Rousimar Palhares Stripped of Title, Suspended From WSOF

World Series of Fighting has officially brought the hammer down.

On Tuesday, during an episode of The MMA Hour, WSOF President Ray Sefo announced the promotion has suspended with Rousimar Palhares, stripping his welterweight title in the process.

This news comes only a few days Palhares (18-6) defended his title against Jake Shields in their controversial main event of WSOF 22 this past Saturday.

While Palhares emerged victories with a third round submission, he was witnessed gauging the eyes of Shield on several occasions. The bout bout would culminate in Palhares slapping on a tight kimura, which he would continue to hold several seconds after Shields began tapped.

“After the fight, obviously viewing it live there was a few times Palhares stick his fingers in Jake Shields’s eyes,I didn’t want to jump the gun. So I went straight home, logged onto my computer and watched the whole fight. 100% not only did he do it once or twice but numerous times. And he was warned by the referee on multiple occasions.

“The fact remains his fingers were in Jake Shields eyes therefor it’s illegal. And the fact he held the submission way too long…We’ve made the decision to strip him of his title immediately but we are also suspending him indefinitely.”

This did not mark Palhares’s first run in with controversy as he was cut from the UFC in 2013 for holding a leglock on Mike Pierce after the fight was waved off.

Shields would end up in the hospital, siting blurred vision. Shields’ manager, Tareq Azim, also posted a picture to Instagram the following morning, revealing the damage Shield’s eyes took in the bout.