UFC releases Rousimar Palhares after lengthy ankle lock win over Mike Pierce

The UFC won’t wait for word from Brazil’s MMA commission before making a decision on Rousimar Palhares.

UFC President Dana White on Thursday told ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that the welterweight has been released from the promotion and won’t fight for the company again following his submission win over Mike Pierce on Wednesday night.

“If you ever watch a UFC event, the camaraderie is amazing in this sport,” White told Schaap. “We had an incident with a guy named Paul Daley, from England, who hit somebody after the fight was over. We cut him, and he’ll never fight in the UFC ever again. And this is the second incident we’ve had with Palhares where he had the lock and he didn’t let it go. But I’m going to cut him, too. He’s done.”

At UFC Fight Night 29, which took place at Jose Correa Arena in Barueri, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Palhares (15-5 MMA, 8-4 UFC) caught Mike Pierce (17-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) by the leg right away in the first round. Pierce escaped initially, but Palhares stayed after his leg – his specialty.

And on his second try, he wrapped up an ankle lock. As Pierce started to tap, referee Keith Peterson dived in to get the Brazilian to release the hold. But even as Pierce continued tapping – eventually on Peterson’s back – Palhares appeared to hold the leg longer still.

(Watch the Palhares vs. Pierce finish.)

After the card was over, UFC officials said they were not going to award Palhares with what would have been a $50,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus based on the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) looking into whether or not Palahares was “unsportsmanlike” in his finish.

It was not the first time Palhares has been in the situation. Three years ago, the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board suspended Palhares for 90 days when it was determined he held a heel hook too long against Tomasz Drwal.

But it appears that it may be the last time he does it in the UFC. Palhares had dropped to welterweight for the first time after a two-fight skid at middleweight, and after testing positive for elevated testosterone levels in a loss to Hector Lombard this past December.

His UFC debut came at UFC 84 in May 2008, which he won “Submission of the Night” with an armbar. All told, Palhares has eight leg submissions in his career.

But now he will be going after his next one for another promotion.

More coverage of Palhares’ ankle-lock offense:

For more on UFC Fight Night 29, check out the UFC Events section of the site.