UFC 142 Results: Is Rousimar Palhares Ready for the Big Time?

With yet another heel hook submission victory at UFC 142 over Mike Massenzio, many are calling for Rousimar Palhares to be thrown into title contention.

The question has to be, is he ready for it?

The Brazilian’s past results would tell you that the UFC has been wise to slow his ascension up the ranks of the 185-pound weight class.  His losses to former title challengers Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt proved that he still has room to grow as fighter.

More than anything, Palhares has to get his head straight.  No fighter has gone through as many bizarre events over the past two years inside the Octagon.

The first such event took place at UFC 111 where Palhares needed under a minute to heel hook Tomasz Drwal.  Despite the quick victory, Palhares was suspended 90 days by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission for failing to release the hold after Drwal tapped.

In his next bout, against the aforementioned Marquardt, Palhares protested that his opponent had a foreign substance on his legs.  The problem for the Brazilian was that he did it mid-fight, and was subsequently knocked out for his actions.

Finally, at UFC 134 in August, Palhares believed he had finished off Dan Miller in the opening frame and jumped on the cage to celebrate.  The catch?  The fight was not stopped and he would have to continue fighting for another two rounds.

All of these events led the fighter to seek help from a sports psychologist.

The strange series of events should take nothing away from Palhares’ skills in the cage.  The man known as “Toquinho” (Portuguese for tree stump) is one of the most lethal submission artists in MMA, as evidenced by his 10 submission victories.

However, the effects of these events would take its toll on any fighter.  While Palhares has shown he can quickly finish off the fighters in the middle ranks of the division, rushing him toward a title shot may prove to cause more harm than good.

Palhares needs a few more bouts to help round out his skills and to ensure that his past troubles are behind him.  Then the promotion can push him into contention.

Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com.  For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.