For Rousimar Palhares, the decision to hold a heel hook against Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 was a costly one.
Palhares, who scored the night’s only submission, was denied a $50,000 bonus on Wednesday for “unsportsmanlike conduct.” The Brazilian proclaimed his innocence, with his manager telling MMAFighting.com that he did not intend to hurt Pierce.
But his protests fell on deaf ears, as UFC president Dana White told ESPN.com’s Jeremy Schaap on Thursday that Palhares is now “done” in the organization:
White compared Palhares to Paul Daley, who was banned from the organization after sucker-punching Josh Koscheck at UFC 113 in May 2010. Renato “Babalu” Sobral was also fired from the promotion in August 2007 after failing to release a rear-naked choke on David Heath at UFC 74.
It was not the first time Palhares has been accused of holding a submission after a stoppage. At UFC 111 in 2010, he defeated Tomasz Drwal with the same heel hook he used on Pierce and continued cranking the submission after Drwal tapped.
In that instance, the New Jersey commission suspended Palhares for 90 days.
During a 2007 fight in Brazil, Palhares also choked opponent Helio Dipp unconscious with a rear-naked choke and then continued the grip while the referee attempted to pry him free.
This time, he secured the hold on Pierce quickly but refused to release it when Pierce began tapping. When the referee dove onto the Brazilian to break his grip, Palhares gave one last tug before releasing.
After the fight, White told MMAFighting.com that Palhares would receive extra punishment in addition to losing his $50,000 bonus. It appears that Palhares has suffered the greatest punishment of all: a permanent ban from the UFC.
He’ll join Daley and Babalu on a short list of fighters permanently barred from competing in the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion.
Jeremy Botter is Bleacher Report’s Lead UFC Writer. Follow him on Twitter @JeremyBotter.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com