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 better chin. Will he look to stand and bang today?

Hunt
vs
Palhares

175 cm
33
170 lbs
35 - 16 - 0

181 cm
33
171 lbs
36 - 5 - 0

Great wrestler
World class boxer
Insanely flexible

Olympic wrestler
World class MT
Granite chin

Kemists ↑ 5x160Q

Reaper Combatwear
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 5 rounds, for the welterweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 35 - 16 - 0, fighting out of London, Merik Hunt!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 36 - 5 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Pluto Palhares!
The judges for this bout are Colin Fotheringham, Paul Tew and Chris Edwards.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Palhares throws a head kick but Hunt moves out of range.
Hunt jabs at Palhares's body.
Palhares fakes high and shoots in for a takedown but Hunt avoids it really well and circles away.
Hunt bobs and weaves and throws out a fast jab that snaps Palhares's head backwards.
Palhares is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Hunt.
Palhares tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Hunt was well out of range. Poor timing from Palhares.

Hunt closes the distance, clinches up and gets a nice trip takedown into side control. Very smooth.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
The ground and pound from Hunt seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Hunt tries to score with some ground and pound. Palhares controls his posture well this time though and the shots don't do any damage.
Palhares isn't going anywhere.
Hunt scoring with punches from side control.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Hunt scoring with punches and elbows.
Hunt trying to control the position but Palhares is working away.
Palhares struggling a bit here.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunt in side control lands a decent elbow.
Hunt looking to punish the body of his opponent here but Palhares is avoiding damage well.
Hunt cracks Palhares with a big elbow.
Hunt fails to land a wild elbow strike.
Check out the look on Hunt's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
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.
The ground and pound from Hunt seems to be hitting the mat more than his opponent.
Palhares struggling a bit here.
Hunt trying to control the position but Palhares is working away.
Palhares felt the need to train up his defensive grappling in the buildup to the fight. Presumably he was expecting to be in a difficult position like this, so let's see if he can get out of it.
Palhares is looking for a sweep.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palhares keeps trying to improve his position.
Palhares can't do much from the bottom here.
Palhares takes an elbow right on the bridge of the nose and winces in pain.
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 lands an elbow.
Palhares can't do much from the bottom here.
Hunt working the ground and pound but he's contacting the mat, not the fighter.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palhares defending against the ground and pound.
Hunt trying to control the action but Palhares is working from the bottom.
Hunt cracks Palhares with a big right hand but Palhares just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
Palhares wants to control but Hunt postures up.
Check out the look on Hunt's face as he threw that strike - that's one determined fighter!
Palhares defending against the ground and pound.
Hunt misses with an attempted head punch from side control.
Palhares is looking for a sweep.
Palhares struggling a bit here.
Hunt working away diligently from side control. Landing strikes effectively there - that will score him some points on the judges scorecards.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunt cracks Palhares with a big right hand but Palhares just smiles back at him and invites him to have another go.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Palhares sneaks a leg under to get back to half guard.
Hunt is nestled in close to Palhares, controlling him well. He's worked in a nice elbow to the side of the head as well, for good measure.
Hunt throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Palhares to regain full guard.

Palhares is looking for a triangle but Hunt pushes his legs off easily.
Palhares has momentary wrist control but Hunt slips an elbow through the middle.
Hunt throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Palhares works some decent striking defense from the bottom.

Palhares throwing his legs up looking for a triangle.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Hunt throwing shots from guard but he's hitting more mat than opponent.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

That kick from Palhares tenderised Hunt's leg. Hunt is trying to keep his angry face on.
Hunt takes a jab right on the nose. That must have hurt but he shrugs his shoulders and looks to return the favor.
Palhares on the wrong end of a nice low kick. He's acting like it's no big deal but he doesn't want to take many more of those.
Hunt misses with a looping left.
Hunt throws a hook to the side of Palhares's head but Palhares sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nice takedown defense from Palhares. No joy for Hunt on that attempt.
Hunt connects with a looping left hand that seems like it dazed Palhares momentarily.
Hunt misses with a kick to the body

and Palhares counters with a nice shoot takedown that brings the fighters to the ground.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Palhares wants to pass the guard but Hunt is keeping the position.
Hunt has control of Palhares's left arm, preventing Palhares from doing any damage.
Hunt keeping moving, preventing Palhares from controlling successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunt pulls Palhares in close to his closed guard and prevents Palhares from doing any damage or advancing position.

