UFC
WSOF Champ Rousimar Palhares to challenger Jake Shields: "I get it – you want to make yourself the hero who submits the bad guy"
May 20, 2015 - 1:00:23 PM WSOF Champ Rousimar Palhares to challenger Jake Shields: "I get it – you want to make yourself the hero who submits the bad guy"

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

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

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"Hey Jake? How are you? My manager, Alex Davis told me about and translated what you said to MMAjunkie about me, how I am a monster, how you are going to hurt me and so forth. I don't know how you come to think in this way about me considering we have never even actually met. But I get it – you want to make yourself the hero who submits the bad guy! No hard feelings. You need to justify yourself, and you should certainly talk it up now, because after the fight, I guess there won't be much that you will want to talk about!

And listen, if I do end up hurting you, it won't be because I hate you. It's just because this is MMA, and people don't tap – like you probably won't – until they are hurt! So guess what? I'll give you a rematch in Metamoris if they will have us, and you can try again to defend my ankle and leg locks.

Different [than] you, I have nothing bad to say about you. I will come into this fight, as I come into all of them, with respect for my opponent and wanting to win as fast and as definitively as I can. I look forward to seeing you Jake, and shaking your hand – or rather your foot!"

-WSOF Champ Rousimar Palhares responds to comments from Jake Shields in an open letter passed on by MMAJunkie.com.

Penick's Analysis: Palhares is one of the most oblivious fighters in the sport. Shields needn't have met Palhares to form his opinion, because it's based on Palhares' actions in the cage. Sure, people are quick to judgment for any number of reasons, but doing so based off the actions of the person being judged isn't unjust. Palhares' continued lack of remorse, or even recognition of why people have gotten on his case about holding submissions, leaves him open to that judgment. His response is fine, but Shields will be entering that fight to beat him regardless.