PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Merik Hunt (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Pluto Palhares (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Hunt comes to the cage accompanied by Comfortably Numb. Palhares has chosen TOQUINHO as his entrance music. Pluto Palhares has the eye of the tiger tonight.

Hunt
vs
Palhares

175 cm
29
170 lbs
24 - 11 - 0

181 cm
30
177 lbs
20 - 2 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Lethal high kicks
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Alpha-Male Nutritional Supplements (q160)
Brute

Convicted Trap House
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 24 - 11 - 0, fighting out of London, Merik Hunt!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 20 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Pluto Palhares!
The judges for this bout are Frank Antenori, and Don Winkell.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Hunt connects with a crisp jab.
The fight stays on the outside here - Hunt looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Palhares slips a jab and a cross from Hunt.
Hunt wants to clinch up but Palhares keeps it at a distance.
Palhares is looking to slow Hunt down with leg kicks.
Pluto Palhares seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Hunt on the receiving end of a decent leg kick there by Palhares. Palhares obviously looking to wear him down.
Hunt scores with a jab to the jaw of his opponent.
Hunt stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Palhares.
Hunt takes an uppercut right on the jaw but it doesn't phase him.
Palhares checks a leg kick.
Palhares scores with a spinning back kick!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Hunt misses with a looping right.
Nice body punch from Hunt.
Hunt shakes his hands off, looking to compose himself, but takes a jab to the jaw whilst he does it.
Hunt misses with a low kick.
Palhares moves into range and connects with a jab.
Hunt tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Palhares is able to avoid easily.
Hunt takes a kick to the body and keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Palhares closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
Palhares taking a breather here.
Hunt tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Palhares tries for a kimura. Not really close to a finish though.
Hunt is moving his hips around well on the bottom and has managed to get back to half guard.
Palhares looks over to his corner - he wants some instructions but his corner are not responding.
Palhares looks to land a strike but Hunt avoids it nicely and regains full guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunt keeping moving, preventing Palhares from controlling successfully.
Hunt pulls Palhares in to control the position.
Hunt can't do much from the bottom at the moment, as Palhares controls the pace.

Pluto Palhares has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Palhares throws a nice outside leg kick.
Hunt throws a one two combo.
Hunt throws out a leg kick but Palhares moves out of range and Hunt only half commits.
Palhares fails with a takedown attempt from distance.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Palhares checks it well.
Hunt throws a nice inside leg kick.
Palhares's corner calls for a 1, 2 combination and Palhares duly obliges.
Hunt throws a combination but comes up with nothing but fresh air.
Hunt checks a leg kick.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Palhares feints and then cracks Hunt's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hunt down.
Hunt throws a low kick but Palhares avoids it.
Palhares connects with a lovely jab that went straight through the gap between Hunt's hands.
Palhares cracks the inside of Hunt's front leg.
Palhares throws a body kick despite being completely out of range

and Hunt counters with a takedown into side control.
Hunt working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Palhares manages to get back to half guard.
Hunt throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Palhares slips a foot under and gets full guard. Nice work.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pluto Palhares dominated that round.
That's time! Hunt's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight.

Hunt slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Palhares slips a jab from Hunt.
A good leg kick by Palhares.
A kick lands to the mid section there for Palhares.
Pluto Palhares seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hunt throws a hook but Palhares blocks it.
Palhares slips under a jab.
Palhares scores with a slapping inside leg kick.
Hunt scores with a decent looking hook.
Palhares throws a low kick but Hunt avoids it.
Hunt fails with the takedown.
Hunt has his head slapped from side to side by a 3 punch combination. That must have hurt him.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
A looping hook to the body misses from Hunt. Palhares does a little dance to reset his feet.
Palhares checks a leg kick.
Hunt lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Hunt lands a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Palhares doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Hunt counters with a shoot takedown. Palhares fights it but they end up in guard.
Hunt is sitting in guard, working some ground and pound.
Hunt looking to pass the guard.
Hunt trying to control but Palhares is working from the bottom.
Hunt postures up in Palhares's guard and throws a big left but Palhares blocks it.

