UFC UFN 22: Marquardt vs. Palhares 9/15/10
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Palhares apologizes for false accusations; team congratulates Marquardt on win
AUSTIN, Texas – UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares (11-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has a simple explanation for his actions in the main event of Wednesday night's UFC Fight Night 22 card.
He was wrong.
"I'm very sorry for the accusations I made," Palhares told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Nate Marquardt did not cheat in any way, and I'm very sorry to him and his team for my actions in the fight."
Palhares, a submission whiz, has made a career of catching opponents in painful leg locks. But when he tried to secure such a hold on Marquardt, the Colorado resident yanked his limb free almost immediately.
Palhares instantly claimed something was wrong and tried to alert referee Herb Dean to a potential case of greasing, but Marquardt took advantage of his foe's lapse in concentration and pounced with a series of strikes that forced the official to halt the bout just 3 minutes and 28 seconds into the first round.
Palhares' head trainer at Brazilian Top Team, MMA legend Murilo Bustamante, said even if "Toquinho" had been right about the potential greasing, he should have waited until the end of the round to address it.
"He should have never stopped," Bustamante said. "Nate won fair and square and did exactly what he should have. Rousimar knows it's imperative to protect yourself at all times, and he failed to do that."
Palhares' longtime manager, Alex Davis, said that greasing has proved an issue in previous bouts for the middleweight, and in one of the most important fights of his career, the 30-year-old just froze.
"Rousimar has had to deal with opponents greasing before," Davis said. "I truly believe it's turned into a paranoia for him. When Nate's leg slipped out so quickly, Rousimar froze. You could tell he was just thinking, 'Here we go again.'
"But I looked at Nate's legs myself. The commission checked them out, too. There was certainly no grease there. It was our error, and we owe Nate an apology, as well as Greg Jackson and the rest of his coaches and team."
Palhares was understandably disappointed by the result of the fight, and he'll unquestionably be haunted for some time by the split-second decision to look away from his opponent that ultimately led to the end of the fight.
But after dealing with his own challenges of being labeled as a "dirty fighter" following his March win over Tomasz Drwal, Palhares wants to make certain Marquardt's name is never brought up in such discussions.
"I congratulate Nate on his win," Palhares said. "I learned another lesson for my career in the fight, and I apologize to Nate, his team and the UFC for any issues I contributed to.
"Nate is not a dirty fighter, and I was wrong to accuse him of cheating in any way."
AUSTIN, Texas – UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares (11-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has a simple explanation for his actions in the main event of Wednesday night's UFC Fight Night 22 card.
He was wrong.
"I'm very sorry for the accusations I made," Palhares told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Nate Marquardt did not cheat in any way, and I'm very sorry to him and his team for my actions in the fight."
Palhares, a submission whiz, has made a career of catching opponents in painful leg locks. But when he tried to secure such a hold on Marquardt, the Colorado resident yanked his limb free almost immediately.
Palhares instantly claimed something was wrong and tried to alert referee Herb Dean to a potential case of greasing, but Marquardt took advantage of his foe's lapse in concentration and pounced with a series of strikes that forced the official to halt the bout just 3 minutes and 28 seconds into the first round.
Palhares' head trainer at Brazilian Top Team, MMA legend Murilo Bustamante, said even if "Toquinho" had been right about the potential greasing, he should have waited until the end of the round to address it.
"He should have never stopped," Bustamante said. "Nate won fair and square and did exactly what he should have. Rousimar knows it's imperative to protect yourself at all times, and he failed to do that."
Palhares' longtime manager, Alex Davis, said that greasing has proved an issue in previous bouts for the middleweight, and in one of the most important fights of his career, the 30-year-old just froze.
"Rousimar has had to deal with opponents greasing before," Davis said. "I truly believe it's turned into a paranoia for him. When Nate's leg slipped out so quickly, Rousimar froze. You could tell he was just thinking, 'Here we go again.'
"But I looked at Nate's legs myself. The commission checked them out, too. There was certainly no grease there. It was our error, and we owe Nate an apology, as well as Greg Jackson and the rest of his coaches and team."
Palhares was understandably disappointed by the result of the fight, and he'll unquestionably be haunted for some time by the split-second decision to look away from his opponent that ultimately led to the end of the fight.
But after dealing with his own challenges of being labeled as a "dirty fighter" following his March win over Tomasz Drwal, Palhares wants to make certain Marquardt's name is never brought up in such discussions.
"I congratulate Nate on his win," Palhares said. "I learned another lesson for my career in the fight, and I apologize to Nate, his team and the UFC for any issues I contributed to.
"Nate is not a dirty fighter, and I was wrong to accuse him of cheating in any way."
Palhares has a history of cranking subs long after the opponent taps and long after the ref tries to break them up. Dude's as dirty as it gets .. real shit. There's a difference in cranking the shit out of a sub while waiting for the ref to break you up but he's done it after the ref has tried to separate them more than once..
Idk marquardt is boys with gsp.lol...
Nah I'm glad nater won, dude was stupid for doin that in the middle of the fight, he was just surprised cuz he got out of that leg locc so quicc, should've waited after the round was over, just don't think nate would put himself in that position since he is gunning for that number 1 spot
Nah I'm glad nater won, dude was stupid for doin that in the middle of the fight, he was just surprised cuz he got out of that leg locc so quicc, should've waited after the round was over, just don't think nate would put himself in that position since he is gunning for that number 1 spot
Idk marquardt is boys with gsp.lol...
Nah I'm glad nater won, dude was stupid for doin that in the middle of the fight, he was just surprised cuz he got out of that leg locc so quicc, should've waited after the round was over, just don't think nate would put himself in that position since he is gunning for that number 1 spot
Nah I'm glad nater won, dude was stupid for doin that in the middle of the fight, he was just surprised cuz he got out of that leg locc so quicc, should've waited after the round was over, just don't think nate would put himself in that position since he is gunning for that number 1 spot
escudero acted like a bitch.. i'm glad he lost. dont throw your hands up & try to get the crowd on your side after a low-blow, & dont shake your head after its over like you're disagreeing with a judges decision. you tapped. dude needs to stop being a pussy & move up to welterweight if he cant make weight. he's the thiago alves of LW.
Godd game plan from Nate, Palhares is known for his nasty leg locks and why come in with dry skin when you can get extra warmed up in the back and already be sweating. You Don't see too many Leg or ankle Lock subs in MMA because the fighter can usually pull his leg out but Palhares's locks are like visces, so Nate had the perfect solution for it.
Awesome night of fights. I was impressed by Cole Millers performance. Didn't know he was gonna take it to Pearson like that. However, those jabs he took at Frankie at the end aren't getting him nowhere. The LW division is arguably the most stacked division as of now. He's got a long way to go before he finally puts his money where his mouth is. Jim Miller just keeps getting better & better. I hope to see him fight the winner of Sherk/Dunham (Go Muscle Shark). Escudero disappoints yet again. He needs to start mixing up his wrasslin' with his striking some more. As for Marquardt, I hope they don't give him the winner of Sexyama/Bisping. I want him to fight the winner of Munoz/Simpson.