Palhares apologizes for false accusations; team congratulates Marquardt on win

Looks like the conspiracies are over before they really got started

UFC middleweight contender Rousimar Palhares (11-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has a simple explanation for his actions in the main event of Wednesday night's UFC Fight Night 22 card.

He was wrong.

"I'm very sorry for the accusations I made,Nate Marquardt did not cheat in any way, and I'm very sorry to him and his team for my actions in the fight."

Palhares, a submission whiz, has made a career of catching opponents in painful leg locks. But when he tried to secure such a hold on Marquardt, the Colorado resident yanked his limb free almost immediately.

Palhares instantly claimed something was wrong and tried to alert referee Herb Dean to a potential case of greasing, but Marquardt took advantage of his foe's lapse in concentration and pounced with a series of strikes that forced the official to halt the bout just 3 minutes and 28 seconds into the first round.

Palhares' head trainer at Brazilian Top Team, MMA legend Murilo Bustamante, said even if "Toquinho" had been right about the potential greasing, he should have waited until the end of the round to address it.

"He should have never stopped," Bustamante said. "Nate won fair and square and did exactly what he should have. Rousimar knows it's imperative to protect yourself at all times, and he failed to do that."

Palhares' longtime manager, Alex Davis, said that greasing has proved an issue in previous bouts for the middleweight, and in one of the most important fights of his career, the 30-year-old just froze.

"Rousimar has had to deal with opponents greasing before," Davis said. "I truly believe it's turned into a paranoia for him. When Nate's leg slipped out so quickly, Rousimar froze. You could tell he was just thinking, 'Here we go again.'

"But I looked at Nate's legs myself. The commission checked them out, too. There was certainly no grease there. It was our error, and we owe Nate an apology, as well as Greg Jackson and the rest of his coaches and team."

Palhares was understandably disappointed by the result of the fight, and he'll unquestionably be haunted for some time by the split-second decision to look away from his opponent that ultimately led to the end of the fight.

But after dealing with his own challenges of being labeled as a "dirty fighter" following his March win over Tomasz Drwal, Palhares wants to make certain Marquardt's name is never brought up in such discussions.

"I congratulate Nate on his win," Palhares said. "I learned another lesson for my career in the fight, and I apologize to Nate, his team and the UFC for any issues I contributed to.

"Nate is not a dirty fighter, and I was wrong to accuse him of cheating in any way."

I don't buy the apology. Someone's had a word in his ear. You don't change course just like that.

He stopped fighting completely. He turned to complain as soon as the slippery leg was pulled away and then didn't continue. He was never even out when Nate the Grease was punching him, he just didn't fight back. He got up straight away after the stoppage, wasn't even a little bit dazed.

That fight proved nothing either way, other than Palhares can easily outgrapple Nate. Nate's hilarious comments of "i showed blah blah blah tonight" made him look like a complete tit. They need to rematch and I can only guess that Dana/Joe Silva promised Palhares a rematch in return for withdrawing his complaints.

Oh and the "building up a good sweat" line was nonsense as well, if fighters are too sweaty before they enter the cage they are meant to be wiped down. Someone didn't do their job properly. Replays of Herb Dean's "inspection" showed him checking Nate's shins, it was the ankles he need to be checking.

To make it a hat-trick of retard comments from Nate he followed up with "i don't cheat". this from a man who failed a drug test a few years back and was banned.

I didn't for a second think you would mate

It's far too cosy.

From now on, all fighters from Greg Jackson's Grease Factory should be wiped down with sandpaper before each fight.

I'm watching it again now and have rewound it tons of times and I'm claiming he just didn't have it in as deep as you recon.
Absolutely no foul,no evidence of a foul and even Palhares and his team have appologised for the accusation now
(I think your going to have to get yourself an AKA,because this latest UFC conspiracy theory is making you sound like a member of those team taker over clowns )


Nate has his shin pressed against Palhares backside,which he use's to rotate his body from his back to his stomach and push out and escape,all in one motion.

