Earlier today, MMA Junkie reported the overnight release of promising now-former UFC Middleweight prospect Maiquel Jose “Big Rig” Falcao Gonclaves, better known to us all as Maiquel Falcao.
The release comes as a shock to the MMA World, who last heard Falcao’s name when talked had risen about a spot on the UFC 134 fight card opposite Tom Lawlor, with the consensus pointing to a 2002 assault charge as the primary motivation behind the release.
Supposedly, the charge—coupled in with fan demand for the fight with “The Filthy Mauler”of The Ultimate Fighter 8 variety—eventually led to the release of the prospect and has now made the once-promising UFC Middleweight a free agent.
Some might agree with it, but for those who do agree with this fully, there is a question to answer, and that question is this:
Why is this the correct move?
If anything, this move is a downright ridiculous move fueled by the resurrection of an issue that should have been laid to rest in 2004 when Falcao debuted.
Falcao admitted that there indeed was an argument at a nightclub with some people, a girl did get injured in the lips as a result, he and his friends were taken to court, and of course, there’s also the charge of aggression—assault, in other terms.
He admitted to that and was given two years of house arrest, and he did admit that eight years later when he moved from his old house, he was advised by his legal counselors that the rest of the remaining sixteen months of house arrest could be finished in the new home.
Nobody can quote Falcao as saying anything to the contrary.
He admitted to his sins, but he did his time—his MMA career didn’t start until April of 2004, which is the year when the charges should have been dropped.
The charges should have never been spoken of again after Falcao began his MMA career, but somehow they magically reappeared after the win over Gerald Harris.
Now if the release really was because of Falcao not accepting the Lawlor fight, then maybe the release is understandable because that might just lead to Dana thinking Falcao doesn’t “want to be a f**king fighter.”
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
There are only two remotely negatively things that Falcao has done since he signed on to face Gerald Harris, lest we forget.
The first one was coasting through round three of the fight with Harris, which caused the bout to be one of the most panned non-title fights in the sport, and the other—depending on whose side you take—was the brief war of verbal body hooks between him and Sakara.
This “2002 assault charge” nonsense, however?
I cannot classify it as anything more than just that without coming across as more overly-vulgar than I normally am, because “nonsense” is exactly what this is.
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