Rousimar Palhares lyckades under helgen besegra WSOF:s welterviktsmästare Steve Carl via submission, en ”heel hook” som vissa anser att Palhares höll i för länge. En som inte tycker Rousimar gjorde något fel är organisationens VD Ray Sefo, som hade följande att säga:
The submission happened right in front of Ali and I. I thought as soon as the referee told him to let go, he let go. So if you think that he held it too long, then you’re crazy.
Ali Abel-Aziz på WSOF hade även han ett och annat att säga:
I think everybody needs to leave this kid alone. He went through a lot already, and he’s a champ now. I think everybody should be congratulating him and praising him as a champ.
When you’re talking about an inside inverted heel hook, come talk to anybody in this room, any black belt in the room, you don’t have time to tap. If it’s a regular heel hook from the outside, you do have time to roll out of it. He turned it into a kneebar, and after that he went into an inverted heel hook. Many, many guys I know, including myself, I popped my MCL because you don’t have time to tap.
Palhares submissions inne i buren har tidigare fått utstå en hel del kritik, då han bland annat fick sitt kontrakt rivet av UFC efter sitt benlås på Mike Pierce.
