After a recent win over Dan Miller at UFC 134, which was also in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rousimar Palhares appears to have righted his career. After a September 2010 loss to Nate Marquardt, Palhares went from UFC middleweight contender to “man on the outside,” serving as a potential gatekeeper to younger challengers. He’d already been punished in the past by UFC for the injury he’d caused to Tomasz Drwal at UFC 111, where he refused to release a heel hook after the referee had jumped in to stop the fight. Despite Palhares’ claim that he never felt Drwal’s tap, he was slapped with a 90-day suspension and put him on the Zuffa “naughty list.”
As a former NAGA World Champion, Mike Massenzio, will be more than ready for anything that Palhares offers on the mat, which is good, because he offers a ton. Palhares could walk away with a limb tonight. You never know. The thing is, Massenzio has shown a ton of heart in the past, stepping in for Igor Pokrajac against Krzysztof Soszynski in June on only three days notice at a weight he normally doesn’t fight at. He lost the fight via decision, but fans of the UFC saw a different side of the fighter even as he fought upwards of 20 pounds out of his “fighting weight.”
How else can you see it? This will be a battle of wills on their feet. Can Massenzio puts Palhares down? Will Palhares submit a man that, on paper, appears to be his equal on the mat? If it comes down to a striking battle, it’s a toss up, but one would have to think that Massenzio’s extensive wrestling pedigree would make the difference. Massenzio has lots of submissions on US-based regional shows, but Palhares has a similar number of pro-level submissions…but in the UFC.
That’s gotta count for something.
Pick: Rousimar Palhares via 1st Round Submission
