M-1 champion Vinny Magalhaes put championship belt on eBay

If you want an MMA championship belt -- a valid one not sold at local toys stores -- you can either train for years and win it, or be the highest bidder on the M-1 belt that Vinny Magalhaes is selling on eBay.

UFC veteran Magalhaes won the M-1 light heavyweight belt last April and defended it in October, but then found himself in a long, public squabble with M-1 management. He and M-1 director of operations Evgeni Kogan have exchanged nasty insults over Twitter after Magalhaes was not happy with the fights the Russian-based promotion was making, and Kogan supposedly coached one of Magalhaes' opponents from ringside, a huge no-no for a promoter who should be unbiased.

Since Magalhaes said he is through his contract and wants to move on from the promotion, he has no reason to hold on to the belt. He put it on eBay, starting bids at $0.09. At the time of writing, it's up to $2,605. Magalhaes tweeted the link and told Kogan, "Hey buddy, you wanted your belt back? #placeyourbid it's on @ebay :)"

Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/m-1-champion-vinny-magalhaes-put-championship-belt-134630897.html

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Ricardo Almeida making UFC debut as a judge Saturday at UFC on Fox 3

Ricardo Almeida is set to make his UFC debut on Saturday -- as a judge. The UFC veteran trained to be an MMA judge after retiring a year ago. With the UFC headed to his home state of New Jersey for UFC on Fox 3, Almeida is getting his first shot at judging from Octagon-side.

Almeida told ESPN that he expects to be nervous for the fights.

"It will be pretty intense, but I will be on my toes with this UFC event, because I know all eyes are going to be on me," Almeida said. "Yeah, I'm going to be nervous. It'll be like I'm walking into a fight myself. But the spotlight only makes me want to be sharper and do a better job."

He made the decision to join the judges' ranks after ending his career on a controversial decision. With a BJJ background and 18 MMA bouts on his resume, Almeida brings a different perspective to MMA judging.

MMA is full of judging controversies, as fans, media and promoters often see a different result than the people charged with calling the winner of a fight. Most recently, Carlos Condit's win over Nick Diaz was called into question. Almeida hopes to help with that problem.

"There is always going to be controversy, but the more we can get guys who understand what's going on inside the Octagon, the results are going to be a little more consistent," Almeida said.

The lack of enough quality judges to keep up with the sport's growth is one of the biggest issues facing the sport. The problem is that MMA, in the form it exists today, has not been around for generations. In other sports, officials and judges have been involved with the sport since childhood, and have done their job at lower levels before moving up to officiate the pros.

In MMA, the judges quite often come from other disciplines. Though they have learned MMA, it's not the same as having it ingrained in your mind for most of your life, or even having a pro career for 11 years, as Almeida did.

Almeida's jump to the judges table is a good start for MMA. As more fighters retire from the sport, hopefully they'll follow his lead.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/ricardo-almeida-making-ufc-debut-judge-saturday-195604314.html

Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz

Alan Belcher?s kick is your Knockout of the Week

For this week's Knockout of the Week, we jump into the wayback machine to Alan Belcher's second UFC fight. At Ultimate Fight Night 7, Belcher easily took out Jorge Santiago.

Belcher will fight Rousimar Palhares next week at UFC on Fox 3. Will he be able to escape the grasp of "Toquinho's" famous heel hooks, or will Belcher's punching power win the fight for him? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/alan-belcher-kick-knockout-week-131910387.html

José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez

M-1 champion Vinny Magalhaes put championship belt on eBay

If you want an MMA championship belt -- a valid one not sold at local toys stores -- you can either train for years and win it, or be the highest bidder on the M-1 belt that Vinny Magalhaes is selling on eBay.

UFC veteran Magalhaes won the M-1 light heavyweight belt last April and defended it in October, but then found himself in a long, public squabble with M-1 management. He and M-1 director of operations Evgeni Kogan have exchanged nasty insults over Twitter after Magalhaes was not happy with the fights the Russian-based promotion was making, and Kogan supposedly coached one of Magalhaes' opponents from ringside, a huge no-no for a promoter who should be unbiased.

