PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a middleweight MMA rules bout between Pelayo Palhares (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and John Plank (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). This should be a great matchup!

Palhares
vs
Plank

174 cm
24
196 lbs
10 - 6 - 0

188 cm
24
195 lbs
12 - 4 - 0

Abu Dhabi Champ
Excellent boxer
Granite chin

Good wrestler
World class MT
Good gas tank

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Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the middleweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 10 - 6 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, Pelayo Palhares!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 12 - 4 - 0, fighting out of Los Angeles, John Plank!
The judges for this bout are Jack Bonds, Frank Antenori and Timothy Bukovac.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Palhares changes levels and looks for a double leg takedown. Plank tries to avoid it but Palhares manages to keep hold of a leg and drag Plank to the ground. Plank escapes though and pops straight back up to his feet.
Palhares misses with a few strikes there.
A nice combination there by Palhares.
Palhares looks to score with a jab to the body but Plank is just out of range.
A low kick from Palhares misses
and Plank counters with a low kick, right behind Palhares 's knee.
A head kick from Plank lands but Palhares takes it in his stride.
Plank slips a jab from Palhares.
Palhares lands a slapping body shot.
Palhares throws a body punch but Plank moves out of range.
Plank jabs Palhares right on the nose. Palhares blinks but takes it well.
Plank misses with an uppercut
and Palhares counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Some wild striking there from Plank.
Plank with a jab.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Plank has his front leg slapped to the side - a nice low kick landing there from Palhares.

The fight moves into the clinch position.
Palhares stalling in the clinch.
A short right from Plank.
Palhares lands a nice uppercut.
Plank tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Palhares avoids it.
Palhares tries to stall but Plank uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Palhares fails to pull guard.
Plank lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Palhares backwards.
Plank lands a damaging elbow.
Plank using the Thai clinch to land knees to the body.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Knees in the clinch landing for Plank.
Plank prevents a takedown attempt there.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pelayo Palhares. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Plank tries a knee to the head but Palhares blocks it.
Palhares avoiding damage as Plank throws knees to the body.
Palhares on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Plank lands a nice knee to the body.
Plank with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
Plank looking to throw knees to the head but Palhares is blocking nicely.
Plank is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Palhares is defending well for now.
Plank pushes off an throws an elbow but Palhares leans to the side and avoids it. We're back to clinching against the cage.
Plank trying to land knees to the body.
Plank is pressed up against the cage. Palhares has hold of a leg and is looking to drag Plank down to the mat. Plank avoids the attempt though and has circled away. We're back to striking at a distance.

That's three minutes gone in the round.

Palhares drives through with a really nice takedown into side control.
Plank is not content to let Palhares control the position.
Plank is trying to control Palhares's posture but Palhares avoids it.
Palhares wants to lay and pray for a moment but Plank keeps working.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plank throwing some weak shots from the bottom that do no damage.
Plank wants to control but Palhares postures up.
Palhares staying calm.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

It looks like we're going to have a standup here. Neither fighter is doing enough on the ground.
Plank defending well as Palhares loads up on a big left hand.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

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

Plank keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Palhares scores with a hook to the body. Plank takes a step back and tries to catch his breath.
A looping hook to the body misses from Palhares. Plank does a little dance to reset his feet.
Plank scores with a sloppy punch to the body. Not much technique there but it did the business.
An inside leg kick from Plank misses.
Plank's jab looks to have found its range, popping Palhares under the eye.
Palhares thows a body shot but no joy.
Palhares keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Plank thows a body shot but no joy.
Plank swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Plank moves out of range of the strikes.
Palhares is looking to wear down Plank with body shots, infact he's throwing more body shots than head shots at the moment.

