On October 9th, Rousimar Palhares made a triumphant Welterweight debut against Mike Pierce at UFC Fight Night 29 in Barueri. Palhares heel-hooked Pierce in 30 seconds, but the controversy surrounding this win was his refusal to let go of the submission nearly 2 full seconds after Pierce had tapped out. He was suspended for the exact same offense in 2010, and his second offense resulted in an outright release from the UFC. Over a month later, World Series of Fighting has stepped up to the plate to sign the Brazilian: (via MMA Fighting)
The promotion has signed former UFC welterweight Rousimar Palhares, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. No word just yet when the Brazilian will debut for WSOF and against who.
This signing would complete WSOF's change of heart. Company president Ray Sefo initially stated in October that they weren't going to be signing him "anytime soon". Sefo would later say that Palhares could be "a valuable part of their organization" when interviewed earlier this month. As we near the end of November it looks like Palhares will be joining a roster that includes fellow former UFC fighters Jon Fitch and Josh Burkman in a division currently championed by ex-Bellator welterweight Steve Carl.
Fitch has gone on record as saying he won't accept a fight with Palhares, so it'll be interesting to see if WSOF honors that and matches Palhares up with others in the division.
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