PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Bernardo Cabral (ranked 1066 p4p, 1395 weight class) and Gordon Hunter (ranked 145 p4p, 189 weight class). The crowd seem to be enjoying Hunter's choice of entrance music: King of Curses. Bernardo Cabral has a significant reach advantage - let's see if he can make it count.

Cabral
vs
Hunter

183 cm
25
170
4 - 1 - 0

170 cm
25
170
4 - 1 - 0

Good takedowns
Counter fighter
Experienced

Good takedowns
Basic striking
Determined

RECHARGE

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Bernardo Cabral!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 4 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Tokyo, Gordon Hunter!
The judges for this bout are James Atkins, Andrew Berry and Sam Margolis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Hunter tries to keep at a distance but Cabral has taken the fight into the clinch.

Cabral pulls guard successfully.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

Cabral has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Hunter can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.

Cabral escapes his hips to the side and looks to be working for an armbar. Hunter gives him a little smile and shakes his head. No chance.
Cabral is trying to control the position from the bottom.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Hunter is taking a break and basically stalling. The referee will not allow him to do that for long.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabral controls Hunter momentarily but Hunter frees himself.
Cabral pulls Hunter in to control the position.
Cabral is trying to keep Hunter in close.
Hunter won't allow Cabral to sweep him here.
Cabral lands a beautiful sweep and he's now moved into his opponent's guard.

Cabral slips nicely into half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunter trying to hold on to Cabral's head to control him but Cabral postures up.

Cabral seems to be working for a kimura but Hunter defends the submission attempt.
Cabral works his way into full mount!
Cabral controlling the pace for now.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Cabral working for a submission but Hunter is keeping him at bay.

Cabral working for a submission but Hunter is keeping him at bay.
Hunter is working to get back to half guard.
Cabral can't quite control the action as he would like just now, as Hunter is looking to escape.
Cabral will need to keep those long limbs tucked in whilst he's on the ground, to prevent any submissions.
Cabral takes a little breather and maintains the position. The referee will be looking for him to stay active from such a dominant position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are getting on the fighters' backs, as the pace has dropped off in the last minute or so.
Cabral wants to control the pace but Hunter is squirming around nicely.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Cabral is working on an americana here. Ooh, that looks pretty nasty! Nope, Hunter has managed to escape the submission attempt.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Bernardo Cabral dominated that round.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action.

Hunter looks frustrated there after his takedown attempt is stuffed easily.
Hunter changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Cabral tries to avoid it but Hunter manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Cabral to the ground. Cabral escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.

Hunter gets caught napping as Cabral dives in and scores a takedown. Hunter manages to retain guard.
Cabral wants to control from the top but Hunter keeps moving.
Cabral controlling from the guard. I say controlling but really, he's stalling.
Hunter is adopting a defensive guard.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cabral wants to control from the top but Hunter keeps moving.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabral slips nicely into half guard.
Cabral is stalling here. Hunter is in no mood to hang around though. He's locked up a kimura from the bottom! Cabral seems to be keeping calm but he's forced to roll out of the hold and Hunter has ended up in side control on the top. Nice work.
Cabral is positioning himself to get back to half guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Cabral can't do much from the bottom here.
Cabral is looking for a sweep.
Cabral tries to control the position but he's not in luck - Hunter easily slips into full mount!
Cabral is trying to reverse the position but instead Hunter has taken his back - oops!

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cabral wants to control his opponent's hands but Hunter gets his hands free.

Hunter working for a RNC but it's not happening just yet.
Cabral manages to reverse the position and now he's in Hunter's guard. Nice work there by Cabral.
Cabral wants to pass the guard but Hunter is keeping the position.
Cabral wants to control from the top but Hunter keeps moving.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Hunter not looking particularly offensive just at the moment.
Hunter bucks up whilst keeping hold of a body lock, managing to reverse the position. Now he's in top in Cabral's guard.

Cabral looking for submissions off his back, moving his hips, looking for an opening.
Hunter postures up.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!

Cabral looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Cabral controlling Hunter's posture.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close second round but I would say that Bernardo Cabral will probably get the nod.
That's time! Cabral's corner gives him a slap on the ass as he gets ready to fight. This is the final round!

Cabral goes for a double leg but Hunter avoids the attempt and the two fighters end up clinched against the cage as Hunter continues to drive forward.
Hunter tries to take the fight to the ground by pulling guard but can't manage it.
Hunter tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Cabral just stands there and leans against the cage.

Cabral gets control of Hunter's arms and successfully pulls guard. Cabral will no doubt be looking for submissions off his back.

Cabral working away from the bottom but not quite defensive enough there because Hunter has passed into half guard!

Cabral looking for submissions from an awkward position here.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Cabral is pressing down on Hunter's left leg trying to get back to full guard. He's managed it.
Hunter wants to pass the guard but Cabral is keeping the position.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Cabral looking to sweep using the butterfly guard but Hunter puts pay to that idea as he passes nicely into half guard.
Cabral makes his way to full guard. A much better position for Cabral.

Cabral had isolated an arm as going for a kimura. Hunter defends it easily.
Hunter won't allow Cabral to sweep him here.
There's a bit of a scramble here and now Cabral is on top in guard.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Hunter tries to land a sweep but no joy.
Cabral wants to pass the guard but Hunter is keeping the position.
Cabral is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Hunter can do to turn this around?
Cabral trying to control but Hunter is working from the bottom.
Hunter 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.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Cabral wants to control from the top but Hunter keeps moving.
Hunter controls Cabral momentarily but Cabral frees himself.

The referee has decided to stand the fighters back up, so we'll restart on the feet.
Cabral is looking light on his feet compared to last time was saw him fight.
Hunter tries for a takedown but Cabral sees it coming a mile off and avoids it easily.
Bernardo Cabral has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Gordon Hunter.
Hunter closes the distance and clinches up with Cabral, looking for a takedown. Hunter pushes Cabral against the cage but Cabral circles to the side and manages to break the clinch.
Cabral tries to clinch up against the cage, rushing in to close the distance. Hunter manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Cabral shoots in for a takedown but doesn't get it.
Hunter is definitely looking for the counter takedowns here.
Hunter displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Cabral.
Gordon Hunter seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Cabral drives through with a takedown into Hunter's guard. Let's see what he can do from the top position.
Cabral looking to pass the guard.
Cabral trying to control the position from guard on top but Hunter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.
Hunter working a defensive guard here.
Gordon Hunter has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Cabral trying to control the position from guard on top but Hunter is wriggling around, looking for whatever he can.

And that's the end of the fight!
Bernardo Cabral showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Cabral has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 James Atkins scores the fight 30:27
Judge Andrew Berry scores the fight 30:27
Judge Sam Margolis scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Bernardo Cabral!