Also as Palhares falls back with his foot under his pit,by the time he actually lands his back on the canvas,in his momentum,he loses most of the foot and only Nates toes are actually under his armpit,so palhares couldn't keep hold of it,as I said Nate just twists and pushes off with his other leg and pops right out.

Palhares just never had a good enough grip on his foot (it wasn't firmly under his pit)for when he was actually in position to arch backwards and torque,infact nate was out before Palhares even had chance to arch backwards because all Palhares had at that time were his toes.


You might not want to believe this,but I think you should go watch it again with an open mind

In slow Mo,if you can and I think you might see it abit differantly


(who am I trying to kid,of coarse you won't )

Nates post fight comments

For UFC middleweight contender Nate Marquardt (30-9-2 MMA, 9-3 UFC), things didn't work out quite as he had hoped.

Sure, a first-round victory in his UFC Fight Night 22 main event bout with Rousimar Palhares was nice, but as he sat in front of the media at the evening's post-event press conference, Marquardt was forced to explain why his opponent had accused him of cheating.

"It's kind of disappointing to have to try and defend yourself over something like that," Marquardt said. "I'm not a dirty fighter, and I don't cheat. I don't grease."

Marquardt and Palhares engaged in a slow-paced, tactical affair until the Brazilian leglock specialist finally got the opening he was looking for on the floor. But just as soon as he latched on an earnest submission attempt, Marquardt pulled his leg free to safety.

Palhares then looked to referee Herb Dean to complain, and Marquardt seized the opportunity to unleash a barrage of punches that ultimately ended the fight.

"I didn't really know what he was doing, but I saw his hand was kind of pointing toward the ref or something," Marquardt explained to MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com). "He took his eyes off me. Once he took his eyes off me, that's when I jumped in.

"I guess I was surprised, but at the same time, I was watching him the whole time for an opening. That was it."

But after Dean waved off the fight, Palhares immediately leapt to his feet and continued the protest. As the cameras went dark and commercials rolled on the Spike TV broadcast, Marquardt found himself the object of some serious scrutiny.

"After the fight, [Palhares] was complaining," Marquardt said. "He thought I had something slippery on my legs. The referee, Herb Dean, wiped my legs with a paper towel. He said he was going to wait for the sweat to dry, and then if there was grease left over, it would leave a mark. There was nothing left over.

"Also, the commissioner came over and with his bare hand checked my legs and said that I was good to go."

Marquardt said he was well-aware of his opponent's preferred attack and ensured that his legs were indeed wet heading into the fight – but "The Great" said his own sweat was the only substance protecting his appendage.

"Basically, I believe what happened was I had a good sweat going before the fight," Marquardt said. "He felt as I turned out of the ankle lock that it slipped a little bit, and he felt that I had greased or something, so I'm sure he was a little upset.

"I was very excited for the win, but that kind of took a little bit of it out of it for me."

Nevertheless, the win was important for Marquardt. The former King of Pancrase was knocked down a few pegs by his February loss to Chael Sonnen. In that performance, Marquardt admitted he failed to stick to the prescribed gameplan. But following his win over Palhares, Marquardt said he followed precise orders – even as the boos began to rain down in the cautiously played opening stanza.

"It started off slow, which I knew it would because I knew as soon as I committed forward, he was going to drop under," Marquardt said. "You could see that I wasn't even committing forward and he was still trying to drop under and get a takedown. I was just working on the timing, and really, I was getting close to having his timing down. Once the fight slowed down, I feel like I could have got a knockout standing.

"It was easy for me (to stick to the gameplan) because I felt like going in I knew it was going to be a slow-starting fight. The fans are going to learn to appreciate that I can finish the fight at any time. Those slow moments, they should be on the edge of their seat waiting for the knockout."

With the win, Marquardt improves to 4-1 in his past five outings. Despite the setback to Sonnen, Marquardt believes another fight against the right opponent could catapult him to his ultimate goal – a shot at the UFC's 185-pound title.

"Really, I would like to turn around in probably the next three or four months if possible," Marquardt said. "I think the most important thing is that it's the right opponent. I don't want to just fight anybody. I want to fight one of the top guys and solidify myself as a contender.

