Rousimar Palhares Suspended 90 Days for UFC 111 Submission of Tomasz Drwal
UFC middleweight Rousimar Palhares has been suspended for 90 days by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board for failing to immediately release a first-round heel hook of Tomasz Drwal on the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC 111.
Drwal attempted a kick early in the opening round of the matchup but slipped on a logo, allowing Palhares to secure the heel hook, which he was quickly forced to tap to only to have Palhares continue the hold until the referee separated the fighters.
“I didn’t feel that he was tapping. I felt like he was pushing my leg and I held on until the referee stopped the fight because I didn’t want to misunderstand,” Palhares said in a post-fight interview with UFC.com. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I was excited for the fight. I’m really sorry if I hurt him.”
While Drwal was suspected to have suffered a torn knee, an evaluation at the hospital revealed no serious injuries.
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Pictured: Rousimar Palhares
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no harm no foul…
Rogan counting the hold in real-time while watching it in slow-motion was classic.
I also had a good laugh over that.
He was not even counting properly it was speed counting. They always say don’t leave it in the judges hands, it the same with the ref even though someone is tapping it does not necessarily mean the ref has seen it.
I didn’t think it was as bad as Babalu vs. Heath or Penn vs. Pulver. It almost seemed like they made a decision because of Rogans comments. Rogan counted 5 seconds after the ref intervened but that doesn’t make sense if you consider Rogan was watching the much slower instant replay.
Glad that Drwal wasn’t seriously hurt. I sort of understand Palhares holding on, but still think he should have let go sooner.
@buzz
I was pretty entertained by that too.
Ok these makes perfect sense? I counted 5 seconds on a SLOW-MOTION REPLAY…
I don’t blame Palhares. His job is to hold on until the ref breaks them up. I’d say the ref should be discipled for being out of position.
i agree with that, palhares was so focused on getting the sub right and was pumped with adrenilen
And what about that fact that it took 2-3 tugs/pushes by the ref for Palhares to release? It isn’t just the 7-10 taps, it was teh 2-3 attempts BY THE REF that it took.
Mulhall was actually in pretty good position, Palhares just didn’t release.
It was a heel hook – not a knee bar. Knee bar’s are when the leg is straightened out (like an arm bar). He had the knee isloated and twisted the heel causing his acl to be torn.
Yep, it was a heel hook (which is what we reported on the official results), just had Drwal’s knee on my mind when writing this up. Thanks for the head up, it’s fixed now.
dumbest thing ever ur not supposed to stop until the ref pulls u off or tells u to stop he was just doing his job.
Exactly, the Ref should have got in there sooner.
sometimes rogan is a a..hole
As a SAMBO practioner leg submissions are a big thing and to be honest I’d probably held it as well until the ref intervened because lets be real how many times have we seen a guy go for a lower body submission and get pounded into oblivion. Just glad Drwal was not seriously injured and hopefully this does not throw Palhares off too much mentally.
Except that the ref had to try two or three times to pull Palhares off. And even then had to struggle to get the hold broken. I don’t have a problem with not releasing when tapped, but if the ref tells you to let go, you do so on the first warning.
watching it again, I agree. Not going to damn him to hell though because he did seem to regret it. Just seemed too worked up.
Bsbiz You know i respect your opinon but palhares did release in a matter of one sec when the ref grabed him!
It took Mulhall 2-3 tugs in Palhares’s arms to release the hold.
You are right it did take 2 tugs but come on I see that all the time.
Rogan did make a deal of it watching the slow-mo it was Bad refing IMO.
so suspended for 90 days when he probably wont fight for 5 to 6 months.. do they atleast put him in a corner or something?
The suspension applies to the signing and training for fights as well. The lesser known fighters tend to fight every 3-4 months so this is a big deal. You usually only take that much time off(5-6) if you’ve been injured and barred from training or are a top guy who doesn’t feel the need to fight often
Palhares didnt let go when the ref intervened. I had a huge problem with what he did. It looked pretty intentional to everyone that was watching with me as well.
