Rousimar Christian Palhares (;, born February 20, 1980) is a Brazilian
mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...
. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
,
World Series of Fighting
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
for "little tree stump", comes from his short, stocky, heavily muscled build and the low success rate his opponents have had in grappling him down to the canvas. Palhares is primarily known for his powerful ground game. Of his 16 submission victories 12 have come from leg locks. He is also known for his refusal to release submission holds when either the opposing fighter has signaled submission or the referee has called a stop to the bout, causing him to be fired by the
UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
Palhares grew up in abject poverty in the Brazilian countryside. He recalls working in the fields to help support his family as young as age seven and said that there were times where there was not enough food for everyone. He eventually had to leave his shanty and move underneath a local bridge in a tent city slum. Palhares began training in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
at the age of 15, before moving to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
to compete professionally.
He claimed the Fury Fighting Championship Middleweight Championship in December 2007 after defeating Flavio Mura, Pan-Am Jiu-Jitsu champion Fabio Negao, and Chute Boxe's
Daniel Acacio
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...
in a tournament.
Palhares earned his
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...
Murilo Bustamante
Murilo Bustamante (; born 30 July 1966, in Rio de Janeiro) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Middleweight Champion. He is one of the founders of the ''Brazilian Top Team'' and is the current leader. In addition to compe ...
and Bebeo Duarte. Experts in
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
touted Palhares as one of the most naturally gifted grapplers today.
Having spent his entire early career competing in Brazil, Palhares's first bout outside his home country was in the United States at
UFC 84
''UFC 84: Ill Will'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on May 24, 2008, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Background
The card featured the return of Sean Sherk, who was suspended and ...
. He is considered to be one of the best in the world at leg locks, such as the
heel hook Heel hook may refer to:
* Heel hook, in grappling
* A climbing technique
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, colspan=8 style="text-align:center;" , 7 Matches, 3 Wins (3 Submissions), 4 Losses, 1 Draw
, -
! Result
! Rec.
! Opponent
! Method
! text-center, Event
! Division
! Date
! Location
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, Loss, , 4–4–1, ,
Gordon Ryan
Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st degree black belt, considered to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his accomplishments and dominance.
Ryan is a Five–time ADCC ...
, , Referee Decision , , World Jiu-Jitsu Festival, , Superfight, , October 6, 2019, ,
Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Garry Tonon
Garry Lee Tonon (born September 12, 1991) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and has won titles at ADCC submission wrestling championship, IBJJF ...
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
, -
, Loss, , 4–2 , ,
André Galvão
André Luiz Leite Galvão (; born September 29, 1982) is a Brazilian grappler and professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fernando "Tererê" Augusto as well as a Judo black belt, ...
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
Tarsis Humphreys
Tarsis Carvalho Humphreys (born November 4, 1983) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. He became a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Fabio Gurgel, the co-founder of the Alliance Jiu Jitsu Team.
Humphreys ...
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
See also
*
List of current mixed martial arts champions
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a form of competitive combat sport, akin to boxing, muay thai, or kick boxing. MMA titles, or championship belts, are given to those fighters deemed by a promotional organization to have met a certain standard of athlet ...
*
List of male mixed martial artists
This is a list of notable professional male mixed martial arts fighters in alphabetical order.
__NOTOC__
A
* Shamil Abdurakhimov - ( M-1, UFC)
* Daichi Abe - (UFC, Pancrase)
* Hiroyuki Abe - (Shooto, KOTC, Cage Rage, DEEP, Pride)
* Papy Ab ...