"I feel like I'm still at the top of the division, and I proved it tonight. I want to earn the title shot, and I think that one fight with a top contender and I should be there.

"I want the title; I want the belt."

payneNglory1 wrote:


I'm watching it again now and have rewound it tons of times and I'm claiming he just didn't have it in as deep as you recon.
Absolutely no foul,no evidence of a foul and even Palhares and his team have appologised for the accusation now
(I think your going to have to get yourself an AKA,because this latest UFC conspiracy theory is making you sound like a member of those team taker over clowns )


Nate has his shin pressed against Palhares backside,which he use's to rotate his body from his back to his stomach and push out and escape,all in one motion.

Also as Palhares falls back with his foot under his pit,by the time he actually lands his back on the canvas,in his momentum,he loses most of the foot and only Nates toes are actually under his armpit,so palhares couldn't keep hold of it,as I said Nate just twists and pushes off with his other leg and pops right out.

Palhares just never had a good enough grip on his foot (it wasn't firmly under his pit)for when he was actually in position to arch backwards and torque,infact nate was out before Palhares even had chance to arch backwards because all Palhares had at that time were his toes.


You might not want to believe this,but I think you should go watch it again with an open mind

In slow Mo,if you can and I think you might see it abit differantly


(who am I trying to kid,of coarse you won't )

I've watched it a dozen times, Palhares had the foot locked up. Both when he grabbed it, and when he landed. Grease. Simple as.

payneNglory1 wrote:.

"It's kind of disappointing to have to try and defend yourself over something like that," Marquardt said. "I'm not a dirty fighter, and I don't cheat. I don't grease."

"Also, the commissioner came over and with his bare hand checked my legs and said that I was good to go."

"Basically, I believe what happened was I had a good sweat going before the fight,"

I feel like I could have got a knockout standing.

"It was easy for me (to stick to the gameplan) because I felt like going in I knew it was going to be a slow-starting fight. The fans are going to learn to appreciate that I can finish the fight at any time. Those slow moments, they should be on the edge of their seat waiting for the knockout."

I proved it tonight. I want to earn the title shot, and I think that one fight with a top contender and I should be there.

"I want the title; I want the belt."

What a complete cock. In response to the bits I've highlighted:

He failed a drugs test. He is a cheat.

The commission should have been checking your ankles and feet, not your legs.

If that is true, it should have been wiped down before he got in the cage.

He knocks out Maia and now he thinks he's Mike Tyson. Never in a million years was he going to knock Palhares out.

The fans should appreciate?? What a dickhead.

He proved nothing other than he's a cheat who hits people when they're not looking and still can't knock them out.

Nate Marquadt will NEVER be UFC Champion. Silva, Sonnen, Belfort - all better than him. Palhares will get another fight with him. I'd back Maia to beat him in a rematch. And if Shields fancies a run at MW, he'd beat him too.

yeah i responded in the other thread because i didnt notice this one, he had an extensive warm up with the sweats on his legs...and probably trainers and no socks before....which i dont know if its technically illegal....but its certainly cheap.

Paul Harris was not even hurt by Nate's punches...he fought a foolish fight after Nate got out of the hold, first failing to defend himself, then turtling up.

Alright then,thats your opinion,and I know by now,no amount of evidence or admition from the fighter himself or his team,that he was wrong,provided will ever change that.

But one thing you forgot to add

you forgot to sign out with,and Fuck your Life

The "evidence" as you like to call it, shows an un-naturally easy sliding of Nate's foot from a locked in leglock.

His "admission" was clearly prompted by something or someone else. If there was even a doubt in his mind he would have continued fighting. If and When Dana announces the re-match, we'll know what happened.

manschesthair_utd wrote:yeah i responded in the other thread because i didnt notice this one, he had an extensive warm up with the sweats on his legs...and probably trainers and no socks before....which i dont know if its technically illegal....but its certainly cheap.

Paul Harris was not even hurt by Nate's punches...he fought a foolish fight after Nate got out of the hold, first failing to defend himself, then turtling up.

