Palheres apologizes for false accusation
UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares (11-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has a simple explanation for his actions in the main event…
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.”