Palhares Looks to Return With a Bang
By Richard Crenwelge, RCM MMA Correspondent
One of the most intriguing fighters of the UFC roster, in recent memory, has been Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares (14-5 MMA), who boasts an unusual number of wins by leglock. Out of his 14 professional wins, 10 of them have come by submission, and 7 of those were leglocks. In a stylistic environment where top-heavy, tournament jiu-jitsu dominates the submission game, Palhares’ ability to snag the leg is unusual and exciting.
In his last two outings, however, he has not been able to finish in this manner. In fact, his proclivity to dive for the legs has actually hurt his winning percentage, as opponents are now training to specifically shut down these sorts of submissions, raising the bar of technical proficiency to a higher degree. Even Palhares has noticed this shift in paradigm, and has therefore decided to make the necessary adaptations, which includes a controversial drop to welterweight.
For his next bout against Mike Pierce (17-5 MMA), Palhares has left behind long-time coach Murilo Bustamante and Brazilian Top Team, in favor of the Noguiera brothers’ famed Team Black House. Black House is home to some of the best fighters in the world, with both striking and grappling specialists, so the potential for Palhares to benefit from this switch is very high. The Noguieras’ style of BJJ is much more oriented toward MMA, for one, and the availability of high-level strikers like Anderson Silva (38-5 MMA) and Jose Aldo (23-1 MMA) could help scaffold Palhares’ clearly sub-par boxing and kickboxing. Palhares does not mention this advantage, though, when recently interviewed. He simply stated that he is stronger and faster than before.
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