IF it was just as simple as warming up in sweats, every fighter would do it and nobody would get caught in leglocks.

apparently the "test" that they did on his legs was to wipe it with a napkin

which would show up residue from any grease on his leg.

but this only includes LITERALLY GREASE. not such things as water based lubricants (ala sexyama), or if he did the mineral bath technique for greasing.

Exactly. Nate the Greaser could have been coated head to toe in KY Jelly after one of Greg Jacksons special turtle sex parties(Chelski, control yourself!) and the napkin test wouldn't have proven a thing. Complete horseshit.

Credit to Nate though, it must be hard to prepare for a fight with him. He's so versatile. You never know if he's going to be on steroids, or greasing, or using low blows or perhaps even strikes to the back of the head. And of course, this isn't the first time he's hit someone with a cheap shot. Anyone seen his fight with Almeida?? Taps to a Guillotine, Almeida lets him go, Nate punches him in the face. Disgusting cheat.

"Credit to Nate though, it must be hard to prepare for a fight with him. He's so versatile."

haha Anfield you got me then!
actually this sounds ridiculous but apparently he punches people hard in the fist when they try to touch gloves
weird.

anyway you forgot illegal spiking on the head.

I forgot that one. He's a dirty fighter, and a blatant cheat. Pure and simple. His arrogance after the fight was comical. He has NOTHING to be arrogant about.

If there was any lubricant of any kind,it would of been detected,simple.

Nate got checked pre-fight and there was no problems,then he got checked out near enough instantly after,well as soon as nate went over to hug palhares and palhares pointed again,is when Herb checked.It was checked by not only Herb Dean but the commision also and still they found absolutely nothing,not even a slight trace of anything,no grease,KY or any lubricant of any kind.If there was anything,one of them would of seen,felt or even smelt something after checking.

None of them could find anything simply because there was nothing there to detect,he simply got out of a sub attempt because palhares didn't have a firm hold of his foot and Nate did a smart move of rotating and pushing out of it and then he jumped on his oppertunity to finish the fight due to palhares's stupidity of not defending himself at all times and waiting for the apropriate time to bring his concerns to the refs attention.

No foul,just wild unfounded accusations.

but according to Nate himself, the "check" was just wiping it with a paper napkin...so how would it show up any kind of lubricant?

i'm not taking sides, only on the side of the truth!!!

Firstly, they checked his legs, not his feet and ankles. Secondly they did a napkin test for grease, not moisture. How is it that you have a hard time understanding that?

And you don't have the first clue what you're talking about in terms of the leglock. You can watch all the MMA you want, you still won't know what a proper leglock is. Nate slid his leg foot free BEFORE he pushed off and rolled, not during, before. Palhares had it locked in and Nate slid his foot free. Either he can dislocate his ankle, or he had some help. Palhares had the foot wrapped up perfectly and had it not been for the grease on Nate he would have made him tap.

Another thing regarding Nate's "sweat" claims. He would have taken off his sweatsuit a minimum of 20 minutes before the incident. There's no way sweat would still have been on his ankles like that, not enough for him to pull the bar of soap routine.

you're the only one that is failing to understand,or even willing too.

He's been cleared by the ref and the commision because they found sweet FA,you haven't a clue to what degree they all checked him,as the programming was on a break at the time,so it's just your speculation that they didn't check his ankles or anywhere else for that matter,he's also been cleared publicly by Palhares,yet you still won't except it,but prefer to rant and make up wild conspiracy theories.
We get it,you don't like nate and don't want to except he won.

then it's back to the normal Anfield attacks when someone disagrees with your crap.

I think I have a reasonable understanding of a leg lock,but it can always obviously be played down,as i don't put them into practice,because I'm a fan and not a competitor,it's a cheap and usually your only way to discredit someone to make out you know everything,which I don't think you do for a second.
Maybe if thats your thing,you should look to finding other fighters or teachers to have these conversations with,because whats the point in having it with us,if your just going to fall back on that as your crutch to try and discredit someone.

Nate's foot was not free at all before he rolled and pushed off,you claim you have rewatched it many times,but i really doubt that,since Sun only gave you a link to the fight just before it started last night,so i was wondering where you managed to find the replay so quickly to do that,I could be wrong of coarse,so I don't suppose you can post it,could you,so that the rest of the Armbar readers that may have missed it can watch.

