Vinny Magalhães - 3rd Degree Black Belt Champion

1. Vinny Magalhães’s Details

2. Vinny Magalhães’s Biography

Vinny Magalhães was born in Rio de Janeiro on 2nd July 1984. He represented various big academies like 10th Planet, Gracie Tujica, Gracie Humaita, Cesar Gracie’s Academy, and Team Quest in the international competitive BJJ circuit. He won various medals in the IBJJF World and ADCC championships.

2.1. Started Jiu-Jitsu Journey

Vinny was an athletic child from his early childhood. Like various other kids, Vinny liked to play various sports like football and basketball. In 1998, when he was 14 years old, he was introduced to Jiu-Jitsu. He started training in Jiu-Jitsu in a gym near his house.     

2.2. First Two Coaches of Vinny Magalhães

Vinny Magalhães started his BJJ training with his first coach Jair Reis. He was the coach in a gym named Bairro de Olaria located near Vinny’s house. Magalhães’s journey with his first coach was not very long and he left his gym after a few months of training. He joined Professor Germano Junior who was a coach at Strauch Academy. Vinny trained with Professor Germano till 1999 and received his Blue Belt from him.

2.3. Met with Professor Vinicius Aieta

After receiving his Blue Belt, Magalhães wanted to train in a more competitive environment. He met with Master Vinicius Aieta, a coach at Gracie Tijuca. Professor Aieta later became his mentor and final coach who promoted him to his Black Belt. During his stay in Gracie Tijuca, Vinny also trained under Saulo Ribeiro.   

2.4. Unique Grappling Style

Under the instructions of two talented coaches, Vinny learned a lot. He developed his distinctive grappling style. Magalhães started training with tough guys and his training style evolved gradually. Finally, his fighting style transitioned into his unique style in which he started to go for submission at any cost.   

2.5. Vinny’s Personal Life

Vinny is living happily with his wife Alliny Magalhaes. They have two children. Their son was born in November 2010 and their daughter was born in 2014. Vinny also has a half-blood brother in his family, named Sidney Magal who is a famous singer. Sidney Magal is also one of the supporters of Brazilian Club Botafogo. 

2.6. Vinny Magalhães’s Nicknames

Vinicius Magalhães was often called by his nicknames Vinny and Pezao. The first nickname “Vinny” was used by Cesar Gracie when Magalhães joined his gym. He liked and adopted this name as this was a short-spelled name and a solution for the issue of his often misspelled long name.

The second nickname, “Pezao”, was given to Magalhães by Bernardo Treco who was with Magalhães in Gracie Tijuca. The meaning of Pezao is “Big Foot”. He was given this name because, at the age of 14, his feet are bigger as compared to his body size.    

2.7. Vinny’s Coaching Career

Started Coaching at Cesar Gracie’s Academy

Vinny started his coaching career in 2004 when he was a Brown Belt in 2004. At that time, Vinny was on good terms with Cesar Gracie’s cousin. He received news about a vacant post of a coach in Gracie’s Academy. Vinny grabbed that opportunity and went to the USA. He was selected for that coaching job.

Joined Team Quest

Vinny’s stay in Cesar Gracie’s academy was short. After this big opportunity, Vinny got another chance to be great in his coaching career. Vinny was appointed as a coach in a big Mixed Martial Arts Academy, Team Quest. During his stay in Team Quest, Vinny got a chance to meet the MMA legends, Matt Lindland and Dan Henderson. They were also honored by the academy.

2.8. Vinny’s MMA Career 

Vinny’s first fight in MMA was fixed on 11 November 2006 in Gracie Proving Ground 1. But the fight could not be conducted on the fixed date. So, Vinny made his debut in MMA on 19 May 2007.

2.9. Vinny Magalhaes MMA Record

33 matches	19 wins	12 losses
By knockout	3	5
By submission	15	1
By decision	1	6
No contests	2

2.10. Vinny’s BJJ Pro Combats

Promoted to Black Belt

Vinny Magalhães received his Black Belt from his coach Vinicius Aieta and coach of his master, Royler Gracie in 2005. His Black Belt promotion is an interesting story. He participated in the IBJJF World Championship as a Brown Belt in both weight and absolute divisions.

Vinny submitted all of his opponents in the weight category and became the Super Pesado weight champion. His extraordinary performance convinced Royler Gracie to promote him to Black Belt. But his coach Vinicius Aieta agreed to disagree. He was not in favor of promoting him to Black Belt after ten months of Brown Belt promotion.

They both decided that if Vinny won the absolute weight division by submission, they would promote him to Black Belt. But if he could not submit his opponent, he had to wait for his Black Belt for more time. Vinny Magalhães submitted his opponent, Gabriel Kitobert by Armbar in just one minute. He received his Black Belt on the podium of the 2005 IBJJF World Championship.    

Achieved Four Medals at ADCC World Championship

Vinny Magalhães achieved four medals at ADCC World Championship. In ADCC 2009, Vinny Magalhães won two Bronze Medals in both weight and absolute divisions. In 2011, he became the ADCC champion in the +99 kg weight division. In 2015, he again became the Bronze winner in ADCC World Championship in the +99 kg weight category.       

Four-Times World Champion 

Vinny Magalhães is a four-times world champion in different Belt levels. In 2002, he achieved his first World Champion title in the Blue Belt category. He performed extraordinarily in the World Championship at Brown Belt category and won two World Titles, in both weight and absolute divisions.     

