PanaloKO Ulutan: How Birds Are Paired Before a Fight
Ulutan is the pairing of gamecocks on a sabong day.
Key facts and contents
- PanaloKO Bulang
- In the Binisaya Cebuano dictionary, bulang is listed as a noun meaning cockfight and also gaff, the blade tied to a gamecock's leg.
- PanaloKO Largada
- Largada is Spanish for the start of a race, built from largar.
- PanaloKO Stag Derby
- A stag derby is a derby for stags.
Ulutan names the pairing, and the pairing happens before anything is released. Every page here starts with the 2022 facts: online e-sabong was stopped nationwide on 3 May 2022 by President Duterte’s spoken order, and Executive Order No. 9, signed by President Marcos on 28 December 2022, formally suspended e-sabong operations nationwide. The penalties that apply around cockfighting are laid out in the PD 1602 decree text.
What ulutan means
Godofredo U. Stuart Jr., in Sabong / Cockfighting 101, writes that on a sabong day there is “a busy activity of the game cocks being paired ( ulutan )”. He also writes that hack fights are “the generic ulutan-paired cockfights, 20 to 30 in an afternoon of cockfighting”.
| Phrase in the source | Plain reading |
|---|---|
| game cocks being paired ( ulutan ) | the pairing step |
| generic ulutan-paired cockfights | ordinary hack fights |
| 20 to 30 in an afternoon | Stuart’s count of fights |
How a pairing is agreed
Stuart describes each side searching for an opponent and looking for parity. The steps below follow his account in order.
- Each owner judges the opposing bird by breeding, weight, stance, wing span, head size, beak length, plumage quality and gameness.
- An acceptable pairing is found and agreed upon.
- The tari blade is commissioned for attachment, usually to the left leg.
- The crowd’s betting begins after the casador’s call, covered in the largada call.
Ulutan and derby matching compared
The federation derby rules replace the owners’ haggling with a rule. Rule No. 9 of the National Federation of Gamefowl Breeders says matching is computerized in the presence of the derby committee and “starting with cocks of the same weights”. It allows a gap of 20 grams for stags weighing 1.9 kg or lower and 30 grams above that, and 30 grams for cocks weighing 2.2 kg or lower and 50 grams above that.
| Method | Who decides | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ulutan pairing | the two sides | Stuart |
| Derby matching | the computer, by weight | NFGB Rule 9 |
Hack fights and derbies are different events
Stuart separates the two. Hack fights are the generic ulutan-paired fights, and the derby is “the cockfighting event for the serious aficionado and deep-pockets”, where “the cocks are paired according to weight”. He gives an example of a derby pot: P10,000 for each of 10 teams makes a 100,000 total pot. He adds that a 3-cock derby may last deep into the night and a 7- or 9-cock derby may last for days.
| Event | How birds are paired | Figure in Stuart |
|---|---|---|
| Hack fight | ulutan between the two sides | 20 to 30 fights in an afternoon |
| Derby | by weight | 3-cock, 7-cock or 9-cock formats |
Where the word sits among the others
Ulutan is a step. Bulang as a cockfight word is the Cebuano name for the event and the blade, and stag derby weight rules explains the age classes that derby matching uses.
Worked example under Rule 9, for stags weighing 1.9 kg or lower:
| Weight gap | Inside the limit |
|---|---|
| 20 grams | yes, it equals the limit |
| 25 grams | no, it is above 20 grams |
Sources used: Godofredo U. Stuart Jr., Sabong / Cockfighting 101 (stuartxchange.org), and the NFGB Unified Derby Rules.
FAQ
What does ulutan mean in sabong?
Godofredo U. Stuart Jr. writes that on a sabong day the game cocks are being paired, and prints the word ulutan in brackets for that pairing. He also calls ordinary hack fights the generic ulutan-paired cockfights.
What do owners look at when pairing birds?
Stuart lists breeding, weight, stance, wing span, head size, beak length, plumage quality and gameness. The federation rules for derbies match by weight instead.
Is the ulutan the same as a derby?
No. In Stuart's account, hack fights are the ulutan-paired fights and the derby is a separate event where birds are paired by weight and teams enter a pot.
Is ulutan in the law?
No. Presidential Decree No. 449 does not print ulutan, and the decree's own word for the game is cockfighting derby, pintakasi or tupada.