diff --git a/wp-includes/comment.php b/wp-includes/comment.php
index eee2a782ec..1b4d7b451d 100644
--- a/wp-includes/comment.php
+++ b/wp-includes/comment.php
@@ -45,9 +45,11 @@ function check_comment($author, $email, $url, $comment, $user_ip, $user_agent, $
 	if ( 1 == get_option('comment_moderation') )
 		return false; // If moderation is set to manual
 
+	$comment = apply_filters( 'comment_text', $comment );
+
 	// Check # of external links
 	if ( $max_links = get_option( 'comment_max_links' ) ) {
-		$num_links = preg_match_all( '/<a [^>]*href/i', apply_filters( 'comment_text', $comment ), $out );
+		$num_links = preg_match_all( '/<a [^>]*href/i', $comment, $out );
 		$num_links = apply_filters( 'comment_max_links_url', $num_links, $url ); // provide for counting of $url as a link
 		if ( $num_links >= $max_links )
 			return false;