World Series of Fighting CEO president Ray Sefo appeared on The MMA Hour podcast this morning to announce Rousimar Palhares has been stripped of the WSOF welterweight belt and has been suspended indefinitely. The suspension came after Palhares’s controversial title defense against Jake Shields this past Saturday at WSOF 22 in Las Vegas. During the second round of the fight, Palhares continually gouged Shields in the eyes while trapped in Shields’s full mount. After the fight, Shields went to the hospital after he was unable to see clearly out of either eyes due to the eye gouges. In the third round, Palhares caught Shields in a kimura lock and held on to it for over a second after Shields tapped.
Palhares has a history of holding onto his submissions long after his opponents submitted. He was fired from the UFC after his October 2013 fight against Mike Pierce, when he held onto a heel hook for 1.5 seconds after Pierce submitted. e was also suspended for 3 months after UFC 111 in March 2010 after holding onto a heel hook for over a second after Tomaz Drwal tapped out. After a knockout loss to Hector Lombard in December 2012, Palhares was suspended for 9 months after testing positive for elevated testosterone levels.
Jake Shields appeared on the MMA Submission Radio Show to discuss his controversial loss to Palhares.
