Maiquel Falcao Arrested in Brazil: Is His UFC Career Over Before It Ever Really Started?

Newly-signed ufc star Maiquel Falcao has quickly become the subject of much controversy following his successful UFC debut against highly-touted (at the time) prospect Gerald Harris. Falcao outright embarrassed Harris for two straight rounds… before shutting his killer instinct off and coasting in the third round, putting a black mark on his performance and a giant target on his back. And now it appears that things have gotten even worse for the Brazilian-born fighter. According to a new report, Falcao was recently arrested. Here are all the details.

Diario Popular, with translations courtesy of MMA Mania, reports that the 26-3 Falcao was arrested yesterday, December 3, in the city of Pelotas by local police. Falcao is a six-year MMA veteran and has over 80% of his wins by (T)KO. According to the report, Falcao was arrested “due to a warrant stemming from an assault charge of a woman outside a nightclub in 2002.” The report also states that Falcao is behind bars and being held in a local jail until this issue is resolved.

Given the fact that there are so few details currently being reported about this case, I’ve basically chosen to reserve judgment until all the facts are out. I can say, however, that this could potentially have a major adverse effect on Falcao’s career, but only if he serves hard time. The UFC has been willing to give a lot of guys a lot of second chances… and that includes guys that get arrested. Just look at Chris Leben and his multiple run-ins with the law for proof.

Do I think Falcao deserves another fight in the UFC? Sure. It couldn’t hurt. Everyone has a bad fight here and there, it seems like no fighter is immune from being accused of playing it safe and coasting to a victory. I hate to pull the “you try it” card, but I think this is one of the rare instances where it’s actually justified. Could you definitively, 100%, without a single doubt in your mind say that you wouldn’t play it safe to guarantee victory if it had been you debuting in the biggest promotion of the sport you had spent the last six years giving your life to? Falcao gave us two good rounds of action and a bad third round. It’s not like he stunk up the place for fifteen straight minutes.

Judging by what I’ve seen of him, and admittedly I’ve only seen a little, I think Falcao shines brightest when he’s pushed and forced to engage. In the UFC’s Middleweight division, there seems to be no shortage of fighters looking to come out and brawl in order to entertain fans and secure their position in the company. On paper Harris was a terrible match-up for Falcao and Falcao still managed to make the fight very entertaining for the first and second rounds.  I honestly think Falcao would put on some amazing performances if matched up with the likes of Michael Bisping, or Chris Leben, or even Wanderlei Silva.

But first things first: this issue needs to be resolved, and soon. If Falcao sits on the sidelines figuring out these legal troubles for too long, he’ll lose any remaining value he had in the UFC. And even I can admit that his value isn’t all that high after his horrible performance in the third round of his recent fight with Gerald Harris. Falcao still has the potential to be a force in the UFC… but only if he gets all his issues sorted out sooner rather than later and returns to the Octagon as quickly as he can. It will be very interesting to see what 2011 holds for Maiquel Falcao.

And what about you, fans and friends? What do you think the fallout of this situation will be?