Just watched the show now, really gutted and disspointed with how the main event ended. Nate's leg did seem to slide out rather easily, and for sure Palhares must have felt something was wrong, when he stopped fighting and tried to complain to the ref and his corner.

Terrible ending, Palhares has the beating of Nate i think, he is by far better grappler and Nate does not look at all comfortable standing up with Palhares while he is trying desperate not to get taking down...


Give us an immediate rematch Dana

payneNglory1 wrote:you're the only one that is failing to understand,or even willing too.

He's been cleared by the ref and the commision because they found sweet FA,you haven't a clue to what degree they all checked him,as the programming was on a break at the time,so it's just your speculation that they didn't check his ankles or anywhere else for that matter,he's also been cleared publicly by Palhares,yet you still won't except it,but prefer to rant and make up wild conspiracy theories.
We get it,you don't like nate and don't want to except he won.

then it's back to the normal Anfield attacks when someone disagrees with your crap.

I think I have a reasonable understanding of a leg lock,but it can always obviously be played down,as i don't put them into practice,because I'm a fan and not a competitor,it's a cheap and usually your only way to discredit someone to make out you know everything,which I don't think you do for a second.
Maybe if thats your thing,you should look to finding other fighters or teachers to have these conversations with,because whats the point in having it with us,if your just going to fall back on that as your crutch to try and discredit someone.

Nate's foot was not free at all before he rolled and pushed off,you claim you have rewatched it many times,but i really doubt that,since Sun only gave you a link to the fight just before it started last night,so i was wondering where you managed to find the replay so quickly to do that,I could be wrong of coarse,so I don't suppose you can post it,could you,so that the rest of the Armbar readers that may have missed it can watch.

You really are stupid aren't you??

The doctor and commission checked HIS LEGS, not his feet and ankles. Nate, Joe Rogan and the UFC have confirmed that it was the legs that were checked. And a grease smear test(done by Herb Dean using a napkin) does not pick up moisture. And Nate, Joe and Herb Dean have all confirmed that is the test he did. It separate moisture from grease. Lubricant is moisture, not grease.

Palhares has clearly been told what to say.

Tell you what, when you have a lifetimes experience of Judo and leglocks(a JUDO submission), then i will take your opinion on whether a hold is on properly. Until then I'll come to you for my fancy windows.

Nate's foot is out long before he pushes off. Palhares is already turning to complain when Nate pushes away.

I watched the event at the same time as you, i downloaded it(from xtremespeeds.net) when i got up this morning to go to practice and when i got back i watched it over and over again to see if i missed anything. There is NO question that Palhares had the leglock on properly. He wouldn't have dropped back if he had. The reason Palhares is so successful with leg locks is that he doesn't commit to them until he has it secured.

Guys come on, surely Palhares must have felt something for him to stop fighting and complain? The guy is a world class grappler and trains regularly with best.
And is an heal hook expert...
Surely he knows the difference between an honest heel hook escape and a leg sliding out due to illegal lubricant? And it was the very 1st round so excessive sweat is not really an excuse.

Here's the equivalent of Payne watching MMA and then thinking he knows more about leglocks than me, Red is a medical student. I watch HOUSE M.D., my cousin is a doctor and i've had a couple of surgeries. Red still knows more than I ever will about medicine etc. It's not being bigheaded or anything else, it's a simple fact.

redmeanie77 wrote:Guys come on, surely Palhares must have felt something for him to stop fighting and complain? The guy is a world class grappler and trains regularly with best.
And is an heal hook expert...
Surely he knows the difference between an honest heel hook escape and a leg sliding out due to illegal lubricant? And it was the very 1st round so excessive sweat is not really an excuse.

Exactly, that's NOT how Nate escaped(Payne made some bizarre mention to use of the shin as the correct escape),

Also, Palhares regularly taps Murilo Bustamante and Mario Sperry with his leglocks. Both of them struggle to get away from him, how the fuck is Nate the average going to??