It is said that everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. Some shine, some dont. In the case of Vinny “Pezao” Magalhaes, his 15 minutes could last a bit longer if he works on his standup.

In a TUF Finale post fight interview, Vinny admits that his standup is “horrible”. Vinny is a grappler, that is his bread and butter, but to last in MMA jiu-jitsu alone does not make a champion.

Vinicius ‘Pezao’ Magalhaes is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and hails from Gracie Humaita in Rio de Janeiro, the school founded by Helio Gracie. To say that Vinny knows his jiu-jitsu is an understatement. He has been heralded as quite possibly the top BJJ practitioner in the world.

He is a two time Brazilian National Heavyweight champion, a six time Rio De Janeiro State Champion in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. He is also the US Open Champion and 2007 Grapplers Quest West Coast Champion. In 2007 Vinny also became the North American Tournament Champion in no gi submission grappling. Vinny is also the winner of the Pan-American Grappling Championship, which is like the olympics of Jiu-jitsu. In Gi BJJ tournaments he is a three time world champion in the heavyweight, super heavyweight, and absolute divisions.

Vinny has also competed in the Professional Submission League, which holds no gi submission grappling events all over the country. In one PSL event, he defeated the Abu Dhabi Champion, Robert Drysdale. He also fought the former Pride FC sensation, Vladimir Matyushenko.

Vinny is an avid “gym rat” and former Team Quest member, is always either training or helping others train. 

Through his career he has trained with and helped instruct various professionals such as Frank Shamrock, Marcello Garcia, Dean Lister, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Dave Gardener, Jesse Taylor, Gabe Ruediger, Fernando Gonzalez, and most recently Frank Mir, from Season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter.

He is helping Frank to prepare for his UFC 92 Interim Heavyweight Title match against Antonio Nogueira.

As many fans remember from The Ultimate Fighter, Vinny has been quoted as saying that Brazilians hate him. He meant that in reference to the fact that he has trained multiple Americans to defeat Brazillians.

He trained Dan Henderson for his fight against Wanderlei Silva for Pride FC 33, he trained Sokoudjou for his fights against Machida, Rogerio Nogueira, and Ricardo Arona. And now he is helping Mir train for another Brazillian in Big Nog.

After getting TKO’d by Ryan Bader in the TUF finale, and With a 2-3 record in MMA, many could write off Vinny Magalhaes and that would be a mistake. A few good months of working on his striking and he could be a major force to reckon with in MMA.

-Jeff Howard

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