Rousimar Palhares

Early life and education

Palhares grew up in abject poverty in the Brazilian countryside. He recalls working in the fields to help support his family as young as age seven and said that there were times where there was not enough food for everyone. He eventually had to leave his shanty and move underneath a local bridge in a tent city slum. Palhares began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 15, before moving to Rio de Janeiro to compete professionally.

He claimed the Fury Fighting Championship Middleweight Championship in December 2007 after defeating Flavio Mura, Pan-Am Jiu-Jitsu champion Fabio Negao, and Chute Boxe's Daniel Acacio in a tournament.

Palhares earned his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under former UFC Middleweight Champion Murilo Bustamante and Bebeo Duarte. Experts in martial arts touted Palhares as one of the most naturally gifted grapplers today.

Having spent his entire early career competing in Brazil, Palhares' first bout outside his home country was in the United States at UFC 84. He is considered to be one of the best in the world at leg locks, such as the heel hook and kneebar. Palhares took 2nd place in the under 88 kg 2011 ADCC, finishing his first three opponents quickly with leg locks, before losing to established World Champion Andre Galvao in the final, by points.

Middleweight

Palhares fought against former PRIDE Middleweight & Welterweight Champion Dan Henderson at UFC 88. Henderson defeated Palhares by unanimous decision handing Palhares his first loss in the UFC.

Palhares quickly rebounded from the loss to defeat veteran Jeremy Horn at UFC 93 by unanimous decision. Palhares was expected to face Italian Alessio Sakara on December 5, 2009 at The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, but due to an injury while training, Sakara had to withdraw. On December 12, 2009 at UFC 107 Palhares fought against Lucio Linhares and defeated Linhares by heel hook.

At UFC 111, Palhares defeated Tomasz Drwal by heel hook 45 seconds into the first round. He was, however, subsequently suspended for 90 days for continuing to crank the submission even after Drwal had tapped and referee Kevin Mulhall stepped in to stop the fight.

Palhares was expected to face Nate Marquardt on August 28, 2010 at UFC 118, however the bout was moved to September 15, 2010 to headline UFC Fight Night 22 after Alan Belcher was forced to pull out of his bout with Demian Maia with an eye injury. Marquardt defeated Palhares via first round TKO. During the fight, Palhares claimed that Marquardt had greased his leg after failing to secure a leg lock on the ground. Marquardt attacked, catching Palhares off guard as he was complaining to the referee and won the fight through a ground-and-pound stoppage. Palhares would later apologize for his actions during the fight after it was determined by officials that Marquardt's leg was not greased.

Palhares was expected to face Alexandre Ferreira on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. However, on January 18, Ferreira was dismissed from Chute Boxe, his home training camp, for a "lack of commitment." Less than an hour later, it was reported that the fight had been cancelled due to Ferreira losing family and friends in the Brazilian floods, resulting in him being in "no condition to train or fight." David Branch replaced Ferriera. Palhares defeated Branch via second round submission (kneebar).

Palhares/Ferreira was expected to take place on August 27, 2011 at UFC 134. However, Ferreira was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Dan Miller. Palhares would defeat Miller by unanimous decision, although there was some controversy when Palhares dropped Miller in the first round and after a few follow up punches, incorrectly thought the fight was over.

Palhares next faced Mike Massenzio on January 14, 2012 at UFC 142 He defeated Massenzio by heel hook in the first round, earning him his second Submission of the Night bonus.

Palhares then faced Alan Belcher on May 5, 2012 at UFC on Fox 3. After getting the fight to the ground, Palhares was almost caught on a twister attempt by Belcher. Palhares was able to escape and proceeded to attempt various types of leglocks, which were all defended by Belcher. After some action, Palhares ended on his back, eventually succumbing to Belcher's ground and pound at 4:18 of the first round.

Palhares was expected to replace an injured Luiz Cane against Yushin Okami on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150. However Palhares himself was injured and forced out of the bout.

Palhares faced Hector Lombard on December 15, 2012 at UFC on FX 6 where he lost via KO at 3:38 of Round 1. Following his loss to Lombard, the UFC announced that Palhares tested positive for elevated testosterone levels in his post-fight drug test and, subsequently, has been suspended for nine-months retroactive to December 14.

Drop to Welterweight and release from the UFC

Following his loss to Lombard, Palhares stated that he would be moving down one weight class to the welterweight division. He made his debut in the new division against Mike Pierce on October 9, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 29. He won the fight via heel hook submission just 31 seconds into the first round. This was the only successful submission throughout the event. However, Palhares was denied a Submission of the Night bonus because he continued cranking the heel hook after the referee stepped in, an act UFC deemed "unsportsmanlike conduct." It was also noted that Pierce tapped a total of eight times to no response from Palhares. The next day, while conducting an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap, UFC president Dana White announced that the UFC was releasing Palhares effective immediately due to not letting go of the submission. Hours later, UFC and Zuffa released a statement saying that Palhares was already in trouble for his failure to release his heel hook on Drwal in 2010 and his drug suspension in 2012, and his actions the night before were the last straw.

World Series of Fighting

In November 2013, Palhares signed a contract with World Series of Fighting, but was already on thin ice as WSOF president Ray Sefo had given Palhares a very stern warning about in-cage conduct.

Palhares made his WSOF debut at WSOF 9 against the reigning Welterweight Champion Steve Carl. He won via inverted heel hook submission in the first round to win the WSOF Welterweight Championship.

In July, he was scheduled to fight Jon Fitch at WSOF 11. However, on April 30, 2014, the match was canceled. The fight with Jon Fitch was rescheduled for WSOF 16 on December 13, 2014. Palhares successfully defended his title, winning by kneebar only 90 seconds into first round. Again the length of the submission hold came into question.

Palhares faced Jake Shields on August 1, 2015 at WSOF 22. Shields did well against Palhares for the majority of the fight, but the tables began to turn in the 2nd round with a takedown by Palhares and the subsequent damage Palhares did on the ground. In the 3rd round, Palhares submitted Shields, but faced penalty from the NSAC soon after for once again holding on to a submission after being prompted to let it go by the referee. Palhares came to the press one day after the incident and claimed innocence.

Following the incident, Palhares was stripped of his welterweight title and suspended indefinitely, with WSOF vice-president Ali Abdel-Aziz saying that Palhares "has mental problems and shouldn’t be allowed to fight until he fixes them."

Championships and accomplishments