The experiment was conducted to evaluate 2 different strategies for managing Brachiaria brizantha (palisadegrass) under deferred grazing. From January to June 2014, the palisadegrass pastures were evaluated at the Federal University of Uberlândia, located in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The experimental site was located at 776 m altitude, 18°30′ S and 47°50′ W. Annual precipitation was around 1.584 mm. Medium temperature was 22.3°C. The experimental area was made up of 6 paddocks (experimental units) of 800 m². Two pasture heights in the beginning of deferment period were evaluated: 15 cm and 45 cm. Before the deferment period, the pastures were managed in continuous stocking with sheep. The deferment period was 90 d. The experiment was carried out using a randomized completely design with 3 repetitions and subdivided plots. On 1, 45 and 90 d of deferment period, the tillers number m^-2 was quantified. In each experimental unit, 15 tillers were marked. The lengths of live portions of leaf blades and stems of tillers were measured weekly. The collected data were used to calculate the growth, senescence and herbage accumulation rates. The conversion factors were generated to transform the measures in cm tiller⁻¹ day⁻¹ to kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹ of dry matter. The growth rate (GR) was higher at the beginning (87.1 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) than at the end (11.4 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) of deferment period. Deferred pasture with 45 cm (73.5 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) also showed higher GR, compared with deferred with 15 cm (34.9 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹). Leaf senescence rate (LSR) was higher at end (78.0 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) than at the beginning (24.7 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) of deferment period in the pasture with 45 cm. The herbage accumulation rate (HAR) was higher at the beginning (37.6 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) than at end (−13.5 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) of deferment period. Deferred pasture with 45 cm showed greater HAR (22.1 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹) of that with 15 cm (2.0 kg ha⁻¹ day⁻¹). We conclude that the reduction in palisadegrass height at the beginning of deferment period results in pasture with lower growth, senescence and herbage accumulation.