Intentional is the right word. Dude was going 100mph, letting go never crossed his mind.
there live it looked absolutly fine. u dont stop til ur pulled off and thats wat he did and the njac r wrong. bad call by them. hopefully he can get it overturned and b back soon cuz his subs r sick
Once the ref shook Palhares, he let go. Its just that Drwal was tapping for about 3 or 4 seconds before the ref stepped up. Whether the fighter is tapping or not, you don’t stop fighting until the ref stops it. Carwin blasted Mir with 6 unanswered shots to the head at the end of that fight and stopped only when the ref came between. Mir hadn’t been moving and his hands were laying down on the canvass. Could have Carwin stopped earlier? Hell yeah he could of but he just kept going until the ref stopped it. All fighters are supposed to keep fighting, its their job. Its the ref’s job to stop it.
Your simply wrong. The Carwin stoppage was aweful, dont get me wrong. But as humans we are always in control of what we do. I fight(Boxing) and Grapple. There has never been a time where I couldnt slow down or pull off on command. Point being, when Carwin was sitting on top of a motionless Mir with his arms sprawled out in front of him, a fighter can easily dial it down. Example( Marquardt vs Maia).
The same thing with the Palhares fight. I didnt really mind him ignoring the BLATANT tapping, but it only takes a second to aknowledge that the ref is tugging you. Not 3 or even a Rogan 5. It was intentional and done in bad taste. He got caught in the moment and wanted to make a statement. He deserves his penalty.
Dude you need to watch the real time video again. When the ref steps in he pulls ones and then palhares lets go on the second yank.
IT TAKES 1 SEC FOR HIM TO RELEASE.
Mir held lesners leg for longer!
That was Steves fault not Mirs. Also was it just me or did Lesner look aquward tapping or what. I think i would be in Steves position too thinking WTF was that?
One Of The Reasons All Foreign Fighters Should Required To Speak English In Order To Fight, That Situation Was Totally Uncalled For.
I don’t see a connection.
In fact your statement ignores the nature, soul, and history of martial arts.
If He Could Understand English He Wouldve Probably Let Go When The Ref Was Telling Him To Let Go Unless He Just Had Intentions On Hurting The Guy.
doesn’t the sokaju??do that in every fight.not saying it’s ok but sometimes they just can’t seem to control there emotions.
Sokoudju is also rarely fighting in the US anymore.
Interesting that when St. Pierre had a kimura locked in on Hardy, GSP looked to the ref for a stoppage knowing that Hardy would not tap and the ref. wouldn’t respond and GSP didn’t have it in him to separate the shoulder so he released. The reffing Saturday night was horrible. Palahares let go when the ref got involved – it’s the refs job to keep the fighters safe and they didn’t – not with Hardy, not with Mir and not with Drwal and not in the John Howard fight the week before either! Refs are constantly out of position these days, mentally and physically, and as a result are way too slow to respond when needed.
If Hardy doesn’t tap, the ref CAN’T stop the fight until there’s an injury. “I have the submission hold” doesn’t count for a stoppage.
If you have the hold and he doesn’t submit, you either don’t have the hold you think you do or you aren’t putting enough pressure to make him tap. No tap, no submission. That’s pretty elementary.
To True dbiz at the end of the day it is called a submission for a reason.
Theyre Too Busy Watching The Fights Instead Keeping The Fighters Safe.
So Efrain Esquadaro’s decision to not tap and instead have his arm injured is really to his own discretion? A fighter’s inability to make objective decisions on behalf of his own safety is one of the main reasons referee’s are in place. I know this usually applies to potential head injuries but those rules, if adopted strictly come from boxing and don’t nearly begin to cover the safety requirements for an mma fighter.
The difference is that some guys are more flexible than others. You see that problem all the time wrestling with calling of “potentially dangerous” some guys are just freakishly flexible. BJ Penn is one of those guys and are you seriously going to call a fight because it looks like it hurts? Everything hurts, the floor isn’t exactly cushiony, punches hurt, wrestling hurts, hell some days you wake up and have to wait an hour just to be able to feel the strength to move. You cannot call a fight unless injury is obvious, the fighter is out, or they tap. It’s that simple. Many fights have almost been ended by gruesome looking submissions but the fighter didn’t tap and came back and won the fight. You start calling fights for near submissions and the amount of backlash against referees would be incredible.
I’m definitely with Chris and Dbiz on this one, it’s tap, nap or snap. You think there’s complaints now about referees stopping fights early with knockouts, I wouldn’t want to be on the AC that allowed the refs to stop a fight because a fighter might get hurt by a submission.
