Jake Shields' manager: Rousimar Palhares ‘should be kicked out of the sport'

LAS VEGAS -- Rousimar Palhares' fate has yet to be decided following his controversial actions at World Series of Fighting 22, but Jake Shields' manager, Tareq Azim, hopes the Brazilian's latest run-in with the rules is his last.

"I think he should be kicked out of the sport," Azim told MMAFighting.com. "That's why I love what the UFC did. The UFC made a statement that, look, this isn't good for the sport. This isn't good for the brand. This isn't good for anything. He's ruining careers."

Palhares retained his WSOF welterweight title with a kimura over Shields in Saturday night's main event, however the contest was marred by several fouls. Palhares received a warning from referee Steve Mazzagatti for repeated eye gouges while mounted in the second round, then cranked hard on the fight-winning submission after Shields tapped out in the third.

Shields was ultimately transported to the hospital with his arm in a sling and complaints of blurred vision. Azim posted a grisly photo later in the night, documenting the damage to Shields' eyes.

The consequences of two pieces of shit : mazzagatte and pahalares should both be banned from professional sports- @jakeshields victim of eye gouging ! Now you all understand why i charged the cage ! @brendanschaub @karynbryant @wsof @gilbertmelendez @ramseynijem

A photo posted by Tareq Azim (@tareq.azim) on Aug 2, 2015 at 10:01am PDT

The incidents were a continuation of the pattern of foul play that led to Palhares' release from the UFC in 2013. Terms of Palhares' deal with WSOF included a zero-tolerance policy against such episodes, and the promotion is expected to make an announcement Tuesday regarding the future of its welterweight champion.

WSOF vice president Ali Abdel-Aziz previously told MMAFighting.com that Palhares may be suspended and stripped of his title for his actions.

It wouldn't be the first time Palhares has come under fire for his erratic behavior. His 2010 heel hook of Tomasz Drwal drew a 90-day suspension from the New Jersey state commission, and his 2013 incident with Mike Pierce cost Palhares his job in the UFC. Add in a failed drug test for elevated levels of testosterone in 2012, plus a spotty record of misconduct in grappling tournaments and similar questionable calls under the WSOF banner, and Azim believes enough evidence is out there to warrant a harsher sentence against Palhares.

"I think he's a terrible, terrible, terrible example of a fighter," Azim said. "I think someone at this level, and the capacity of what this sport has turned into today, you should be the biggest model of a true martial artist. And he's completely the opposite of that.

"He's that type of guy who just shows you, look, if you can't train and be technical and learn the art and be a true practitioner of the chess game, then go ahead and cheat your way through. Go ahead and hurt people. Go ahead and do things that aren't allowed, especially if you've got someone like Mazzagatti -- which, I'm sure he was well aware that Mazzagatti isn't a guy who understands anything, so let's go ahead and get away with that."

In the interim, the Nevada Athletic Commission withheld Palhares' win bonus on Saturday night, and Abdel-Aziz expects the commission to take a closer look at suspending the 35-year-old.

Palhares, though, expressed ignorance of any wrongdoing in both the immediate aftermath of the bout and in the hours afterward, stating that the eyepokes were accidental and that he released his winning submission the moment he felt Mazzagatti grab his back to stop the fight.

"Obviously that's his claim, obviously that's what he's going to say," Azim said in response. "He's the kind of guy who consistently gets by on doing this, so anyone in this situation who doesn't get penalized, or in trouble for doing what he does, is obviously going to think it's right. It's an unfortunate situation, that he consistently gets away with damaging people's careers, hurting people's careers, and pushing fans away.

"But what do you expect? It's who the guy is. And until he gets penalized for it, or until there's some sort of movement, like the UFC put on that idiot, the guy will never learn his lesson and it'll be okay. It's okay for him because he's just not getting points deducted, he's not getting penalized, he's not getting disqualified for it."