The most popular topic in the MMA community in recent days , the heel hook applied by Rousimar Palhares on Mike Pierce in the UFC, held last October 9 , is impacting the MMA world .

Rodrigo Minotauro , has come to the defense of Toquinho , who is also now a member of Team Nogueira. He praised the character of his friend in an interview with Tatame , but did not question the decision of the UFC to ban him. 

” I can say that , within our academy , Toquinho never hurt anyone . He is a good person , great companion and a great character. I believe he would never think of doing harm to any opponent , because it is simply not in his nature . I do not question the decision of the UFC , because people who are in charge have a global vision of the business and understand better than anyone the whole business involving our sport. I know Rousimar for many years . As an athlete , he is a phenomenon , and as a person , is loved by all , especially by his simplicity. Who knows the story of his life is charmed with such humility and dedication to the sport . Toquinho was always the first to arrive and the last to leave the gym , and always really helped our athletes , and we are sure that he will continue to be so, because the Team Nogueira is always by his side, ” said the legend .

The experienced Minotauro also talked about the technical part of the submission that caused the whole controversy . For the heavyweight, the position requires care on the part of the fighters and referee:

” It is a dangerous submission. The guy who applied the heel hook has to be explosive . You do not look at the opponent . Several times Toquinho lost the position because he loosened a little. It is a position where you either win or will lose everything in a fight . It’s a complicated situation , the refneeds to be very careful and have to intervene forcefully , “he concluded .”