Bah. I hate to say it but wrestlers are always spoilers for jiujitsu fighters under MMA rules. In an anything goes fight I wouldn't pick against Palhares - but under sporting combat rules and the unified rules of MMA I think Belcher rides him out to a boring decision.
Since when is Belcher a wrestler? I've always thought of him as a guy with solid wrestling and a competent ground game, but a kickboxer at heart. Palhares is one of those guys that even the strong wrestlers of the division aren't going to want to take down and LnP. It's far to dangerous. He only needs one small opening and it's over. Palhares would pull guard on a wrestler before a wrestler would try to take him down.
Palhares has some serious mental blocks. He gave up immediately when things stopped going his way. He didn't get the sub, and Belcher landed some nice GnP, and that was the end. He just gave up. It's a shame because he is very talented and capable of a lot more than he will ever accomplish. I'm a big fan of his and I am incredibly disappointed. Moreso than I thought I would be, as I believed that Belcher had a better chance than many were willing to give him. He is a very solid fighter, and I think he is definitely able to fight his way to a title shot. I doubt he would ever beat Anderson, but that doesn't change the fact that he is certainly underrated.
Honestly I don't think Palhares gave up so much as he was actually stunned by a shot early n the barrage and wound up getting overwhelmed.
That may be, but I don't know. I just feel like he should have rolled for something in that scenario. I'm just very disappointed, and I don't think there is any doubt that he has mental issues. I think that "losing" the initial leglock battle may have really discouraged him.
I think it's clear that Paul Harris only trains pure BJJ whilst on the ground as there have been a few fights where he hasnt even protected his head whilst someone is landing gnp and you cant afford to do that against a guy like Belcher
That what I thought, too. Palhares looked like he was lost when it came to defending against strikes from the bottom.
I was confident that unless he had a hold on the leg, Alan would be dangerous in Paul Harris' guard. He kodded J Mac from there and Rousimar never defends punches, either on the feet or the mat When he rolled for that heel hook it had me a bit worried though Credit to Belcher, hopefully he'll get the recognition he deserves
Wind down on the gloating fella... it's easy to be wise after the event, why didnt you say **** before?
