Rousimar Palhares Calls Jake Shields A ‘Slippery, Dishonest A–Hole’

When Rousimar Palhares was stripped of his WSOF welterweight title and suspended indefinitely after it was determined he had gouged the eyes and cranked a submission after Jake Shields had tapped out in the main event of last Saturday’s (August 1, 2015) WSOF 22 from Las Vegas, the MMA world rushed to support the promotion’s decision even though many felt it was too lenient.

The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) followed suit by temporarily suspending Palhares and Shields, who punched ‘Toquinho’ after the fight had been deemed done, until a September 13 hearing to determine their formal punishments.

Given that Palhares has been suspended for holding onto submissions for too long before, he could be dealt quite the suspension that could put a serious question mark next to his fighting future. Yet like his manager Alex Davis, Palhares doesn’t agree with Shields’ insinuation or the WSOF’s decided course of action.

The talented but troubled grappling expert spoke up to MMAFighting.com with his candid opinion of his opponent today, choosing to focus on the accusation that Shields was greasing:

“Jake Shields is unbelievable. He’s a total a–hole. I couldn’t believe someone could be such an a–hole. He has no respect for me, for the sport, for anyone. He’s dishonest. He had Vaseline all over his body; he was more slippery than a okra. I couldn’t grab a hold of him for nothing.

“I wasn’t mad at him before the fight, but the things that happened during the fight made me pissed,” he said. “He’s calling me a dirty fighter, but he’s the one with Vaseline all over his body. That’s dirty. And he also threw things at me while I was talking to the media after the fight. I was upset with things he said before the fight, but I became pissed with everything that happened in the fight.

“He had so much Vaseline that I could barely stand back up after we went to the ground for the first time. I couldn’t event throw a kick or go for a takedown, I couldn’t hold him at all because he was too slippery.”

Despite pictures of Shields’ badly damaged eyes circulating online, the hulking Palhares insisted he never gouged his opponents’ eyes:

“I never gouged his eyes. I was pushing his face because he was hitting my eyes with his chin,” Palhares said. “He says his eyes were like that because I eye gouged him, but how about my kicks and punches? Is he crazy? I beat him up, tapped him, and he’s saying I did that because I eye gouged him? That’s pure crap.”

‘Toquinho’ instead shifted focus back to Shields once again, offering the view that Shields is only making excuses for a loss he just cannot avoid. At the core of the heated situation, Palhares thinks that Shields’ violation is being overlooked in favor or wrongly accusing him:

“I never gouged his eyes. I was pushing his face because he was hitting my eyes with his chin,” Palhares said. “He says his eyes were like that because I eye gouged him, but how about my kicks and punches? Is he crazy? I beat him up, tapped him, and he’s saying I did that because I eye gouged him? That’s pure crap.”

As for the rematch that Shields requested, Palhares said that Shields already know s the outcomes of that potential match-up. Upset at the latest in a long line of dangerous incidents, Palhares denied any wrongdoing (as he’s done many times before) to call Shields the dishonest one:

“He knows I’ll catch him any time I want,” said the Brazilian. “I saw he wants a rematch… If he had told me right after the fight that he wanted a rematch, I would do it right away. However, I will only agree to fight him after they check his body for Vaseline before the fight. He’s dishonest.”

But that’s a fight that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, as Palhares is no longer the champion and will be on the sidelines for an undetermined amount of time. Palhares certainly isn’t happy with the punishment that he deems too stiff, but he knows that he can only do what Sefo, the WSOF, and ultimately the NAC decide to hand to him:

“It’s not fair, I’m upset, but Ray Sefo is my boss,” Palhares said of losing the WSOF belt. “How am I going to disagree with him? I have to obey. I don’t agree, but I have to obey. I work for him. If he tells me to fight today, I will. If he tells me to fight in six months, I will. Whatever he says, I’ll do. I will fight anyone he says. I’m upset, but he’s the boss.”

“It’s up to them. They will make the decision and I have to obey. There’s nothing I can do.”