Rousimar Palhares continued his winning ways last Saturday night (Aug. 1, 2015), submitting Jake Shields in the third round to retain his Welterweight title at WSOF 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada (recap).
Unfortunately, "Toquinho" also went back to his dirty tactics, as the Brazilian submission specialist repeatedly gouged Shields' eyes before trapping him with a kimura, which he held on long after the referee called the fight (watch it here).
World Series of Fighting (WSOF) President Ray Sefo decided enough was enough, stripping Palhares of his 170-pound title and suspending him indefinitely. It's a decision he revealed during a guest spot on "The MMA Hour."
"Viewing it live, I seen a few time where Palhares stuck his fingers in Jake Shields' eyes. I didn't want to jump the gun, so I went home after the event, I logged on to my computer and watched the whole fight. And 100-percent, not only did he do it once or twice, he did it numerous times and he was warned by the referee on four different occasions. Now, he says he didn't gouge his eyes, but, the fact remains that his fingers were in Jake's eyes. It's illegal. Then the fact that he held that submission way too long. I counted and Jake tapped like nine times. I counted the time Steve Mazzagati tapped him on his back and it was like six times. So, after sitting down with my team and reviewing it again, we've come to the conclusion that we're not only going to strip him of his title immediately, we are also suspending him indefinitely. Obviously the commission is also doing their own investigation. I''ve always been an advocate for fighters and this type of behavior needs to stop. I've come out and defended Palhares on several occasions as well as Ali. We have giving him more than a fair chance. Also, I'm not the only one that saw this. My team isn't the only ones that saw this. Thousands and thousands of people that tweeted saw this. So, you can't deny the fact, it was dirty and that's why WSOF is standing by its decision."
And while Sefo refused to assume Palhares has a few screws loose upstairs, he does hope he talks to someone to see what causes him to snap once inside the cage. Because outside of it, says Sefo, Palhares is as polite as they come.
"I think he needs to speak to somebody and they'll be able to tell us exactly what the issue is. When you talk to the guy outside of the [cage], he seems like a very polite, very nice guy. When he's in there, something triggers and I don't know what that is. I think the sad part of this is the guy is a great fighter. When Jake Shields is tapping nine times and the referee is tapping you six, seven times and literally pulling you off, that's where people are gonna get hurt. We're in a sport. We're not in a war where we have to eliminate people."
Furthermore, Rousimar's $40,000 win bonus was frozen as a result of his antics. However, Sefo revealed that the Brazilian would not face a fine on the company's behalf.
After the controversy, Shields declared he'd love to battle the oft-troubled Brazilian in a street fight so he could kick him in the balls and bite him to exact some revenge.
Prior to taking his skills to WSOF, Palhares was cut by Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for similar unsportsmanlike conduct in 2013. At WSOF 16 in Dec. 2014, Palhares locked in a kneebar on Jon Fitch, who was tapping furiously as he took his time releasing the painful hold.
For now, Sefo revealed Palhares would not be cut, but a final decision on that front could be determined once Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) concludes its investigation on the matter.