For Rousimar Palhares, grappling is like having fun in an amusement park

Ronda Rousey isn’t the only submission machine fighting on Aug. 1.

Leglock expert Rousimar Palhares puts his World Series of Fighting welterweight belt on the line at Saturday’s WSOF 22 in Las Vegas against fellow grappling ace Jake Shields, and confidence is the for “Toquinho” ahead of his second title defense.

“The victory is mine. There’s no ‘what if’… Everything will be alright,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com. “No doubt about it. I know the victory will be mine. He won’t be taking anything that belongs to me.”

Sidelined with a knee injury for months, which forced him to go under the knife earlier this year, Palhares is thrilled to finally get back inside the WSOF cage.

“I can’t express in words what it feels like to do what I love,” he said. “I still have much to show the world, things that I do inside the gym but haven’t done inside the cage yet. Step by step, we will get there.”

A former Strikeforce, EliteXC and Shooto champion, Shields earned a shot at the 170-pound title after scoring back-to-back first-round submissions under the WSOF banner, and the Brazilian welterweight hopes Shields’ strategy for Saturday night includes grappling exchanges.

“I really don’t know if he wants to go to the ground with me. I hope so, but we prepared for everything,” Palhares said. “When I step inside that cage, I will be ready for everything. I love to grapple, and it would be an honor for me if he chooses to grapple with me.

“His submissions were nice,” he said of Shields’ last wins. “He’s a grappler, he has a good ground game, so it’s a good fight for me. I love jiu-jitsu. If you take the fight to the ground, I’m at home. It’s almost like I’m having fun in an amusement park.”

Coming off three lightning fast wins, Palhares expects to “catch” Shields no matter where the fight goes.

“I trained everything. You have to be ready for anything that happens,” said the Team Nogueira welterweight. “I know I will catch him. I know what I’m going to do and what will work. That’s the secret. But I have to be ready to catch him standing as well, so I worked hard on my striking game. The victory will be mine, I am the champion.”

WSOF 22 takes place at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and airs live on NBCSN.

Ronda Rousey isn’t the only submission machine fighting on Aug. 1.

Leglock expert Rousimar Palhares puts his World Series of Fighting welterweight belt on the line at Saturday’s WSOF 22 in Las Vegas against fellow grappling ace Jake Shields, and confidence is the for “Toquinho” ahead of his second title defense.

“The victory is mine. There’s no ‘what if’… Everything will be alright,” Palhares told MMAFighting.com. “No doubt about it. I know the victory will be mine. He won’t be taking anything that belongs to me.”

Sidelined with a knee injury for months, which forced him to go under the knife earlier this year, Palhares is thrilled to finally get back inside the WSOF cage.

“I can’t express in words what it feels like to do what I love,” he said. “I still have much to show the world, things that I do inside the gym but haven’t done inside the cage yet. Step by step, we will get there.”

A former Strikeforce, EliteXC and Shooto champion, Shields earned a shot at the 170-pound title after scoring back-to-back first-round submissions under the WSOF banner, and the Brazilian welterweight hopes Shields’ strategy for Saturday night includes grappling exchanges.

“I really don’t know if he wants to go to the ground with me. I hope so, but we prepared for everything,” Palhares said. “When I step inside that cage, I will be ready for everything. I love to grapple, and it would be an honor for me if he chooses to grapple with me.

“His submissions were nice,” he said of Shields’ last wins. “He’s a grappler, he has a good ground game, so it’s a good fight for me. I love jiu-jitsu. If you take the fight to the ground, I’m at home. It’s almost like I’m having fun in an amusement park.”

Coming off three lightning fast wins, Palhares expects to “catch” Shields no matter where the fight goes.

“I trained everything. You have to be ready for anything that happens,” said the Team Nogueira welterweight. “I know I will catch him. I know what I’m going to do and what will work. That’s the secret. But I have to be ready to catch him standing as well, so I worked hard on my striking game. The victory will be mine, I am the champion.”

WSOF 22 takes place at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and airs live on NBCSN.