Rousimar Palhares stripped of title, suspended after incident in Saturday fight
Rousimar Palhares needed less than a minute to beat Tomasz Drwal by submission at UFC 111 in Newark. (March 27, 2010) Credit: Newsday / Mario Gonzalez
Rousimar Palhares, the welterweight champion in World Series of Fighting, was stripped of his title and suspended indefinitely for his actions in Saturday's night successful title defense, WSOF president Ray Sefo told "The MMA Hour" Tuesday.
Palhares was accused by Jake Shields of eye gouging during the WSOF 22 main event and was warned about it by referee Steve Mazzagatti. Upon submitting Shields with a kimura in the third round, Palhares held on the move for a few extra seconds after Shields tapped out, and Mazzagatti was forced to pull on Palhares' arms to get him to break the hold.
"Watched the fight with Shields & Palhares," WSOF matchmaker Ali Abdelaziz tweeted Sunday night. "Palhares did gouge Jake's eyes & held the sub longer than needed."
Eye gouging is banned under the unified rules of mixed martial arts.
After Palhares finally relinquished the kimura, Shields threw a punch at Palhares. The Brazilian fighter had his win bonus held by the Nevada Athletic Commission after Saturday night's fight.
Palhares has a history of holding onto submission holds for too long, an issue that got him suspended and eventually released from the UFC in October 2013.
The fight against Shields was at least the fourth time Palhares has been accused of not relinquishing a submission hold after an opponent tapped, including fights against Tomasz Drwal, Mike Pierce and Steve Carl.
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
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