Palhares looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Hunt throws a big right hand that misses.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palhares utilising some decent striking defenses from the guard, preventing the ground and pound.
Hunt is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Palhares trying to control the position here.
Hunt wants to pass the guard but Palhares is keeping the position.
Hunt looking to sit in guard and control but Palhares gets the butterfly guard and sweeps. He's now in the guard on the top.
Palhares advances position into side control!
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palhares working away.
Palhares tries to score with some ground and pound. Hunt controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Hunt dodges the ground and pound from Palhares.
Hunt has been looking to land a fair amount of strikes on the ground. He might be looking to soften his opponent up in order to work for a submission.
Hunt is looking for a sweep.
Palhares creates some space and throws a big elbow, but Hunt sees it coming and moves his head just enough to avoid the strike.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt is looking to reverse the position.
Palhares fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Sloppy strikes there by Palhares.
Hunt is not content to let Palhares control the position.
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 Merik Hunt will probably get the nod.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Palhares throws the kick towards the body but Hunt avoids it.
Hunt lands a jab to the head.
Hunt walks into a jab.
A head kick misses from Palhares.
Palhares misses with a body shot.
Hunt lands a leg kick that knocks Palhares off balance momentarily.
A clash of legs there as Hunt blocks the low kick.
Hunt chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Palhares can pounce on him.
Palhares scores with a kick to the midsection.
Palhares is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
Hunt takes a head kick and keeps coming.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Hunt chopping away at his opponent's legs.
Hunt tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Palhares was well out of range. Poor timing from Hunt.
Palhares swings and misses with a hook to the body.
A looping hook to the body misses from Palhares. Hunt does a little dance to reset his feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunt shoots in for a double leg but Palhares sprawls well. That's going to sap some energy.
Palhares tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Palhares staying out of range there.
Hunt scoring well with a low kick there.
Hunt tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Palhares is able to avoid easily.
Palhares misses with a kick to the body.
Palhares scores with a jab to the jaw.
Hunt lands a high kick!

Palhares shoots in for a takedown! He's got it and he's managed to land in side control! That's better than Palhares was expecting from the takedown attempt, I'm sure!
Palhares has control of an arm but Hunt manages to advance to Palhares's back!
Palhares covering up well under a series of strikes from Hunt.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunt missing with strikes from the back.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Palhares trying to control the hands but Hunt won't let him.
Hunt controlling well, preventing Palhares from escaping the position.
Hunt throwing lazy shots from the back mount that aren't doing any damage.
Hunt has his opponent trapped and is landing shots. Not a good position for Palhares.
Palhares covering up well under a barage of strikes.
Hunt lands a shot to the head.
Hunt scores with some strikes to the side of the head there. Good, points scoring shots.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunt is controlling the position but Palhares somehow manages to roll and ends up with half guard.
Hunt trying to control from half guard but Palhares is working away.
Merik Hunt overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hunt thumps the canvas. Not on purpose obviously - he just missed Palhares's head.
Hunt is thwarting Palhares's attempts to control the position.
Hunt wants to pass to mount but Palhares is defending the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Palhares to regain full guard.
Palhares working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Hunt.
Hunt throws a big right hand that misses.
Hunt works over Palhares with some ground and pound from guard.
Hunt postures up.
Palhares tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Hunt throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Palhares works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Palhares preventing the ground and pound from doing any damage.
Hunt slows down the pace of the fight, as he sits in guard.
Hunt trying to control but Palhares is working from the bottom.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Merik Hunt clearly takes that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Nice shot by Palhares.
Like a baseball bat into the meat of his leg there - nice leg kick by Hunt.
Some bone on bone action there as Palhares checks a low kick. Luckily it wasn't a particularly hard one.
Palhares has a takedown stuffed.
Hunt has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Palhares.
Hunt throws a sloppy head kick and Palhares moves out of range easily.
A looping hook to the body misses from Hunt. Palhares does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hunt throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Palhares thows a left - swing and a miss!
Palhares getting the better of the striking in that exchange.
Hunt slips a jab from Palhares.
Palhares is trying hard to land a takedown here. Hunt sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Hunt takes a nice looking leg kick right on the meat of his thigh there.
Hunt dodges the punch combination from Palhares.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Palhares shapes like he's going to throw a leg kick but settles back down.
Hunt ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Hunt avoids the body shot from Palhares.
A low kick from Palhares misses

