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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Recently re-signed light heavyweight Vinny Magalhaes is ecstatic to be returning to the UFC, but he's realistic about where he's entering the organization. Though he left M-1 Global as their light heavyweight champion, he places himself firmly in the bottom of the UFC's 205 lb. field ahead of his UFC 152 bout with Igor Pokrajac.
"They have like 37 fighters in my division, and I'm like 37 right now," Magalhaes said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "But I'm fighting a guy that probably right in the middle, so if I beat him, I take his spot."
Magalhaes was ready to leave M-1 last year after a very public spat between himself and M-1 management. After seeing M-1 members openly cheering for his opponent in a title fight, he was done; but as he counted down the days to his matching period in January, he found out he'd have to sit even longer to get out of there.
"They didn't let me go, so I started a new countdown, which was when the matching period would start," Magalhaes said. "So I just assumed that when the matching period started, they're going to let me go because they're not going to be matching any offers."
"Then I get an email from the guy saying that they were going to match an offer just to prove a point, so I was like, 'let's start a new countdown.'"
That countdown finally expired in July, and he jumped at the opportunity to return to the UFC. He's got a stiff first test in Pokrajac, but for Magalhaes that's the type of fights he's looking for.
"You cannot be going back to the UFC asking for easy fights," he said. "I like this opponent better than any of the other guys I asked for. If I beat him, it's going to take me from the bottom to the middle. Then two more fights, and I'm fighting the top guys."
Penick's Analysis: Magalhaes is an exciting grappler, and though he's still got some deficiencies as far as striking and cardio are concerned, they're vastly improved from when he was in the UFC the first time around, and he should be able to compete in the UFC's light heavyweight division. This is a great first test, and an opportunity for him to firmly plant his foot in the door and make a statement immediately. He'll get his chance to do just that on Sept. 22.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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