Palhares shoots in looking for a single leg takedown. Plank is trying to defend but Palhares finishes it well and ends up in half guard. Let's see if he can advance position further.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Plank trying to control here.
Palhares is taking a breather. Plank says something to him but it's hard to make out. Perhaps he's telling him to get on with it and actually do something.
Plank avoiding damage under a succession of punches from Palhares.
Palhares works his foot free and advances to mount.
Plank wants to hold on but Palhares pushes him away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Palhares trying to control but he's not successful this time.
Palhares controlling from mount.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Plank is working to get back to half guard.
The referee must be thinking about standing these guys back up.
Palhares avoids the attempt from Plank to control.
Palhares controlling from the full mount.
Plank sneaks a leg under to get to half guard.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Palhares is keen to just control but Plank is a slippery customer.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

We're going to have a standup here because Pelayo Palhares wasn't active enough for the referee's liking.
Plank throws a body punch but Palhares moves out of range.
Palhares ducks under a wild hook from Plank.
Plank throws a series of punches but Palhares avoids them all with ease.
Palhares throws a predictable looking body shot
and Plank counters with a nice uppercut.
Palhares misses with a takedown attempt - Plank sprawls well and throws a nice strike on the way out which just misses.

Plank has taken the fight to the clinch.
The crowd applaud the fighters efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Plank tries a body shot but Palhares blocks it.
Palhares blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
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 Pelayo Palhares will probably get the nod.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action! This is the final round!

A punch combination from Palhares misses.
Palhares throws the left hand but Plank avoids the punch easily.
Plank has used his reach advantage pretty well so far tonight.
Plank wants to clinch.
Plank keeping a good distance there, avoiding the body shot.
Palhares fails with the takedown.
Pelayo Palhares is winning the standup battle so far.
Plank is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Palhares.
Plank misses with a straight left.
Palhares shoots in looking for a takedown but Plank manages to keep the fight standing, pushing Palhares's face into the canvas for good measure before circling away.
Palhares tries to score with a low kick but Plank moves his leg out of the way.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Palhares throws a shot from downtown. Plank moves away and avoids it.
Palhares takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Palhares lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Palhares fakes a head punch and goes low to the body. Nicely done.
Plank plants his feet and lands a nice head kick!
Plank scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
No luck for Palhares with that takedown attempt.
That's three failed takedown attempts in the round for Pelayo Palhares. That's going to take a lot out of him.
Plank throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Palhares shoots in with a takedown attempt and he has Plank pinned against the cage. Plank gets the underhooks and manages to circle away.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Plank scores with a one two! Palhares had his feet all tangled up there and couldn't avoid the strikes.

It looks like Pelayo Palhares has been cut.
Palhares misses with a body shot. Nice footwork from Plank.
Palhares has a takedown stuffed.
Plank is using his reach advantage to land shots from outside his opponent's range.
Palhares lands a jab.
Plank pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Palhares's jab looks to have found its range, popping Plank under the eye.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Plank scores with a leg kick.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Plank throws out a loose jab but Palhares uses good head movement to avoid it.
John Plank is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Palhares digs a good body shot into Plank's ribs.
The fight stays on the outside here - Plank looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Pelayo Palhares seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

Plank gets a clinch.
Palhares blocks an elbow strike from Plank.
Palhares is trying to pull guard but Plank has him pressed against the cage.
Plank lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Palhares fails to pull guard.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Plank obliges.
Plank misses with a hook to the ribs.
Plank trying to land knees to the body.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Plank scores with a shoulder strike.
Plank landing knees to the body.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Plank gets underhooks to prevent Palhares's takedown attempt.
Plank lands punches inside but they're not really causing much damage.
A nice glancing elbow lands by Plank.
Nice elbow from Plank.
Palhares wants a takedown but no success here.
Plank lands a right hand.
A right hook to the body lands for Plank.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Plank gets an overhook and lands an elbow to the side of the head.
Plank misses with an elbow over the top.
Palhares working hard to break the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
John Plank comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
I think Plank 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 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 28:29
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 28:29
Judge Timothy Bukovac scores the fight 28:29

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... John Plank!