Vinny Magalhães

Vinicius "Vinny" de Magalhães ( ; ; born July 2, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he was a finalist in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir and has fought five times within two stints with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former Titan FC Light heavyweight Champion, M-1 Global Light heavyweight Champion and is also a former jiu-jitsu no-gi world champion and ADCC champion. Magalhães was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame in 2024.

Background Magalhães was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He played football, and began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when he was 14 years old. His mentors are Royler Gracie & Vini Aieta

Grappling career Magalhães was promoted to black belt by his instructors Vinicius Aieta and Royler Gracie, on the podium after winning thirteen matches (ten by submissions), and taking home two gold medals in the 2005 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship as a brown belt. Magalhães has recently expressed that he's been training in different grappling styles such as sambo (primarily leg locks) and catch wrestling. He is also known, despite his background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, as being one of the primary pioneers (along with Shinya Aoki and others) of 10th planet jiu-jitsu techniques in MMA.

In 2007, Magalhães would become the first Jiu-Jitsu No Gi world champion in the Super Heavyweight Division as a black belt.

In 2009, Magalhães had an impressive performance in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, winning 2 Bronze Medals (Under 99 kg Division and Absolute Division). On his way to win the bronze medal in his weight Division, Magalhães defeated BJJ World Champion Rodrigo Cavaca (1st Round, Inverted Heel Hook), the 2003 ADCC World Champion and 2x BJJ Absolute World Champion Marcio Cruz(Quarter-Finals, Flying Armbar), ADCC Brazil Trial Winner and Fellow MMA fighter Glover Teixeira (3rd Place Match, Armbar) and Losing a razor edge decision on points to the eventual Champion Xande Ribeiro (Semi-Final, Points). On his run for his second bronze medal, Magalhães beat the 2005 ADCC Absolute World Champion Dean Lister by judges' decision, moving on to the quarterfinals against the 2X NCAA Wrestler and MMA Prospect Chris Weidman, who he beat by Flying Armbar (His second in the Competition), which put him in the Semi-Final against Braulio Estima, who beat Magalhães by points, and became the eventual Absolute Champion. In the 3rd Place match, Magalhães used his experience against Gunnar Nelson to score a Takedown in the last few seconds of the over time to guarantee his second bronze medal in his first ADCC.

In 2011, Magalhães went up weight class in the ADCC Tournament, competing at the 99 kg and over division. He became the divisional winner, beating the reigning champion Fabrício Werdum by points in the final match.

On August 9, 2014, Magalhães fought Keenan Cornelius in a grappling match in Metamoris IV. The fight ended in a draw. On November 22, 2014, Magalhães again fought at Metamoris V against Matheus Diniz that also ended in a draw.

At the 2015 ADCC Tournament, Magalhães won the bronze medal in the 99 kg and over division. All his wins came by submission, including a twister against Rodrigo Artilheiro in the quarterfinals.

Magalhães was invited to compete in the over 99 kg division at the 2024 ADCC World Championship. He lost a decision to Damon Ramos in the opening round.

Mixed martial arts career

The Ultimate Fighter Magalhães defeated Lance Evans, brother of Rashad Evans, when Evans quit after the first round due to a rib injury. Magalhães then defeated Jules Bruchez by armbar in the first round to move to the semifinals. Magalhães then fought Krzysztof Soszynski and defeated him by armbar in the first round, thus moving on to the finals to face Ryan Bader.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Magalhães lost via first round TKO in his UFC debut in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir against former castmate Ryan Bader at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.

Magalhães' next fight was at UFC 97, taking on former The Ultimate Fighter castmate Eliot Marshall. Magalhães lost a unanimous decision (30-27, 30–27, 29-28).

Magalhães was released from the UFC on April 29, 2009, due to his 0–2 record with the company.

M-1 Global After being released from the UFC, Magalhães went 7–1, winning five fights by submission and two by knockout while dropping one by decision, improving his overall record to 9-5 (1).

Magalhães scored an mounted gogoplata submission victory over Viktor Nemkov to become the M-1 Global Light heavyweight Champion. He then went on to defend the light heavyweight championship with a third-round TKO victory over Mikhail Zayats.

After a contract dispute with M-1 Global, Magalhães placed his belt for sale on eBay.com with a bid of over US$90,000.

Return to UFC On July 17, 2012, it was announced that Magalhães had re-signed with the UFC. He faced Igor Pokrajac on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152. and won via armbar at 1:14 of the 2nd round.

Magalhães faced Phil Davis on April 27, 2013, at UFC 159. losing in a unanimous decision.

Magalhães faced Anthony Perosh on August 3, 2013, at UFC 163. He lost by knockout in just fourteen seconds in round 1. After this loss, he was released from the UFC again.

Independent promotions Magalhães denied any talks of retirement and was expected to fight Jeff Monson in a heavyweight bout on November 9, 2013, at Global Warrior Challenge 2: USA vs Brazil. However, Magalhães pulled out of the fight due to a prolonged back injury.

Magalhães defeated previously unbeaten Mexican fighter Jorge Gonzalez at Xtreme Kombat 24 via first round rear naked choke on July 19, 2014, in Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico; After almost a full year absence from fighting.

Titan Fighting Championships Magalhães was expected to take on Jason Brilz in the main event of Titan FC 28. However, he was forced out due to injury and replaced by Raphael Davis.

The championship fight with Brilz was re-booked and took place on September 26, 2014, at Titan FC 30 in Cedar Park, Texas, Magalhães defeated Brilz in the opening minute of the 4th round via guillotine choke after dropping Brilz with a headkick. Magalhães is now the TitanFC light heavyweight champion.

