Tag: eBay

Rock-Bottom Alert: Mark Coleman Is Selling His PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix Trophy and Novelty Check on eBay


(The world’s most badass coat-rack can be yours! Photo via eBay/gemcity1. More pics after the jump.)

Mark Coleman‘s run through the PRIDE 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix was arguably the most dramatic moment in the history of mixed martial arts. It was the culmination of an improbable career comeback, in which the former UFC heavyweight champion became the last man standing in a bracket that also included Kazushi Sakuraba, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Kerr, Royce Gracie, and Gary Goodridge.

For his efforts, PRIDE awarded Coleman a massive trophy and an equally-massive novelty check for 20 million yen (about $200,000). And now he’s selling them on eBay, because the world is an unfair and depressing place. As the item description explains:

THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF MMA MEMORABILIA! PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 2000 GRAND PRIX FINALS TROPHY AND CHECK. THE 2000 GP WAS THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS TOURNAMENT IN MMA HISTORY AND WILL FOREVER STAY THAT WAY. THIS TOURNAMENT HAD ALL THE TOP FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD INVOLVED. MARK COLEMAN IS A LIVING LEGEND AND A MEMBER OF THE UFC HALL OF FAME AND IS THE FIRST UFC HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION AND THE LAST UFC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION. COLEMAN WON UFC 10, 11 and 12 AND ALSO BECAME THE #1 FIGHTER IN THE WORLD BY WINNING THE GRAND PRIX 2000.

THIS IS FOR THE SERIOUS COLLECTOR. THE TROPHY IS WELL OVER 5FT TALL AND THE CHECK IS WELL OVER 6 FT LONG. THIS IS A MUSUEM WORTHY CENTERPIECE AND IS SURELY THE TOP COLLECTABLE IN ANY PRIVATE COLLECTION IN THE WORLD!!!! IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE TO OWN A FUTURE MMA MUSUEM CENTERPIECE…

The starting bid? $24,500. Now, that may be a lot of money to us working men. (Like my daddy before me, I get up before the roosters each morning and go about the hard, endless labor of bloggin’. It ain’t much, but it’s who we are. It’s our connection to this great land. And son I’m just sorry they’re just memories for you now.) Where was I…oh yeah, $24.5k is a nice chunk of change, but we’re talking about two of the most priceless artifacts in MMA history — the final reward for years of agony and struggle. And Coleman’s trading that for what? To pay off a truck and some back taxes, maybe?

The auction ends on Sunday, and there have been no bids placed thus far. So, there are two ways we can go about this…


(The world’s most badass coat-rack can be yours! Photo via eBay/gemcity1. More pics after the jump.)

Mark Coleman‘s run through the PRIDE 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix was arguably the most dramatic moment in the history of mixed martial arts. It was the culmination of an improbable career comeback, in which the former UFC heavyweight champion became the last man standing in a bracket that also included Kazushi Sakuraba, Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Kerr, Royce Gracie, and Gary Goodridge.

For his efforts, PRIDE awarded Coleman a massive trophy and an equally-massive novelty check for 20 million yen (about $200,000). And now he’s selling them on eBay, because the world is an unfair and depressing place. As the item description explains:

THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL OF MMA MEMORABILIA! PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 2000 GRAND PRIX FINALS TROPHY AND CHECK. THE 2000 GP WAS THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS TOURNAMENT IN MMA HISTORY AND WILL FOREVER STAY THAT WAY. THIS TOURNAMENT HAD ALL THE TOP FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD INVOLVED. MARK COLEMAN IS A LIVING LEGEND AND A MEMBER OF THE UFC HALL OF FAME AND IS THE FIRST UFC HEAVY WEIGHT CHAMPION AND THE LAST UFC TOURNAMENT CHAMPION. COLEMAN WON UFC 10, 11 and 12 AND ALSO BECAME THE #1 FIGHTER IN THE WORLD BY WINNING THE GRAND PRIX 2000.

THIS IS FOR THE SERIOUS COLLECTOR. THE TROPHY IS WELL OVER 5FT TALL AND THE CHECK IS WELL OVER 6 FT LONG. THIS IS A MUSUEM WORTHY CENTERPIECE AND IS SURELY THE TOP COLLECTABLE IN ANY PRIVATE COLLECTION IN THE WORLD!!!! IT DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!! THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE TO OWN A FUTURE MMA MUSUEM CENTERPIECE…

The starting bid? $24,500. Now, that may be a lot of money to us working men. (Like my daddy before me, I get up before the roosters each morning and go about the hard, endless labor of bloggin’. It ain’t much, but it’s who we are. It’s our connection to this great land. And son I’m just sorry they’re just memories for you now.) Where was I…oh yeah, $24.5k is a nice chunk of change, but we’re talking about two of the most priceless artifacts in MMA history — the final reward for years of agony and struggle. And Coleman’s trading that for what? To pay off a truck and some back taxes, maybe?

