Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares and the 50/50

[Scott Yockel]

A couple things: in Palhares last fight before Nate, his opponent was wildly tapping and SCREAMING in pain and the ref was there trying to get separation and Palhares DIDN'T let go. That's blatant disrespect for the official and your opponent. His explanations don't ring true. I agree that you hold until you get the tap or the official pats you or pulls you off, but if you're REALLY high level, you know when you have something, and you SHOULD be able to maintain a level of control WITHOUT breaking a limb. I have no respect for guys like Palhares. From what I saw last night, he got schooled. Much respect to Nate for sniffing it out well.

Well put John. I agree completely. I would also add if Palhares leg knotted his legs to the insdie like a sambo guy would, he would have finished Nate with the heel hook. But since I'm a Nate fan i'm glad he didn't!

[Matt "Gumby" Glach]

Talks like these always remind me of the classic royce vs gerard when gerard illegally bit royce's ear and played it off like it was nothing so royce held his RNC way after the tap as an exclamation point.

[Nate Hollyfield]

Talks like these always remind me of the classic royce vs gerard when gerard illegally bit royce's ear and played it off like it was nothing so royce held his RNC way after the tap as an exclamation point.

hell yeah, that was awesome

[Jason Eisner]

A couple things: in Palhares last fight before Nate, his opponent was wildly tapping and SCREAMING in pain and the ref was there trying to get separation and Palhares DIDN'T let go. That's blatant disrespect for the official and your opponent. His explanations don't ring true. I agree that you hold until you get the tap or the official pats you or pulls you off, but if you're REALLY high level, you know when you have something, and you SHOULD be able to maintain a level of control WITHOUT breaking a limb. I have no respect for guys like Palhares. From what I saw last night, he got schooled. Much respect to Nate for sniffing it out well.

I understand your point John and totally agree that purposefully breaking someones limbs in an MMA fight is not an honorable move. An MMA fight is not a street fight and it's not like your life is at stake. I only posted so we can all study his techniques, especially since Rousimar uses leg locks effectively at the highest levels of MMA.

That being said a part of me also thinks that when an MMA fighter enters the cage, they are doing so understanding that something bad could happen. Just my opinion, but if one is afraid of getting their limbs busted, they might want to find a different occupation.

[Jason Mallory]

Well put John. I agree completely. I would also add if Palhares leg knotted his legs to the insdie like a sambo guy would, he would have finished Nate with the heel hook. But since I'm a Nate fan i'm glad he didn't!

There is a nasty heel hook in Sambo going the way Palhares did too. In a fight anything can happen and you are taking the risk of injury. If you don't want to get hurt you should play ping pong. At the same time, to hold a choke/lock after the tap or ref steps in is poor sportmanship. MMA is still a sport, not a street fight.

Thanks for the post Jason. Again, great transition to leg control in the video.

[Jason Eisner]

Here is the link for the fight most of us are referring to...Palhares vs Drwal.

http://squabbles.com/2010/03/rousima...l-fight-video/

[John Roderick]

Good point Jason. I'm with you on accepting responsibility for oneself and what could happen. However, that is based on a trust that your opponent is a good sportsman and will obey the official and observe the rules of engagement (releasing when a verbal or physical tap takes place-heeding the officials verbal and physical commands). In the case of Drwal-that didn't happen. Hey, I get dinged up all the time. One of my students wanted to roll gi last night (don't laugh!) and tried a collar choke on me by tackling me and basically puncing me in the throat, then putting 200 lbs on my Adam's apple. After I bent both his arms the wrong way, he got the point (I'm exaggerating a little and it wasn't malicious, he understood and we're cool, he's a good kid).
By the way, I hadn't realized how much easier everything is in a gi as I haven't worn one in eons. No wonder the "other guys" like em-you can grab so much easier! LOL!!