Since Magalhaes said he is through his contract and wants to move on from the promotion, he has no reason to hold on to the belt. He put it on eBay, starting bids at $0.09. At the time of writing, it's up to $2,605. Magalhaes tweeted the link and told Kogan, "Hey buddy, you wanted your belt back? #placeyourbid it's on @ebay :)"

Thanks, Bloody Elbow.

--

Follow Cagewriter on Facebook and Twitter.

Other popular content on the Yahoo! network:
? Jeff Passan: Who's most likely to land Josh Hamilton on the free-agent market?
? Cleveland Browns' Joe Haden takes jilted teen to prom
? Derided coach Vinny Del Negro sounds off after Clippers' Game 7 win
? Y! Movies: 'Hick' villain Dave Vescio's true crime backstory

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/m-1-champion-vinny-magalhaes-put-championship-belt-134630897.html

Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt Andersen  Alex Andrade 

?Broke? Tom Lawlor gets $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus at UFC on Fuel 3

Tom Lawlor knocked out Jason MacDonald in under a minute at UFC on Fuel 3 Tuesday and earned a $40,000 Knockout of the Night bonus. It turns out the extra money could not have come at a better time.

Lawlor, who is known for his flamboyant entrances and joking mood, became serious in a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani. When Helwani asked about the pressure to win after coming off a loss at UFC 139, Lawlor admitted that the pressures were financial.

"I'll be honest. I'm broke. I have no money. This money that I got today, it's going to be the first time I've deposited a check in over a year. A year and a half. This is like a big deal to me. I had to borrow money from friends and family just in order to go into this fight. I want to thank them, obviously. This means a lot to me mentally, it means a lot to my bank account."

He recently switched training camps and moved to Massachusetts to be closer to family. The cost of living and fighting just once in 2011 -- a loss to Chris Weidman at UFC 139 -- caught up with him.

"I think I miscalculated the cost of living in the Northeast," Lawlor said. "I basically took all my money, bought a house and blew through my money ? just living costs, traveling, price of gas, multiple training locations."

Unlike in the four major sports leagues, fighters pay for their own training expenses. The win plus $40,000 in bonus money should help Lawlor pay back those friends and family who were kind enough to help him.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/broke-tom-lawlor-gets-40-000-knockout-night-132021050.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Nate Diaz, Jim Miller make weight at UFC on Fox 3 weigh-ins in New Jersey

Jim Miller made weight in front of his home crowd at the Izod Center in Newark, just a half hour from where he trains. His opponent, Nate Diaz, also made weight to make their five-round fight on Saturday official.

The rest of the weigh-ins were uneventful. Danny Castillo sported the best outfit, coming to the stage in what appeared to be a suit and tie, but tore off like track pants. John Dodson's socks were the best accessory. John Lineker came in a pound heavy for his flyweight bout with Louis Gaudinot, and will hand over $1,200 to Gaudinot.

Complete weigh-in results from our friends at MMA Junkie:

MAIN CARD (FOX)
Nate Diaz (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)
Johny Hendricks (170.5) vs. Josh Koscheck (170.5)
Alan Belcher (186) vs. Rousimar Palhares (186)
Pat Barry (244) vs. Lavar Johnson (253)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FUEL TV)
Tony Ferguson (154.5) vs. Michael Johnson (156)
John Dodson (126) vs. Tim Elliott (125)
John Hathaway (169) vs. Pascal Krauss (169)
Louis Gaudinot (126) vs. John Lineker (127)
Danny Castillo (155) vs. John Cholish (155.5)
Dennis Bermudez (145.5) vs. Pablo Garza (145)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)
Roland Delorme (135) vs. Nick Denis (135)
Mike Massenzio (184) vs. Karlos Vemola (185)

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/nate-diaz-jim-miller-weight-ufc-fox-3-211308372.html

Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger  Jimmy Ambriz Matt AndersenÂ