Other News
Rousimar Palhares stripped of Welterweight Title, suspended indefinitely by World Series of Fighting
Aug 4, 2015 - 12:30:05 PM Rousimar Palhares stripped of Welterweight Title, suspended indefinitely by World Series of Fighting

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

The World Series of Fighting has stripped Rousimar Palhares of his Welterweight Title and suspended him indefinitely due to his actions at WSOF 22 on Saturday night.

WSOF President Ray Sefo made that official on Tuesday, announcing their decision in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.

Palhares submitted Shields with a kimura in the main event of Saturday's card in Las Vegas, but that came after repeated eye gouges from Palhares that went unpunished by referee Steve Mazzagatti, and then he held onto the hold once again after Mazzagatti stepped in to stop it.

Given that it was far from his first time holding a submission in their organization, let alone elsewhere, the WSOF felt they needed to take action this time around.

"Not only did he did it once or twice," Sefo said of the eye gouging. "He did it numerous times. And he was warned by the referee on four different occasions."

Sefo also said it's entirely possible Palhares never fights for them again, and expects the Nevada Athletic Commission to hand down a harsh punishment as well.

Penick's Analysis: They never should have signed him in the first place. He did the same thing to Steve Carl and Jon Fitch that he did to Mike Pierce in the UFC to get kicked out in the first place, and they did nothing then. This time the eye gouges really managed to elevate it, so they finally reacted. I was extremely pessimistic of something being done based on their past reactions, so while this is a little bit surprising, it's the right move. He really shouldn't be given any more chances at this point.