(Gif via @ZProphet_MMA)
I know we’ve already touched upon this, but I’d just like to say that Rousimar Palhares is a malicious dingleberry whose recent firing was completely justified. That people are attempting to defend a man with an overt history of assholishness by pulling the “he’s just a simple-minded troglodyte who suffers temporary blackouts” card is a testament to our species’ ability to delude ourselves. These are the same people, mind you, that immediately and vehemently condemned Jon Jones for going joyriding after a few too many drinks last May. Because committing an isolated mistake while drunk makes you an unforgivable idiot, but repeatedly disregarding the most basic rule(s) of a discipline you have been training your entire life makes you misunderstood! IS THIS HOW UNICEF WORKS, YOU GUYS?!!
The damndest thing is that Palhares’ lack of empathy is soiling what would otherwise be a string of incredibly impressive submissions. Guys like Jorge Rodrigues Silva, on the other hand, seem to operate under the assumption that impressive submissions can be achieved without malicious intent behind them*. Just check out the sub he pulled off on Ken Jackson at Brasil Fight 7 last Friday. Sure, it was no “Inverted Twister Cruciplata” or “Roor-naked choke” (*dodges vaudeville hook*), but a reverse kneebar secured using only your legs? Golf clap, good sir. Golf clap.
After the jump: A full video of the fight, also courtesy of Zombie Prophet.
As you can see, once the ref intervenes and Jackson taps for the first time, Silva appears more than happy to release the hold. This is what we call humanity. We may all follow a sport in which two men (or women) attempt to take one another’s heads off for fifteen minutes at a time, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be civil about it. It’s a moral quandary that “Toquinho” will hopefully contemplate while spending the next three months trapped in the quarantined bomb shelter his local townspeople lured him into using a trail of peanuts and some silly string.
*Unfortunately for Jackson, the results are just as brutal in this case, regardless of Silva’s intent.