Video: UFC 163's Vinny Magalhaes just wants win – but submission would be nice

Vinny Magalhaes may be the most decorated grappler on Saturday’s UFC 163 card, but his fight against Anthony Perosh is about more than just pulling off some slick submission in his home country.

Well, sort of. Don’t get Magalhaes wrong – he has to get a win, first and foremost. But that submission sure would be nice. And even if he wants to stop thinking about it, he can’t seem to.

Magalhaes (10-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) and Perosh (13-7 MMA, 3-4 UFC) meet on the FX-broadcast prelims of UFC 163 at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The main card follows on pay-per-view.

After Magalhaes’ unanimous decision loss to Phil Davis at UFC 159 in April, which followed a decent amount of trash talk leading up to the fight, the second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt just needs to be sure he walks out of the octagon with a victory.

That he can do it in Brazil, where he’s never fought over a 17-bout career, would be a bonus.

“It’s not about getting the submission,” Magalhaes told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s about performing much better than I did last time. Of course, winning (is important), but getting a much better performance (is most important) because the last fight was pretty embarrassing for me. I need to win and not just win a decision – I need to show people what I’m capable of.

“The way to do it would be with a dominant fight and getting a finish, either a knockout or a submission. It’s really important, not just for the Brazilian fans – but for my career.”

Magalhaes lost to Ryan Bader in the Season 8 finals of “The Ultimate Fighter.” After a loss to Eliot Marshall, he was cut from the UFC. But he earned his way back by winning seven of eight fights, all by stoppage. And when he returned against Igor Pokrajac this past September, it was with a second-round armbar.

But he struggled against Davis, and now even though he knows a win is of the utmost importance, it’s hard to tell the elite-level grappler to forget about going after a tapout – and a bonus.

“Always – that’s one thing I always try to go after,” he said. “I haven’t been lucky (in the UFC), but maybe this time. That would be great – ‘Submission of the Night’ in Brazil. If I see an opening, my favorite one to get would be a gogoplata, but it’s not one I go after much. If it happens, it happens. But that’s definitely my favorite.”

But Magalhaes may have his hands full in Brazil. For starters, he thinks he’ll have the fans on his side. That would be a natural for most Brazilians fighting in Brazil. But for Magalhaes, he’s unnerved many of his home country’s fans with a past dispute with the brothers Nogueira, and that he was a teammate of famed Brazilian basher Chael Sonnen in the States didn’t help matters.

And then there’s Perosh’s ground game, which is more than adequate. He’s got nine submissions in 13 career wins and is a third-degree black belt and two-time bronze medlaist at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Still, Magalhaes seems to believe there’s his black belt, and then there’s everyone else’s.

“He’s not as decorated as me, but his jiu-jitsu game is really good,” Magalhaes said. “He’s solid. He’s not one of those guys who claim to be a black belt, but they don’t show much. Most of his fights, every time he took his opponent to the ground he did really well, and he was able to dominate especially from top position.

“But I’ll be honest with you – I don’t think I’m really worried about his ground game, top or bottom.”

And if he’s not worried about it, it might be safe to expect Magalhaes to go after that all-important win – as long as it comes by submission.

For more on UFC 163, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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