When I talked to Ultimate Fighter coach Frank Mir this week about the aspiring UFC fighters he coached on the show, it was clear that the fighter who impressed him the most was Vinny Magalhaes.
Mir raves about Vinny's jiu jitsu and views Vinny as a strong favorite to beat Ryan Bader Saturday night and win the six-figure UFC contract.
"Bader's a very strong wrestler, but he didn't have much ground skills," Mir said. "Vinny's such a high-level jiu jitsu guy, if he takes him down it's trouble. When you go to the ground with Vinny, you're done. Bader's only chance of winning the fight is to stay away from him and hope to land a big shot. I think Bader's a great fighter and has a lot of potential but I think it's hard to see how he can beat Vinny."
I mentioned to Mir that UFC President Dana White referred to Vinny's stand-up game as "boring," but Mir said he disagreed with that.
"Vinny's been training at Xtreme Couture, and I've worked with him, and I think his stand-up has improved a lot," Mir said. "I think his stand-up is good. He throws a hard roundhouse. Vinny kicks hard. He's a powerful guy. Now, was he tentative with his hands? Yeah, but he's learned so well, his boxing has improved drastically."
Frank Mir: Vinny Magalhaes Has the Best Jiu Jitsu in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division originally appeared on MMA FanHouse on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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