PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a bantamweight MMA rules bout between Wilson Palmer (ranked 5534 p4p, 0 weight class) and Khabib Bihal (ranked 6182 p4p, 0 weight class). We have two fighters making their debuts here, so let's see who comes out of this one with their first professional victory.

Palmer
vs
Bihal

216 cm
18
140 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

170 cm
18
145 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Counter fighter
Cuts easily

Good wrestler
Brawler
Can Moonwalk

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the bantamweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Wilson Palmer!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Khabib Bihal!
The judges for this bout are Tiny Johnson, Wesley Smith and Frank Dennis.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!

Bihal manages to get an easy takedown there - catching Palmer on his heels. He'll look to pass Palmer's guard now, I'm sure.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Bihal accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Bihal stops Palmer from standing up.
Palmer really does look like a pencil wearing a pair of gloves. Let's hope he has a gameplan to suit that ridiculous body shape.
Bihal throws a big elbow that misses.
Bihal is working the ground and pound from guard. He might want to try advancing position though to get more of an impact.
Bihal tries to stand but Palmer is controlling from the bottom.
Bihal pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Palmer is keeping the position for now.
Bihal won't allow Palmer to get back to his feet.
We may be looking at a referee standup if the pace doesn't pick up soon.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Palmer has a loose triangle. He'll be looking to tighten that up but Bihal can see exactly what he's planning and manages to posture up and free himself.
Bihal must be cautious of submissions here, given that his opponent has the superior Jiu Jitsu.
Palmer 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 one minute gone in the round.
Palmer keeping moving, preventing Bihal from controlling successfully.
Bihal working some ground and pound from guard but it's not doing any damage.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Palmer misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Bihal dives in for a single leg takedown but Palmer sprawls and the fighters end up clinched against the cage.
Palmer defends well against a solid takedown attempt from Bihal.

Palmer tries to keep at a distance but Bihal has taken the fight into the clinch.
Bihal looking to throw knees to the head but Palmer is blocking nicely.
Palmer wants to break free but Bihal has control.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palmer is trying to break the clinch but Bihal has him pressed against the cage.
Bihal avoiding damage.
Bihal is trying to force a seperation but Palmer has the dominant position.
Bihal is working on a leg, looking for a takedown but Palmer is defending well.
Wilson Palmer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Khabib Bihal.
Palmer tries to pull guard but can't drag his opponent to the mat. Bihal just stands there and leans against the cage.
The pace really dropping off here, momentarily.
Palmer fails to pull the fight into his guard.
Palmer keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bihal's efforts to push away.

Palmer ties up his opponent against the cage and manages to drag the fight down to the ground. Palmer no doubt will be looking to work submissions from his guard.
Bihal forces his way into half guard.
Bihal is looking to take a break and control but Palmer is keeping him honest, looking to work from the bottom.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bihal might have to switch it up a bit here because his efforts to control Palmer haven't been going to plan, at least at the current moment in time.
Palmer tries to roll over but Bihal keeps him under control.
Bihal is just content to waste time from the top position. Palmer takes advantage of the situation and regains full guard.
Bihal with a flurry of punches that miss.

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.
Bihal pressing down on his opponent's thigh, looking to pass guard. Palmer is keeping the position for now.
Bihal wants to get up but he can't break Palmer's closed guard. He needs to be careful trying to break the legs open, as he's open to submissions here.

Palmer looking for submissions from the bottom here. Moving his hips around, possibly looking for an armbar.
Palmer is breathing heavily.
Palmer working the defensive guard well to avoid strikes from Bihal.
Bihal's corner is telling him to maintain position.

The referee has motioned to the fighters to stand back up. He just wasn't happy with the level of activity.
Bihal throws a right and a left that both miss.

Bihal clinches with his opponent.
Boooooooooooooooooooo!!! God, this has been a terrible round. Come on you two, sort yourselves out!
Bihal stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Bihal has a couple of punches blocked by Palmer.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Khabib Bihal dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Palmer misses with the combination.
Bihal throws a low kick but Palmer avoids it.
Palmer wants to take advantage of his opponent's missed offense by moving into the clinch.
Palmer pushes forward with a 1-2 combination that forces Bihal back to the cage. Palmer follows up with a solid lead hook to the liver.

Bihal closes the distance and pushes Palmer back into the cage.
Bihal tries to pull guard but Palmer holds him up against the cage and eventually Bihal drops back down to his feet.
Palmer jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bihal walks away with a smile on his face. Palmer gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Palmer displays good takedown defense there as he swats away a double leg from Bihal.
Khabib Bihal seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.