World Series of Fighting Magalhães was scheduled to face UFC veteran Matt Hamill at WSOF 20 on April 10, 2015. However, he was pulled from the bout after a contract dispute with Titan Fighting Championships. He eventually faced Hamill at WSOF 24 held on October 17, 2015, and won via submission in the first round.

Magalhães fought for the WSOF light heavyweight championship at WSOF 33 on October 7, 2016, against champion David Branch. He lost via unanimous decision.

Absolute Championship Berkut Magalhães faced Karol Celinski on July 1, 2017, at ACB 63. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League 2018 PFL season In his PFL debut, Vinny faced Jamie Abdallah at PFL 2 on June 21, 2018. He won the bout via first round rear-naked choke.

In his sophomore performance, Vinny faced Brandon Halsey at PFL 5 on August 2, 2018. He won the bout after connecting with a head kick in the first round and finishing Halsey on the ground.

In the quarterfinals on October 13, 2018, at PFL 9, Vinny faced Rakim Cleveland, winning the bout via first round kimura.

In the semifinals on the same night at PFL 9, Vinny faced Bazigit Atajev, winning via first round kimura once again.

2019 PFL season In the first fight of the season, Vinny faced eventual season winner Emiliano Sordi at PFL 3 on June 6, 2019. He lost the bout via TKO in the second round.

In a rematch of the previous season, he faced Rakim Cleveland at PFL 6 on August 8, 2019. He won the bout via first round armbar.

Making it to the quarterfinals, Vinny faced Rashid Yusupov at PFL 9 on October 31, 2019. He lost the bout in the first round via TKO .

2021 PFL season At the beginning of April, Vinny replaced Smealinho Rama for the whole 2021 season. He was scheduled to face Jordan Young at PFL 2 on April 29, 2021. At weigh-ins, Vinny missed weight and had to be taken to the hospital due to complications of his weight cut and was pulled from the bout.

Vinny faced Antônio Carlos Júnior at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. Halfway through round one, Júnior hit Magalhães with an accidental knee to the groin, rendering him unable to continue. This led to the bout being declared a no contest.

Championships and accomplishments Grappling ADCC Submission Wrestling Championship 2015 Bronze Medal in the 99+ Division 2011 Gold Medal in the 99+ Division 2009 Bronze Medal in the -99 kg Division 2007 3rd place in the "SuperSuper Heavyweight" division 2005 1st place the Absolute division 2005 1st place in the Super Heavyweight division 2002 1st place the Heavyweight division 2001 2nd place in the Absolute division 2000 3rd place in the Middleweight division

Mixed martial arts M-1 Global M-1 Global Light heavyweight Championship (One time) One successful title defense Titan Fighting Championships Titan FC Light heavyweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record NC

Antônio Carlos Júnior NC (accidental knee to groin) PFL 5 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Rashid Yusupov KO (punch) PFL 9 (2019)

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Rakim Cleveland Submission (armbar) PFL 6 (2019)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Loss

Emiliano Sordi TKO (punches) PFL 3 (2019)

Uniondale, New York, United States Loss

Sean O'Connell TKO (corner stoppage) PFL 11 (2018)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Bozigit Ataev Submission (kimura)

Win

Rakim Cleveland Submission (flying triangle kimura)

Win

Brandon Halsey TKO (punches) PFL 5 (2018)

Uniondale, New York, United States Win

Jamie Abdallah Submission (rear-naked choke) PFL 2 (2018)

Chicago, Illinois, United States Loss

Karol Celinski Decision (unanimous) ACB 63

Gdańsk, Poland Loss

David Branch Decision (unanimous) WSOF 33

Kansas City, Missouri, United States Win

Jake Heun Decision (unanimous) WSOF 30

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Matt Hamill Submission (kneebar) WSOF 24

Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States Win

Jason Brilz Submission (guillotine choke) Titan FC 30

Cedar Park, Texas, United States Win

Jorge Gonzalez Submission (rear-naked choke) Xtreme Kombat 24

Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico Loss

Anthony Perosh KO (punches) UFC 163

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Loss

Phil Davis Decision (unanimous) UFC 159

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Igor Pokrajac Submission (armbar) UFC 152

Toronto, Ontario, Canada Win

Mikhail Zayats TKO (head kick and punches) M-1 Challenge 27

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

Viktor Nemkov Submission (gogoplata neck crank) M-1 Challenge 25

Saint Petersburg, Russia Win

Jake Doerr TKO (punches) M-1 Challenge 24

Norfolk, Virginia, United States Win

Robert Scott Submission (armbar) MMA Xplosion: International Team Challenge

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Alikhan Magomedov Submission (triangle armbar) M-1 Challenge 22

Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia Loss

Pedro Galiza Decision (unanimous) Shark Fights 9

Amarillo, Texas, United States Win

Mike Nickels Submission (armbar) Ring of Fire 36

Denver, Colorado, United States Win

Chris Davis Submission (triangle choke) Carolina Fight Promotions: The Carolina Crown 2

Raleigh, North Carolina, United States Loss

Eliot Marshall Decision (unanimous) UFC 97

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loss

Ryan Bader TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Raphael Davis Submission (verbal) Valor Fighting: Fight Night

Tustin, California, United States Win

Luis Ojeda Submission (armbar) MMA Xtreme 18

Tijuana, Mexico Win

Adolfo de la Torre Submission (armbar) MMA Xtreme 15

Mexico City, Mexico Loss

George Bush Decision (unanimous) Gracie FC: Evolution

Columbus, Ohio, United States NC

Chris Larkin No Contest Gracie Proving Ground 1

Columbus, Ohio, United States Win

Krzysztof Soszynski Submission (armbar)

(airdate)

Win

Jules Bruchez Submission (armbar) (airdate)

Win

Lance Evans TKO (rib injury) (airdate)