As far as the Escudero fight, he wasn’t unconscious or otherwise disabled of making a decision for himself, therefore he weighed the pros and cons of the situation and made the decision that it was the best thing for him to not tap. Whether or not you or I agree with the conclusion he reached is one thing, but him being able to make that decision on his own is part of being a professional fighter.
I think this suspension is not only warranted but actually sort of a JOKE. I watched the fight and rewound and watched that ending a few times. Palhares was completely unsportsmanlike, and I almost think intentional in continuing his hold.
1. If you can’t feel 3 to 5 taps on your arm, you’ve got a problem. Add to that the SCREAM of pain. He totally knew he had his opponent beat and it was just a matter of time before the REF stepped in.
2. It was totally possible for Palhares to keep his hold but not continue to CRANK down on it and cause the injury. These guys KNOW how far to take it. They aren’t morons. He took it to the point of causing intense pain, got the tap, more than likely saw the ref rushing in, and THEN continued to crank down on the heel. WTF?
3. Most unprofessional MMA fight I’ve ever seen, and I watch all the televised UFC fights.
I can’t really fault the ref. That was a transition point where it looked like Drwal was going into his guard. The REF was close just not super close. And I will say, it totally appeared that the REF saw that Palhares was trying to injure him and tried to pry him off, but what can ya do? I agree, he did NOT let go when the REF first pulled on him. So not only did he feel the tap and know he was hurting him, but continued to crank, then the REF taps him, but still cranks further. I swear he must have finally felt things begin to tear his the guys leg before he finally let go.
In my mind, 90 days is a JOKE. It should be a YEAR long ban, and then a YEAR long probation. Not only that but at least 50% of his earnings from this fight should be forfeit.
I understand that a lower leg submission is risky and can backfire, but yanno what? you are taking the risk, so if it backfires, nobody’s fault but yours. There are a ton of other submissions you could try. If you are so bad that the heel hold is the only thing you can get, then you deserve to get stomped.
On the Corwin TKO, I also agree… the REF totally let that go on too long. I mean, dang, Mir was totally out. Mir totally took 6 to 8 more shots than he should have.
As for the St. Pierre/Hardy fight… the HUGE difference there was that Hardy wasn’t tapping, wasn’t screaming in pain and OBVIOUSLY was not beat. I think that’s the main difference. Drwal was tapping as fast as he could and was screaming in obvious agony and the ref was rushing in as fast as possible. At that point, I don’t EVER see a reason for Palhares to CONTINUE to crank down on the hold to the point that he causes injury. It debatable whether Drwal was injured before he tapped or injured before the ref came in, but it was clear that he was further injured by Palhares not stopping to crank down after the tap, and not stopping when the REF tried to stop it.
Again, MOST unprofessional MMA fight I’ve ever seen. Completely ridiculous.
AGREE 100% with your post!
A 90 Day suspension is a joke, where is UFC & Dana on this issue.
1 Year Plus a 1 year probation.
Lets break it down to action / reaction
Opponent Taps 1= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 2= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 3= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 4= Palhares cranks harder
Enter Ref
Opponent Taps 5 different location= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 6 different location= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 7 different location= Palhares cranks harder
Opponent Taps 8 different location= Palhares cranks harder
Ref Pulls Palhares 1 = Palhares cranks harder
Ref Pulls Palhares 2 = Palhares continues to crank, rolls body
Ref Pulls Palhares 3 = Palhares finally releases
This was clearly intentional to harm the opponent.
Palhares has a long history of holding submissions and attempting to injure opponents. He should not be in the UFC.
The more I work on this point the more I realize I don’t have one. I concede. Thanks for gettin my head straight everyone!
It’s not the ref’s job to intervene on a submission. The other fighter has to submit first. So whoever had that lame argument about how the ref isn’t protecting the fighters in submission situations… it’s up to the fighters to protect themselves and submit. They do however, need to be closer to the action when the other fighter is close to getting knocked out. I’ve seen the John Howard scenario too often and the results of that can be tragic. It’s the ref’s job to protect the fighter when they can no longer protect themselves.
Just to add to my comment, the ref looked like he did everything he could in this situation to get Palhares to let go. Palhares rolled his body as if he wanted to tear that knee. Disgusting, and he deserves to be suspended. It wasn’t the ref’s fault here though.