Palhares could be stripped of WSOF belt for his actions at “WSOF 22”

There is no doubt that Rousimar Palhares is one of the most talented and powerful grapplers in World Series of Fighting. As the saying goes, though, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Palhares has shown a lack of discipline in the past when it comes to letting go of submission holds on time and he may have done it again last night at “WSOF 22”.

Palhares successfully defended his welterweight belt when he trapped Shields in a kimura and forced him to submit. Shields tapped out, but Palhares torqued harder until the referee got there. The referee stepped in and had to peel Palhares away from the hold which upset Shields a great amount.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship cut him for repeatedly failing to let go of submission holds on time and World Series of Fighting gave him a second opportunity. WSOF Vice President Ali Abdel-Aziz mentioned he was one of the few people that stood up for Palhares when it came to signing him, and he is not happy that the decision may have backfired.

“You have to understand, I’m the guy who f*****g stood up for him,” Abdel-Aziz told MMA Fighting. “I don’t know if you remember or not, but I’m the guy who said, ‘you know what, I’m going to sign him.’ If I go back on tape and watch that f*****g fight tomorrow, and if I see Palhares held too long, and did the eye poking a couple times, he might be stripped of the title. And Jake Shields would fight the winner between (Yushin) Okami and (Jon) Fitch for the title, and I would suspend [Palhares].”

Do you think Palhares should be stripped of the belt, or did he not hold on to the hold for too long? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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