10 Precise Moments UFC Careers Ended
4. The Heel Hook From Hell
Brazilian leg lock specialist Rousimar Palhares was once a talented fighter, but has long since eroded any goodwill built throughout his career with a long string of professional disgraces.
In 2012, he was handed a nine-month suspension for elevated testosterone levels after facing Hector Lombard in Australia. Then came his darkest hour. Returning in October 2013, Palhares fought Mike Pierce at a Fight Night event in Barueri, Brazil. He won with a heel hook in just 31 seconds, but like 'Babalu' Sobral before him, Palhares tainted his reputation by holding onto the submission long after the fight had ended.
Palhares feigned innocence, but he was gone. Having previously failed to release a hold while facing Tomasz Drwal in 2010, the welterweight was already in danger, and the UFC cut him without hesitation.
Incredibly, Palhares failed to learn from his actions. He held onto another submission for far too long while facing Jake Shields in WSOF two years later, but schadenfreude was right around the corner: fighting in Italy nine months later, the Brazilian was brutally put to sleep by Emil Weber Meek, and has gone 1-3 with an additional no contest since his last major transgression.