The ref stands the fighters back up because Merik Hunt just wasn't active enough.
Palhares scores with a jab to the head.
Hunt tries to bum rush Palhares with a series of wild strikes but Palhares uses good footwork to avoid the assault.
Palhares misses with a two punch combination.
Palhares throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Palhares throws a jab when Hunt was well out of range.
The fighters circle momentarily. Palhares darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Palhares throws a head kick that Hunt semi-blocks.
Palhares throws an off balance right hand

and Hunt counters with a nice double leg into side control. Palhares won't be happy with that.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Palhares manages to land a sweep and he's now on top! Lovely Jiu Jitsu!
Hunt manages to get to full guard.
Palhares wants to control from the top but Hunt keeps moving.
Hunt looking for a sweep. Not yet Hunt, not yet.
Hunt keeping moving, preventing Palhares from controlling successfully.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunt managing to control the position.
Palhares seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

The ref stands the fighters back up, due to lack of action by Pluto Palhares.
Hunt misses with an uppercut.
Palhares throws a low kick but Hunt avoids it.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Hunt gets caught napping as Palhares dives in and scores a takedown. Hunt manages to retain guard.
Palhares throws a big elbow that misses.
Palhares trying to control but Hunt is working from the bottom.
Hunt keeping full guard, as Palhares tries to pass.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hunt looking to control the pace of the fight rather than finish it.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pluto Palhares showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The fighters get back to their feet, the hooter sounds and we're back to the action!

Hunt bobs and weaves into range and then changes levels and scores with a nice takedown into side control.
Palhares is trying to control Hunt's posture but Hunt avoids it.
Hunt is putting a hurting on Palhares here, landing some big shots from side control.
Palhares tries to improve position but can't.
Hunt laying and praying for a moment but Palhares takes advantage and regains half guard.
Hunt throwing shots but Palhares is blocking nicely.
Hunt working the head and body with strikes.
Palhares avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Hunt.
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!
Palhares taking some punishment here, with Hunt in his half guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunt takes advantage of the dominant position to land a couple of big hammer fists.
Hunt throws a big elbow that misses, also allowing Palhares to regain full guard.
Hunt throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Palhares works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Hunt is in close to Palhares's body, working some short punches and elbows.
Palhares keeping moving, preventing Hunt from controlling successfully.
Hunt preventing the sweep.
Hunt trying to control but Palhares is working from the bottom.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunt working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.
Palhares tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Palhares is working the butterfly guard. He manages to land a nice scissor sweep and is now in half guard on the top. Nice move.
Palhares is pressing down on Hunt's thigh, looking to free his foot. Hunt is holding on for now.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

We're going to have a standup here because Merik Hunt wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Palhares takes one on the button.
Palhares looks for a takedown here. Will he get it? Hunt is fending him off so far but Palhares persists. Nope, Hunt circles away and we're back to standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Palhares throws a body kick that misses.
Palhares misses with a leg kick

and Hunt counters with a takedown into side control! That could mean trouble for Palhares!
Palhares tries to get back to half guard but can't.
Palhares gets back to half guard.
Hunt trying to control from half guard but Palhares is working away.
Hunt working some ground and pound from close in. He's looking to maintain this position and strike for a while by the looks of things... although he'll probably advance to full mount in a minute now I've said that.
Merik Hunt overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Hunt is just content to waste time from the top position. Palhares takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Palhares lands a beautiful switch and he's in full mount! That could spell trouble for Hunt!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Palhares can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Hunt is looking to escape.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Merik Hunt clearly takes that round.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Hunt takes a step towards his opponent and connects with a left hand, before circling away.
Palhares lands a slapping body shot.
Palhares tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Hunt moves out of range of the body kick from Palhares.
Hunt thows a leg kick but Palhares checks it

so Palhares counters with a double leg into guard. Good agility.
Palhares throwing elbows and punches but not connecting, as Hunt works some decent striking defense from the bottom.
Palhares trying to control but Hunt is working from the bottom.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Palhares is in a good position here but he's just trying to control... And he's not even managing to do that successfully.

That's one minute gone in the round.

The ref stands the fighters back up. Pluto Palhares was stalling too much, according to the referee.
Palhares uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hunt.
Hunt moves out of range of the body kick.
Hunt avoids a kick to the body.
Hunt on the wrong end of a nice jab.

Palhares closes the distance and after a bit of a stuggle, scores a takedown into Hunt's guard.
Hunt looking to control.
Hunt looking to sweep here. No luck so far.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The referee looks like he's ready to step in and stand the fighters back up.
Palhares slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.

Merik Hunt has forced the referee to step in and bring the fight back to the feet.

Palhares dives in and scores a takedown into Hunt's guard.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Palhares wants to control from the top but Hunt keeps moving.
Palhares might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Hunt haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Palhares advances position into side control!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunt is being controlled here.
Palhares wants to take a breather but Hunt manages to regain guard - a lesson learnt for Palhares.
Palhares controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.