The auction ends on Sunday, and there have been no bids placed thus far. So, there are two ways we can go about this…

1) One of us buys it. Although most of CagePotato’s readership consists of broke trolls who live in basement apartments, there have to be a few rich eccentric-types who actually do have twenty-five large lying around. Doctors, lawyers, high-finance types…guys, we need you to put in a bid and make sure the spoils of the 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix are kept safe, and don’t wind up forgotten in some warehouse forevermore.

2) We raise $24,500 for Coleman so that he doesn’t have to sell it. We’ve held a successful fundraiser before and we can do it again. Part of me thinks that this might be Coleman’s plan all along — to generate sympathy (and donations) through the public auction of his most valuable possession. But hell, I’ll play ball as long as the Potato Nation wants to jump in on this too. Don’t do it, Mark. When you die, we want you to be wrapped in that check.

Please let us know how you’d like to proceed.


(Hey, it’s Wes Sims!)

Dear Lord, Vinny Magalhaes’ M-1 Belt is Currently Worth Over Fourteen Thousand Dollars


(Oh, come on, Vinny. You know that a belt is worthless once it has been in the bathroom! Photo courtesy of @VinnyMMA) 

Although we feel like we didn’t really get to know Vinny Magalhaes that well during his run on TUF 8 that took him all the way to the show’s finals, watching how he’s responded to his whole M-1 contract debacle has only endeared us to the guy all the more.

If you’re not familiar with the story, we’ll give you the gist: After winning the M-1 Light Heavyweight title back in October of 2011, Magalhaes got fed up with the promotion after they failed to offer him a single title defense under his contract, opting to attempt and resign him under a new one instead. M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan began a “he said/she said” contract dispute with Magalhaes that left the ADCC champion on the shelf for the rest of 2011 and all of 2012 to this point. After finally being told that he has been released from his contract, Vinny decided to put his belt up for sale on Ebay, figuring that it would at least sell for the 20 dollars worth of scrap metal it was composed of.

The bidding officially began on May 13th, and at a steal of just nine cents. It now stands at 14,600 dollars. 

What. The. Shit.


(Oh, come on, Vinny. You know that a belt is worthless once it has been in the bathroom! Photo courtesy of @VinnyMMA) 

Although we feel like we didn’t really get to know Vinny Magalhaes that well during his run on TUF 8 that took him all the way to the show’s finals, watching how he’s responded to his whole M-1 contract debacle has only endeared us to the guy all the more.

If you’re not familiar with the story, we’ll give you the gist: After winning the M-1 Light Heavyweight title back in October of 2011, Magalhaes got fed up with the promotion after they failed to offer him a single title defense under his contract, opting to attempt and resign him under a new one instead. M-1 Global Director of Operations Evgeni Kogan began a “he said/she said” contract dispute with Magalhaes that left the ADCC champion on the shelf for the rest of 2011 and all of 2012 to this point. After finally being told that he has been released from his contract, Vinny decided to put his belt up for sale on Ebay, figuring that it would at least sell for the 20 dollars worth of scrap metal it was composed of.

The bidding officially began on May 13th, and at a steal of just nine cents. It now stands at 14,600 dollars. 

What. The. Shit.

We have no idea what kind of person spends that kind of money on that kind of belt, so we’ve decided to come up with a few of the most likely options:

1. Dana White is buying the belt so he can place it next to the contract the UFC offered Fedor and a NEW contract for Vinny Magalhaes. He will then vlog himself setting fire to all three and pissing on the remains to put out the flames.

2. Chael Sonnen is buying the belt because he has been banned from Wal-Mart ever since ordering Mike Duke’s wife to build him some patio furniture, and the plastic on his current belt is starting to crack.

3. Tim Sylvia is buying the belt, along with one of Jake Shields’ EliteXC belts and the vacant DREAM heavyweight belt to try and convince Dana White that he is now a multi-promotional, multi-divisional champion, and finally deserves a shot in the UFC.

4. Unbeknownst to Vinny, the belt contains a microscopic map etched in crystal that will lead one to the lost city of Atlantis. Indiana Jones and a rambunctious group of Nazi’s are currently engaged in a bidding war that will determine the very future of mankind.

Feel free to add to the growing list of conspiracy theories in the comments section.

-J. Jones