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Rousimar Palhares showed up 18 pounds overweight for grappling match with Craig Jones

Not only did Palhares show up ridiculously overweight, his KASAI Pro 3 grappling match with Craig Jones was a dud.

By Ryan Harkness
Esther Lin

Rousimar Palhares is in the news again for all the wrong reasons.

The leg lock specialist was booked to take on Craig Jones in a middleweight grappling match at KASAI Pro 3, but leading up to the event Palhares informed all parties he wouldn’t be able to make weight. Not surprising given recent photos showing “Paul Harris” looking SWOLE AF. So to accommodate, the fight was moved 15 pounds up to 200 pounds.

But when both parties showed up for the weigh-ins, Rousimar tipped the scales a staggering 18 pounds above the new 200 pound limit. According to John Danaher, Palhares was “apparently unaware that he had to make a weight limit. Mr Jones will probably weigh a little over 200 pounds.”

Whoops.

Excited for Kasai Grappling 3 Tomorrow night! A great night of grappling tomorrow night in NYC @kasaigrappling in the Hammerstein Ballroom. The headline bout will be between outstanding Australian grappler Craig Jones and Brazilian powerhouse Rousimar Palhares. Mr Palhares was supposed to weigh in at 185 pounds but showed up at 218, apparently unaware that he had to make a weight limit. Mr Jones will probably weigh a little over 200 pounds. They have very different body types, demeanors and styles, so it should be a fascinating match. Mr Jones has been training in the basement with the squad - in addition to being one of the most talented grapplers on the circuit, he is also a genuinely good person - wishing him the best of luck in what will doubtless be one of the most anticipated matches of the year. The squad juniors are out in force - doing what we like to see - working on their skills and letting hard work, skill development and ambition get them to a higher level. Ethan Crelinsten, Nick Ronan, Frank Rosenthal and Jason Rau all take on very tough opponents in this elite level event as they continue their drive to the next level. Two former RGA students, Gianni Grippo and Jon Calestine will showcase two very different styles in a great match up as well. Congratulations to @kasaigrappling for getting a such a great card in such a great venue. While the athletes work hard to take themselves to a new level, Kasai are helping take the sport as a whole to a new level. Thank you for giving all these outstanding athletes a venue to showcase their skills.

A post shared by John Danaher (@danaherjohn) on

Still, the highly anticipated match between Palhares and Jones went forward, only to be a complete dud with little to no action. In the end, Craig Jones defeated Rousimar Palhares via decision.

This is just the latest example of Palhares self-sabotaging. He was suspended for 90 days by the NJAC in 2010 for not letting go of a heel hook on Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111. The UFC cut him in 2013 after a similar incident with Mike Pierce in Brazil. And then the NSAC suspended him from MMA competition for two years for AGAIN not letting go of a submission, this time a kimura on Jake Shields in WSOF.

Now he’s showing up ridiculously overweight for grappling matches -- and then not even smeshing his opponent and tearing off their limbs with all that extra muscle? Outrageous. Just another day in the Palhares news cycle.

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