During the UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami prelims, fans were treated to what seemed like an inept, if hilarious, move by Brazilian middleweight Rousimar Palhares.
After kicking Dan Miller in the head and knocking him flat on his back, “Toquinho” started punching his grounded opponent repeatedly. Miller was helplessly covered up, and Herb Dean looked ready to stop the fight.
Palhares walked away—hands in the air in total elation of his latest win, and jumped on the fence.
Only there was a problem: Herb Dean never stopped the fight. He dragged Palhares down from the fence and restarted the fight again. In the confusion, Miller lands a left and nearly stops Palhares!
Unfortunately for Miller, that was the closest he got to winning the fight. It went the distance, but not before Palhares established his dominance time and again.
So what caused all this confusion? Did Palhares try to referee his own fight? Is he an idiot?
Or is Rousimar Palhares simply misunderstood?
Let’s examine a few facts and attempt to draw some conclusions.