Bihal clinches up with Palmer and pushes him back against the cage.
Palmer is trying to pull guard but Bihal turns him against the cage and we stay in the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bihal wants to take the fight to the mat but Palmer manages to get underhooks and keep the fight in the clinch.
Wilson Palmer has stuffed three takedown attempts in the round now. That's going to take a lot out of Khabib Bihal.
Palmer jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Bihal walks away with a smile on his face. Palmer gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.
Khabib Bihal is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Palmer stuffs the takedown.
Nice sprawl there from Palmer as Bihal shoots in.
Palmer scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Bihal doesn't seem bothered though.
Bihal gets his takedown attempt stuffed easily
and Palmer counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Bihal with a poor takedown
and Palmer makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Nice body kick from Palmer.
Bihal shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Palmer pinned against the cage. Palmer gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.
Palmer attempts a counter takedown but Bihal avoids it well and moves away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palmer cracks a nice hook into Bihal's ribs.
Palmer scores with a jab to the body.
Bihal misses with a takedown attempt
enabling Palmer to counter with a crisp jab.
Palmer is moving around nicely and scores here with a single head shot.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Palmer jabs at Bihal's body.
Bihal looks to throw a body kick
and Palmer counters with a lovely straight right hand!
Palmer tries to clinch there but Bihal circles away.

Bihal gets in close and instigates a clinch.
Palmer is trying to pull guard but being pressed up against the cage enables Bihal to keep the fight standing.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Bihal manages to pull guard.

Palmer drops back looking for a leg! Bihal is in trouble here! The fighters roll with the hold and Bihal manages to kick Palmer off! Palmer jumps back into Bihal's guard.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
A big thud reverberates around the arena there as Palmer accidentally thumps the mat. Hopefully he's not broken his hand.
Palmer postures up.

Bihal is looking for a triangle but Palmer pushes his legs off easily.
Bihal is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.
Bihal wants to sweep here but Palmer controlling him for the moment.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are hurling abuse towards the fighters... You can hardly blame them though because there isn't a lot going on in the fight.

Palmer gets to his feet - Bihal follows without any prompting.
Palmer dodges the punch combination from Bihal.
Palmer avoids a low kick by using good footwork.
Bihal has a takedown stuffed.
Bihal misses with a body kick.
Palmer tries to counter with a takedown but Bihal is quick to defend against it.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Palmer scores with a crisp jab that stopped Bihal in his tracks.
A really sloppy takedown attempt there from Bihal.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Wilson Palmer dominated that second 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. The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Palmer stuffs the takedown attempt from Bihal. Bihal gets slowly back to his feet.
Palmer moves into range and throws a combination. A nice jab followed by a hook to the body.
Left hook, right uppercut from Palmer.

Bihal closes the distance and presses his opponent up against the cage.
Bihal jumps guard but his hands slip and he falls flat on his back. Well, he's made himself look a right mug there, as Palmer walks away with a smile on his face. Bihal gets slowly back to his feet and shakes his head.

Bihal tries to sprawl but Palmer drives through with a takedown into half guard.
Bihal scrambles, trying to get to his feet, but Palmer manages to mount him!
This has been an exciting period of action!
Bihal in a bad spot here, taking shots to the head.
Bihal tries to get back to half guard but can't.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bihal is bucking up trying to escape but Palmer cracks him with another couple of good strikes.
Bihal tries to lock up and control but Palmer gives him a forearm to the face and pushes him away.
Palmer landing shots from mount.
Bihal tries to hold on but Palmer postures up.
Palmer trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Bihal is desperately trying to get back to half guard.
You get the feeling that Bihal really doesn't like being in this position too much.
Wilson Palmer overall seems to be getting the better of the ground position in the fight so far.
Bihal tries to hold on but Palmer pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.
Bihal keeping his composure momentarily, calmly looking to get back to half guard.
Palmer controlling the position easily from mount.
Bihal is working to get back to half guard.

Palmer is working for a guillotine from mount but Bihal frees his head quite easily.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Palmer raining down hammerfists from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bihal takes a big shot to the head but keeps on trying to improve his position.
Bihal is trying desperately to improve position.
Palmer wants to control the pace but Bihal is squirming around nicely.
Bihal really trying hard to get back to half guard here.

Palmer is working for a guillotine from mount but Bihal frees his head quite easily.
Bihal is looking to get to half guard.
Palmer is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that Bihal can do to turn this around?

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palmer lands a couple of good shots and Bihal has given up his back, trying to escape the position!
Palmer tries to get the hooks in deep but Bihal pushed the leg off.
Bihal trying to control but not successfully.
Bihal is defending well here and trying to improve his position.
Bihal is persisting with the attempt to improve his position.
Palmer is not going to allow Bihal to sit and survive in this position.
You can see the frustration on Bihal's face… He knows he is in trouble unless he improves his position sooner rather than later.

And that's the end of the fight!
Wilson Palmer showed his dominance in that final round.
I think Palmer 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 Tiny Johnson scores the fight 29:28
Judge Wesley Smith scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Dennis scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Wilson Palmer!