and Hunt counters with a driving takedown into guard. Nice work there by Hunt.
Hunt connects with a couple of short punches.
Hunt wants to control from the top but Palhares keeps moving.
Hunt pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Palhares is keeping the position for now.
Hunt won't allow Palhares to sweep him here.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Palhares lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hunt!
Palhares wants to control the pace but Hunt is squirming around nicely.
Palhares with shots to the head and body - Hunt looks very uncomfortable down there.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palhares lands a nice shot to the head.
Hunt is looking to get to half guard.
Hunt holding onto his opponent's waist for dear life, as Palhares tries to land some strikes to get him to release his grip.
Palhares lands a couple of nice shots there from mount.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palhares with shots to the head and body - Hunt looks very uncomfortable down there.
Palhares pausing momentarily but resumes with a couple of decent strikes that do a bit of damage.
Palhares avoids the attempt from Hunt to control.
This has been an exciting period of action!
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Palhares content just to control the position here.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pluto Palhares dominated that fourth round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin! This is the final round!

Palhares thuds a mid kick into his opponent's body. That will wear on Hunt if he has to take too many more of those.
Hunt takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Hunt throws a chopping leg kick but Palhares manages to avoid taking any serious damage.
Hunt tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Palhares is able to avoid easily.
Palhares moves into range and connects with a jab.
Palhares slips under a jab.
Palhares throws a lazy right hand but Hunt sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Hunt fakes a jab and throws a low kick but Palhares checks it well.
Palhares tried to score with a low kick but Hunt checks it.
Horrible takedown by Hunt or perhaps it was just good defense by Palhares which made him look bad.
Hunt tries to score with a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Palhares throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Palhares lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
A looping hook to the body misses from Palhares. Hunt does a little dance to reset his feet.
Hunt throws a wild body kick that Palhares sees coming a mile off.
Oooooooooooh, not good. A low kick from Hunt 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 Palhares has 5 minutes to recover. He's OK now though... a thumbs up from Palhares and we're back underway with a touch of gloves.
Hunt bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Hunt fakes a jab and then connects with a hook.
Palhares throws a looping left and ducks down for a takedown. He's got his arms around Hunt's waist but Hunt gets an underhook and avoids the takedown by throwing Palhares off to one side.
Palhares checks a low kick. Bone on bone - not my idea of a good time.
Hunt stumbles momentarily as he takes a strong leg kick from Palhares.
Palhares is looking to chop away at Hunt's legs.
Palhares connects with a nice looking jab.
Palhares closes the distance and takes a jab right on the nose as he does so.
Hunt scores with a shot to the body.
Palhares turns his hip over beautifully as he lands a nice leg kick.
Palhares dips down and scores with a jab to the body.
Hunt is hobbling a little on that front leg after taking quite a few leg kicks so far in this fight.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Palhares slips under a jab.
Palhares has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Hunt.
Hunt moves out of range of the strikes.
Palhares lands with a head kick! That's gotta hurt.
Hunt fakes low and throws an overhand right that catches Palhares on the side of the head.
Hunt avoids a lazy jab quite easily.
Hunt throws a hook but Palhares blocks it.
A nice inside leg kick there by Hunt. That's going to slow Palhares down.
Nice jab there from Hunt.
That's a knee to de groin and it's over and out! Hunt crumples to the ground after an illegal strike from Palhares - the referee stops the clock and Hunt gets 5 minutes to recover from that one. "I'm sorry" says Palhares. Hunt manages to get back to his feet and the fight resumes.
Palhares lands with an uppercut that bounces Hunt off the cage and back into range.
Hunt scores with a jab.
Hunt moves into range and lands a nice body kick.
Hunt throws a leg kick that is checked

so Palhares counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Palhares is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palhares trying to land body shots but he keeps hitting the mat.
Hunt is working an open guard here, looking to improve his position. No doubt that will leave him open to counters but at least he's being more offensive.
Hunt is working hard here to advance position.
Palhares passes easily into side control. Nice work.
Sloppy strikes there by Palhares.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palhares scores with a couple of short elbows.
Hunt is trying to control Palhares's posture but Palhares avoids it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Palhares is looking to take a break and control but Hunt is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

And that's the end of the fight!
Pluto Palhares comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Palhares has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 47:48
Judge Percy O'Donnell scores the fight 47:48
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 47:48

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Pluto Palhares!
A victorious Pluto Palhares thanked his army of followers in his post fight interview, telling people to make sure they follow him on Twitter.