5 forgotten MMA fighters you didn't know were still active

#5: Rousimar Palhares

Rousimar Palhares is one of the most controversial fighters of all time

One of the most controversial fighters in MMA history, leglock expert Rousimar ‘Toquinho’ Palhares remains active on the European MMA circuit despite the fact that the world’s biggest promotions – namely the UFC and Bellator – won’t touch him with a bargepole due to his history of holding submissions for too long and purposely injuring his opponents.

Palhares debuted in the UFC in 2008 and by the time of his release in 2013, he was 8-4 with the promotion with all but one of his wins coming via submission. But his refusal to release a heel hook against Mike Pierce – even after Pierce had tapped – was a foul too far for the UFC and so they sent him packing.

‘Toquinho’ was then successful in the World Series of Fighting, winning all 3 of his bouts by submission, but all 3 saw controversy – he held leglocks on Steve Carl and Jon Fitch for far too long and only submitted Jake Shields after gouging his eyes – and even then, he held onto the winning kimura for longer than was necessary.

That was enough for WSOF to release him too, but rather than move away from the sport he’s stayed active – submitting Aleksei Ivanov but suffering knockout losses to current UFC fighter Emil Meek and Polish champion Michal Materla. Most recently he fought Shamil Amirov to a draw in the Fight Nights Global promotion – but the likelihood of him returning to one of the US’s top promotions seems very doubtful.

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