The Ultimate Fighter Show

Vinny Magalhães attained various opportunities during his stay at Team Quest. One of the golden opportunities he availed was the Ultimate Fighter Show. TUF is a TV reality show in which various fighters participated. They are allowed to fight in their own style. The show had a contract with Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Vinny positively made the most out of his relationship with Dan Henderson. Vinny was nominated for the final fight without passing through trials. But in the finals, he lost against Ryan Bader via TKO. 

2.11. Magalhães’ Fall in Grappling

Appearing in TUF shows without complete knowledge of combat sports proved very unlucky for Magalhães. Another bad luck Magalhães faced was that after coming back from the reality show, he found some problems with the management of Team Quest and left the team.

Without any coaching, Magalhães lost against another TUF fighter, Eliot Marshall. This was the declining phase of Magalhães's grappling career.     

2.12. Relocated to Las Vegas  

Vinny took another start and relocated to Las Vegas. He started training there with new coaches and competitive training partners. They assisted him to start his MMA career. Now Vinny Magalhães started to appear in grappling events including ADCC and Grapplers Quest.       

3. Vinny Magalhães’s Historic Fights

3.1. Vinny Magalhães Vs. Gordon Ryan

Vinny Magalhães faced the No-Gi king Gordon Ryan in ACB JJ 13 and both executed their best skills in the match. Gordon Ryan is a top-class fighter who has a great winning record. Both fighters entertained their fans with a fantastic show of.

In the first round of the match, both fighters executed an energetic performance. Gordon tried to takedown Vinny but Vinny grabbed Gordon’s leg in between his thighs. After a few seconds, Vinny succeeded in taking down Gordon and took the top position. He secured his top position almost till the end of the first round.

Vinny also tried to score points by applying side control but he could not score any points in the first round. At the end of the first round, Gordon strangled his leg and went for a leg lock. But Vinny escaped before the end of the first round.

At the start of the second round, Vinny secured his top position. Later, Vinny tried to take down Ryan but Ryan resisted very well.  

In the third round, Gordon Ryan showcased an aggressive performance but Vinny was well-prepared for every move. He again took the top position and tried to control Gordon. Gondon did not let him control. At the end of the match, Vinny won the match with points.     

3.2. Vinny Magalhães Vs. Marcus Almeida Buchecha

Vinny Magalhães faced Marcus Almeida Buchecha in the Ultimate Absolute NYC, No-Gi Grappling Tournament 2011. Vinny started the match with a takedown with his leg strangled between the legs of Buchecha.

Buchecha countered by applying a knee bar but Vinny changed his position rapidly. Buchecha set his position to apply a leg lock. But Vinny executed an active performance, escaped from the leg lock position, and took the top position. Buchecha tried to take Vinny down but he found his leg strangled by Vinny. Vinny submitted Buchecha with a leglock. 

3.3. Vinny Magalhães Vs. Daniel Gracie

Vinny Magalhães faced Daniel Gracie in the Ultimate Absolute No-Gi Grappling Tournament. This was one of the best fights of Vinny Magalhães. Both fighters spent almost three initial minutes in the standing position and tried to take down each other.

After a few minutes, Vinny actively succeeded in taking the back of Daniel. He grabbed his groin, took him down, and converted him into a turtle position. This move proved to be the winning move for Vinny. Vinny submitted Daniel with the Banana Split submission.     

4. Vinny Magalhães’s Main Achievements

4.1. Vinny’s Main Achievements in International Tournaments

Year	Event	Weight Division
2002	IBJJF World Championship	Heavyweight
2002	IBJJF Pan Championship	Medium Heavyweight
2005	IBJJF World Championship	Super Heavyweight
2005	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	N/A
2007	IBJJF World Championship NoGi	Super Heavyweight
2011	ADCC World Championship	99 kg
2016	IBJJF Masters World Championship	Ultra Heavyweight

4.2. Vinny’s Main Achievements as Black Belt

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2007	IBJJF World Championship NoGi	Black Belt	1st
2009	ADCC World Championship	Black Belt	3rd
2011	ADCC World Championship	Black Belt	1st
2011	ADCC World Championship	Black Belt	3rd
2016	IBJJF Masters World Championship	Black Belt	1st

4.3. Vinny’s Main Achievements as Colored Belt

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2002	IBJJF World Championship	Blue Belt	1st
2002	IBJJF Pan Championship	Blue Belt	1st
2003	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	Purple Belt	2nd
2005	IBJJF World Championship	Brown Belt	1st
2005	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	Brown Belt	1st
2005	IBJJF Pan Championship	Brown Belt	2nd

5. Vinny Magalhães’s Professional Record Breakdown

5.1. Vinny’s Professional Record

62 Matches	36 Wins	23 Losses
By Points	11	9
By Advantages	1	3
By Submission	21	2
By Decision	1	6
By Penalties	1	1
By EBI/OT	1	2
Draw	3

5.2. Method of Submission

Method	21 Wins	2 Losses
Heel Hook	8	0
Flying Armbar	2	0
Foot Lock	1	0
Inside Heel Hook	1	0
Kneebar	1	0
Toe Hold	4	0
Banana Split	1	0
Twister	1	0
Kimura	1	0
Triangle Armbar	1	0
Choke from Back	0	1
Verbal Tap	0	1

6. Vinny Magalhães’s Fight History

7. Vinny Magalhães’s Top Fight Links

Photo Credit: @vinnymma