Pluto Palhares has forced the referee to step in and restart the fight on the feet.
Hunt fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Palhares is out of range.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nice uppercut there from Palhares.
Hunt throws a body kick but he was well out of range there.
Pluto Palhares seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Palhares lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Palhares uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Hunt.
Good leg kick by Hunt there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Palhares throws a body kick but he wasn't in range.
Hunt connects with a crisp jab.
Hunt looks to have improved his striking defense since last time we saw him fight.
Palhares lands a leg kick. The shin dug right into the meat of the thigh.
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 throws a head kick but Palhares moves out of range.
Hunt throws the kick towards the body but Palhares avoids it.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hunt's jab looks to have found its range, popping Palhares under the eye.
Hunt avoids the body shot from Palhares.
Palhares misses with a wild body shot.
Palhares swings for the body but Hunt moves out of range.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Pluto Palhares dominated that fourth round.
The referee calls time. The cornermen exit stage left and we're back to business. So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Hunt motions for Palhares to come forward. Hunt throws a leg kick but it misses it's target.
Hunt misses with a series of wild punches.
Hunt blocks a head kick by Palhares.
Hunt takes one on the button.
Palhares jabs Hunt right on the nose. Hunt blinks but takes it well.
Palhares looks to score with a combo but nothing lands.
Palhares lands a nice looking body kick.
Hunt lands a nice looking body shot.
Hunt throws a right hand that Palhares ducks under and follows up with a left that Palhares also avoids with ease.
Hunt moves into range and lands a nice leg kick.
Hunt thows a left - swing and a miss!
Hunt cracks the inside of Palhares's front leg.
A telegraphed right hand from Hunt misses the target.
Pluto Palhares seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Hunt thows a body shot but no joy.
Palhares swings and misses with a hook to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Hunt fakes high and swings low for a body shot but Palhares manages to avoid it.
Hunt tries to close the distance and clinch but Palhares swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Palhares with a body punch. A glancing blow.
Hunt slaps away a takedown attempt from Palhares, before circling back to the center of the mat.
Hunt ducks low and lands a nice hook to the body of his opponent.
Palhares misses with a jab, cross combination.
Palhares cracks Hunt with an open hand slap.
Palhares uses some good footwork to avoid the body shot by Hunt.
Hunt throws the left hand but Palhares avoids the punch easily.
Hunt swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Palhares throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Hunt throws a jab when Palhares was well out of range.
Palhares throws a head kick that connects with a bit of head and a bit of hand.
Palhares feints and then cracks Hunt's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Hunt down.
Hunt shuffles to his left behind two crisp jabs. Palhares eats them both and turns towards Hunt to reposition himself and eats a stinging right hand-left hook combo.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
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!
Palhares throws a body kick that misses.
Hunt is looking to slow Palhares down with leg kicks.
Hunt lands three nice shots there - that looked like it hurt!
Palhares is trying hard to land a takedown here. Hunt sprawls well and keeps this one on the feet.
Palhares is wobbling all over the place through exhaustion. Will he make it to the final bell?
Palhares looks to land a combination but Hunt avoids it well.
Palhares dips to his left and cracks Hunt with an uppercut!
Hunt moves away from the strike by Palhares.
A slow jab from Hunt misses its intended target.
Palhares looking to land some kicks to the body here.
Palhares throws a hook to the body but it doesn't connect.
Good leg kick by Hunt there. It's the ones that make that thud noise that hurt and that was an almighty thud.
Hunt lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Hunt is looking to chop away at Palhares's legs.
Hunt lands a leg kick that knocks Palhares off balance momentarily.

Hunt fakes an overhand right and shoots for a takedown. Palhares sprawls well initially but Hunt persists and gets the takedown into half guard.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Hunt throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Palhares is looking for a sweep. Hunt is wise to his cunning plan and keeps the top position.
Palhares is working for an escape here. He's hooked one of Hunt's legs and he's managed to sneak out and take Hunt's back!
Hunt trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Will Palhares go for the finish here or will he try and keep control of the position?
Hunt trying to control but he's just got himself in more trouble.
Palhares lands shots from the back.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palhares controlling the position well here. Hunt rolled but Palhares kept the hooks locked in and stayed in the dominant position.
Hunt tries to break free.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Hunt trying to control the action but Palhares just sinks the hooks in.

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 Merik Hunt.
I think Hunt 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 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Colin Fotheringham scores the fight 48:47
Judge Paul Tew scores the fight 48:47
Judge Chris Edwards scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Merik Hunt!
Merik Hunt retains his welterweight title!
After winning the bout, Merik Hunt thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.