August - 2015
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
14
The WSOF Needs
Further Action In
Palhares’ Punishment
Article By: Jay Anderson
Did you hear the one about Rousimar Palhares
holding on to a submission too long?
Yes, it’s deja vu all over again as Palhares
has been stripped of his WSOF title, and
suspended “indefinitely” — which re-
ally should result in being cut entirely. It
comes in the wake of his WSOF 22 win by
way of kimura over Jake Shields. Palhares
can be seen eye gouging several times in
the fight, as ref Steve Mazzagatti inexpli-
cably continues to warn him but fails to
deduct a point. Then, come fight’s end,
he refuses to let go of the kimura despite
Mazzagatti frantically tapping the fighter
with both hands to signal that the fight
is over.
In short, it’s another black mark on the
professional record of Palhares.
This after being suspended 90 days in the
UFC back in 2010, following an incident
at UFC 111 where he failed to release
a heel hook on Tomasz Drwal in timely
fashion. Then, in 2013, he pulled the ex-
act same stunt, refusing to release a heel
hook on Mike Pierce, an act that resulted
in being cut from the UFC, and banned
from the promotion for life.
Now he has burned bridges in two pro-
motions, although the WSOF haven’t
officially severed ties with him. Instead,
match maker Ali Abdel-Aziz stated Pal-
hares had mental issues and shouldn’t be
allowed to fight “until he fixes them.”
(Lucas Noonan/WSOF)
