On a two-fight losing skid, mourning the recent loss of a close family member and making a move to Welterweight for the first time ever, Rousimar Palhares had a lot on his mind heading into his fight with Mike Pierce tonight (Weds., Oct. 9, 2013) at UFC Fight Night 29, which took place at Jose Correa Gymnasium in Barueri, Brazil.
It would have been impossible to detect any signs of adversity, however, as "Toquinho" needed just 31 seconds to stop Pierce, who was on a four-fight win streak and considered among the more durable 170-pound fighters. In fact, Pierce had never been finished in his 22-fight (now 23) professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career until locking limbs with the Brazilian leg lock master.
Palhares didn't disguise his intent whatsoever -- he was going to attack the legs and maybe even take one home with him to add to his trophy case. As you'll see in the video above, Palhares held on about five seconds too long from the moment Pierce began to tap.
Of course, Palhares -- who had his head buried in the canvas torquing the heel -- could have mistook Pierce's initial "taps" as punches. And when the referee dove in to save Pierce, it was still pretty clear that Palhares was unaware that the fight was over.
It looked much worse in "real-time," especially when you consider Palhares has a history of such dangerous behavior. Remember against Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111 back in March 2010, Palhares didn't release his submission quick enough, resulting in a 90-day suspension.
Here was his explanation for that transgression:
"I didn't feel that he was tapping. I felt that he was pushing my leg. And I held on until the referee stopped the fight because I didn't want to misunderstand. I didn't want to hurt him. I was very excited about the fight. I'm really sorry if I hurt him."
Perhaps it was just more of the same in Barueri? No comment from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) or its president, Dana White, at this time.
For more on the UFC Fight Night 29 match between Rousimar Palhares vs. Mike Pierce click here and here.