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 5 - 2 - 1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Dean Pope!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 5 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Mike Hunt!
The judges for this bout are Don Winkell, Jack Bonds and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Pope shoots in for a takedown but Hunt shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.
Pope fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hunt avoids it really well and circles away.
Hunt pulls out of a head kick attempt.
Pope shoots in but Hunt avoids the takedown attempt easily.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dean Pope. That's going to take a lot out of him.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Pope crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Hunt - the referee stops the clock and Pope gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Hunt. Pope manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Pope fails with the takedown
and Hunt counters with a body kick.
Pope tries for a takedown but Hunt circles away easily
and Hunt counters with a good, hard body kick but Pope shrugs it off.
Pope misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Dean Pope seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Pope fails with a takedown attempt.
Pope is breathing heavily.
Hunt lands with a nice body kick.
Hunt scores with a push kick.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Hunt rushes Pope and presses him up against the cage.
Hunt crunches a lovely knee into Pope's ribcage.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Hunt obliges.
Hunt landing some nice looking knees to the body.

Hunt gets a nice trip takedown into half guard.
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!
Hunt trying to control the action but Pope is working from the bottom.
Hunt controlling the action here.
Hunt is trying to control the action in half guard but Pope is working away on the bottom, looking perhaps to get back to full guard.
Hunt is controlling the pace.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Mike Hunt.
Hunt fakes the leg kick and cracks Pope in the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Pope fails with the takedown
and Hunt counters with an outside leg kick.
Hunt throws a quick head kick that skims the top of Pope's head.
Hunt slaps away a takedown attempt from Pope, before circling back to the center of the mat.
A decent looking body kick lands there for Hunt.
Hunt throws a nice inside leg kick.
Hunt throws a sloppy head kick and Pope moves out of range easily.
Hunt lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.

Hunt clinches with his opponent.
Knees in the clinch landing for Hunt.
Hunt scores with a knee to the head.
Hunt working Pope over with knees to the body.
Pope takes a knee to the side of the body.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Knees in the clinch landing for Hunt.
Hunt unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Hunt lands a good knee to the midsection. Pope won't want to take too many of those.
Hunt putting his Muay Thai to good use. He has Pope in a tight clinch and is doing some damage with knees to the body.
Hunt connects with a knee to the head.
Hunt connects with a nasty looking knee right to Pope's face.
Hunt connects with a knee to the head.
Pope takes a knee to the side of the body.
Hunt dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the cage.
The crowd are getting on Hunt's back here. They're not happy about his lack of aggression in the clinch.
Hunt lands a nice knee to the body.
Pope taking a breather.
Pope misses with a knee to the head.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Pope looks like he'd prefer to be striking at range right now.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt landing knees to the body. They look like they could hurt.
Pope has had enough of the clinch but Hunt keeps him there for the moment.
Hunt using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.
Pope blocks an elbow strike.

Hunt has dropped down and is working for a takedown. Pope is trying to keep an underhook but Hunt manages to get the takedown into half guard.
Hunt sitting and controlling from the half guard.
Hunt tries to pass to full mount but Pope defends it.
Hunt is just sitting in half guard, waiting for something to happen.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Pope moves his hips nicely and gets into full guard.
Pope looking to sweep here. No luck so far.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Hunt dominated that round.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Hunt fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Pope manages to avoid it.
Pope steps to his left, right into the path of a big body kick from Hunt. That one must have hurt.
This is turning into a torrid day at the office for Pope. He's trying desperately to land a takedown but he's failing miserably and getting slapped silly on the feet to compound his misery.
Hunt bobs and weaves and then throws a good body kick.
Pope keeps the fight on the outside.
Pope shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.

Hunt closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Pope's guard.
Hunt content to stall in guard here.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Hunt is pushing down on Pope's leg trying to pass to half guard. Pope is fighting to maintain full guard but Hunt has managed to sneak the leg through.
Hunt wants to control but Pope is keeping him busy.
Hunt wants to free his trapped foot but Pope is holding on for dear life with his legs.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Pope is looking to sinch up a guillotine here but Hunt pulls his head out easily.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Hunt seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Pope does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
We must be close to a standup if these guys don't pick up the pace.

Pope looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
Hunt thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Pope's head.
Hunt performing his best blanket impression for a moment.

Pope actively working from the bottom here.

Pope is defending against the submission attempts here by Hunt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunt missing with the ground and pound from half guard.
Mike Hunt has got the better of the ground game so far.
Hunt uses his free foot to push down on Pope's thigh. Eventually he works his other foot free and he's advanced to mount - this is trouble for Pope.
Hunt looking to finish Pope with some ground and pound. This is bad for Pope!
Hunt working Pope over with strikes here.

Hunt is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Pope has managed to escape the submission attempt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Hunt tries to control but Pope wriggling away.

Hunt stands up from the dominant position, so we're back on the feet.
Mike Hunt seems to be getting the better of the standup.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Pope with a lazy takedown attempt
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Hunt buckles his opponent's knee momentarily with a nice leg kick.
Pope uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hunt.
Hunt connects with a leg kick. Pope looked like he was expecting something else and didn't defend it.
Hunt moves out of range of the body kick from Pope.
Pope shoots in looking for a takedown but Hunt manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Pope's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Dean Pope. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Hunt scores with a head kick. Pope tried to block it but didn't get his arm up in time.

Hunt 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.
Hunt passes easily into side control. Nice work.

Hunt tries for an arm triangle. That looks pretty tight to me. Is this one over!?! Possibly, maybe, no Hunt has let go of the choke. Obviously it wasn't as tight as we thought!
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Pope tries to improve position but can't.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt wants to lay and pray for a moment but Pope keeps working.
Pope gets one leg under and gets the fight to half guard.
Hunt seems very keen to just sit and control from half guard but Pope does not like that idea so much and is remaining active off his back.
Pope gets back to full guard.
Hunt is intent on slowing down the pace of the fight, simply looking to control.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!

Hunt got a little sloppy there for a moment and Pope has worked his way into a loose triangle - can he finish it?! No, Hunt has managed to get both his arms back between Pope's legs - danger averted.
Hunt content to strike from guard, landing some decent shots.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Mike Hunt showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare eachother down, ready to get back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Pope tries to score a power double leg takedown but Hunt sees that one coming and sprawls well. That will dishearten Pope somewhat.
Hunt takes a swing at Pope's ribcage but misses.
Hunt lands a head kick. Pope smiles back at him and beckons him forward.
Hunt throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Hunt throws a head kick that looked like it stung.

Pope is rocked!
A good leg kick by Hunt.
Oh Pope is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Hunt lands a brutal head kick. Pope looks out on his feet and Hunt throws more strikes until the ref is forced to stop the fight!

Ladies and gentlemen, after 0:41 of round 3, we have a winner by way of TKO (Kick and Punches). Mike Hunt!
An out of breath Mike Hunt thanked his loyal fans in his post fight interview, giving them credit for his success over the course of his career.