8 UFC Careers That Ended In The Worst Way Possible
6. Rousimar Palhares Makes A Habit Of Holding Onto Submissions
Rousimar Palhares is one of the most confounding talents in MMA history, proving to be impressive and terrifying in equal measure.
Unlike other submission specialists, Palhares' offence is made all the more unsettling by his penchant for failing to release his submission holds when his opponent taps. Now, this would be bad enough if the Brazilian favoured chokeholds, but given that the ligament tearing heel hook is Palhares' weapon of choice his failure to comply with the instructions of the referee is even more dangerous.
So when Palhares fought Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 and immediately started attacking his opponent's legs, secured a heel hook and immediately began cranking, forcing Pierce to tap while clearly in excruciating pain, one would have hoped that the Brazilian would have realised the fight was over and ceased his offence.
But no. Palhares continued to hold on to the submission until the referee had to physically get him off his opponent, prompting Dana White to announce after the fight that Palhares was "done" with the UFC.
Being cut from the world's largest MMA organisation didn't help Palhares learn his lesson however, as he once again held a submission way too long in a fight with Jake Shields in the WSOF.