One of mixed martial arts dirtiest fighters was today suspended for two years and fined $40,000 (plus attorney general's fees) for holding a submission too long earlier this year.
Rousimar Palhares, the fireplug former welterweight champion for World Series of Fighting, went before the Nevada State Athletic Commission during a Thursday meeting to answer for an incident during his August 1 title defense against Jake Shields.
Bleacher Report was in attendance at the meeting.
Palhares, a fighter with a history of holding fight-ending submissions despite repeated pleas from referees governing his bouts, did the same thing against Shields. Palhares secured a kimura on Shields in the third round, and referee Steve Mazzagatti stepped in to stop the fight. But Palhares did not immediately relinquish the submission, and Mazzagatti—who testified during Thursday’s hearing—said it took him six or seven taps on Palhares before the fighter let go.
He was stripped of the WSOF championship by the promotion and suspended indefinitely, while the Nevada commission issued a temporary suspension until today’s disciplinary hearing could take place. Palhares appeared before the commission live from Brazil via a Skype video conference call. He appeared without legal representation but was accompanied by manager Alex Davis.
Prior to the August bout, NSAC executive director Bob Bennett approached Mazzagatti and expressed his concern with Palhares’ history of holding submissions too long. He wanted to make sure Mazzagatti clearly explained the rules to the fighter. And so Mazzagatti went in Palhares’ locker room prior to the fight and, according to the official, used both verbal and physical tactics to slowly explain the rules to Palhares. During this meeting, Palhares expressed concern that Shields might use a “false tap” to cheat his way out of submissions, but Mazzagatti assured him that he would only stop the fight with good reason.
Today, Mazzagatti said that Palhares “clearly” held the submission far past the point when he attempted to stop the fight.
“It was absolutely unsportsmanlike conduct,” Mazzagatti said.
Also testifying was WSOF President Ray Sefo, who repeated Mazzagatti’s belief that the act was totally unsportsmanlike. And Davis called famed referee John McCarthy to testify as an expert witness in the hopes that he would be able to point out that Mazzagatti was in an incorrect position to stop the fight. Instead, McCarthy broke down the mechanics of refereeing while watching a replay of the fight and noted that he believes Palhares is a nice person, but that there is a total disregard for the safety of his opponents.
Palhares said it was not his intention to hurt Shields, but just to win the fight. He also said he could not see Mazzagatti and thought it was Shields somehow kneeing him in the back, a claim that seems largely preposterous upon repeated viewing of the video evidence.
New NSAC Commissioner Michele Martin asked Palhares about the 2012 incident in Australia when he was suspended for failing a post-fight drug test after a loss to Hector Lombard. She then asked Palhares if that was the only incident in his career where he has been punished for an infraction. Palhares said that yes, it was.
The problem: It was not the first time. Palhares had been suspended for 90 days after a 2010 incident in which he held a submission too long against Tomasz Drwal. After being repeatedly questioned by Martin, Palhares suddenly recalled his first suspension. Palhares also denied being given a verbal reprimand by California athletic commissioner Andy Foster for holding a kneebar too long against Jon Fitch last year.
During closed deliberations, Commissioner Pat Lundvall said that the response of promoters to Palhares' actions informed the seriousness of the offenses that were before them. Palhares had been released by the UFC and stripped and suspended by World Series of Fighting.
But Lundvall said that because they have never seen a case of this nature in front of the commission, she could not recommend the most severe punishment—this despite handing out a five-year suspension to Nick Diaz last month for marijuana usage. Perhaps the public backlash to the strong Diaz sentencing made the NSAC gun-shy. The other commissioners agreed with Lundvall, and the sentence was passed unanimously.
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