It has been a very frustrating couple of years for M-1 Light Heavyweight champion and TUF 8 finalist Vinny Magalhaes. After winning the M-1 belt with a mounted gogoplata submission over Victor Nemkov in April of 2011, then defending it with a head kick TKO of Mikhail Zayats the following October, Magalhaes found himself in a bit of contract limbo with the well documented shysters at M-1. In short, they refused to offer him any more fights under his current contract while simultaneously trying to ink him a new one. Like we said, shysters.
Anyway, after nearly a year on the shelf, Magalhaes got desperate. So desperate, in fact, that he tried selling his belt on Ebay, which was valued at an astounding $99,999 before it was suddenly pulled off the market for reasons that have yet to be explained. However, it appears that Vinny has finally reached an agreement (re: his mercifully release) with his M-1 counterparts, as word has broke that the champ, who has gone 7-1 since being ousted from the UFC following a pair of losses to Ryan Bader and Elliot Marshall, will return to the sport’s highest promotion at UFC 151, which goes down from the Mandalay Bay in Vegas on September 1st. His opponent has yet to be named, but Tatame has the scoop:
Vinny “Pezao” Magalhaes is back to the UFC. The light heavyweight, who lost to Ryan Bader on the TUF 8 Finale, signed a contract with the organization and is set to fight at UFC 151, on September 1st, TATAME learned with sources.
Videos of Magalhaes’ title win and defense await you after the jump, along with the skinny on a potential signing in the UFC’s flyweight division.
Magalhaes vs. Nemkov finish
Magalhaes vs. Zayats (finish comes at 15:33)
Although you’ve gotta imagine that Vinny will fare much better in the UFC his second time around, based on the evidence, do you think we may very well be looking at a contender to Jon Jones’ (or possibly Dan Henderson’s) throne?
And speaking of hot prospects, rumor has it that inaugural/former Tachi Palace Fights flyweight champion and current bantamweight champion Ulysses Gomez has signed with the UFC as well. The rumor was started by none other than the man himself, who Tweeted/retweeted the following:
Yeah I’m down! RT @IridiumSports: @seanshelby Just got done talking to @uselessgomez, he’ll sign today to fight Formiga in Brazil…
Ulysses Gomez@uselessgomezCurrently 9-2 in professional competition, Gomez is a submission specialist who most recently earned said bantamweight belt with a third round submission via guillotine over Cody Gibson last December. Gomez joins such prospects as Gunnar Nelson and Tom Watson to have recently signed with the UFC, and will make for a great addition to the UFC’s compact but stacked flyweight division.
And if you’re wondering who the mysterious “Formiga” is that UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby is referring to in that tweet, it would be none other than Jussier “Formiga” da Silva, a 14-1 Jiu-Jitsu powerhouse and fellow TPF veteran that is currently the #2 ranked flyweight in the world according to Sherdog (that is, if you believe in the “bullshit rankings system” created by the Jewish MMA media with the sole purpose of pissing off Josh Koscheck). It was announced that da Silva signed with the UFC just a few days ago, and it’s not looking like he will be given a walk in the park for his big debut.