I don't think it's necessarily my place to judge.
Then why post all these "I don't know, but I heard from another dude" threads like this every chance you get?
There are now, I believe, five Machado black belts on the other side of the state from Grand Rapids. "Machado" as in directly promoted by one of the Machado brothers (or in the most recent case, with Rigan's stated and direct blessing) -- one of whom you keep talking shit about on Sherdog, hoping people will infer who you're talking about without actually having the balls to name names.
I've trained with all five of these guys, and they're all legit. All of 'em. I'm telling you my own experience, not something I overheard in some locker room. At the very least my views have been formed by training with these guys, learning from them, rolling with them . . .
Just my two cents. Sorry to interrupt your obvious "un"willingness to second-guess the judgment of the Machado brothers based on little more than shit you happened to hear. When any one of the Machados starts selling belts or gives us any reason to believe they've ever behaved less than scrupulously, then you'll be the first person I apologize to. Until then, some respect. They've earned it.
& great thread, by the way, TS. There's also "Google." You won't get Wrestleben, of course, but you'll get a bit less bullshit than on Sherdog.