Rousimar Palhares says Dan Miller verbally submitted at UFC 134

As Rousimar Palhares showered a grounded Dan Miller with punches in the opening-round of their UFC 134 match-up, the Brazilian appeared to be merely moments away from a stoppage victory. That was, of course, until "Tree Stump" turned away from his opponent, raised his hands, and began celebrating a win that referee Herb Dean had not yet awarded him.

Though the bout was quickly restarted and Palhares would go on to win via unanimous decision, the incident that had occurred was eerily similar to the one that led to his defeat against Nate Marquardt at UFC Fight Night 22. After latching onto Marquardt's leg in attempt to secure one of his patented leglocks, Palhares was stunned by the ease at which "The Great" was able to free himself. As he turned to the referee to complain that his opponent's leg felt slippery, Marquardt seized the opportunity and finished the fight.

Luckily for Palhares, there was no such backlash in this outing, as he sat safely atop the octagon fence during his premature celebration Saturday. However, one has to wonder, what would possess the Brazilian to make such a mistake twice? According to his trainer, Murilo Bustamante, it was the result of his "big heart."

"Just to clarify what happened during Toquinho’s fight, he told me that he stopped because his opponent said ‘stop, stop’ when he was punching him hard," Bustamante explained via Twitter. "Then, he stopped (hitting) him and thought that the fight was over and went to celebrate. Who can say now that ‘Toko’ isn’t a fair fighter? He is just too naive, but he has a big heart."

AMA Fight Club trainer, Mike Constantino, however, adamantly denies the claims, insisting in an email sent to Sherdog.com that Miller, who has never been stopped in any of his 19 professional fights, made no such request at any time during their match-up.

"Dan assures me he did not say a word during that exchange," said Constantino. "Needless to say that with the loud crowd, the language barrier, the adrenaline rush and every other factor involved -- including ‘do not stop until the ref pulls you off’ -- I do not believe that Toquinho pulled up because of Dan murmuring ‘stop, stop.’ The fact remains that Dan Miller did not say ‘stop, stop’ -- there is no need to argue the toughness and mettle of Dan Miller, however I just have to put the facts on the table after hearing this."

Once the action resumed, Miller dropped Palhares with a flurry of punches, but was unable to capitalize. And while many felt the two fighters had done enough to take the extra generous $100,000 Fight of the Night bonus that was subsequently given to Edson Barboza and Ross Pearson, "Toquinho" instead went home with a far more valuable lesson - it's not over until the fat lady sings.. or at least until Herb Dean says so.