Vinny Magalhaes

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1 Profile
2 Early Career
3 The Ultimate Fighter
4 Mixed martial arts record
5 Gallery
6 External links

Profile

Vinny "Pezao" Magalhaes (born July 2, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist as well as a highly decorated black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. He trains out of Team Quest.

He stands 6 ft. 3 in. (190 cm) tall and fights in the light heavyweight division. He made it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir and currently fights as a light heavyweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

His nickname, "Pezao" means "big foot" in Portugese.

Early Career

Vinny Magalhaes entered professional mixed martial arts on November 11, 2006 with a highly decorated background in Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments. The 3x World Champion (Heavy/Super Heavy/Absolute) and Pan American champion made his debut against Chris Larkin at the first Gracie Proving Ground event. No result was reached however, as the bout ended in a no contest.

A little over six months later, Vinny returned to MMA competition at a Gracie Fighting Championships event. He faced YAMMA veteran, George Bush and was defeated by unanimous decision.

Vinny's next two bouts went for a combined total of 40 seconds with Vinny securing an armbar submission in each bout.

In his next fight, Magalhaes verbally submitted to Raphael Davis at a Valor Fighting event in March of 2008.

The Ultimate Fighter

Vinny's strong grappling pedigree earned him a spot as a contestant for the 8th season of The Ultimate Fighter, The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir.

In the first round of the 16 man light heavyweight tournament that made up one half of the 8th season of TUF, Vinny faced Lance Evans, brother of UFC light heavyweight contender, Rashad Evans. Vinny defeated Evans after he submitted due to a rib injury as result of some kicks from Magalhaes.

Now inside the house, Vinny gained a lot of attention for his prestigious grappling background and drew the ire of opposing team's coach, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira after Vinny was accused of downplaying Nogueira's ground game.

In the quarter finals, Vinny faced Jules Bruchez. A clearly overwhelmed Bruchez was defeated quickly by Vinny who tapped Bruchez with an armbar after a few minutes in the first round.

At the semi final selections, Vinny asked to face fellow Team Quest and Team Mir member, Krzysztof Soszynski due to what he felt was a lack of respect shown by Krzysztof. He got his wish when he faced off against and defeated Soszynski via armbar to move onto the finale.

At The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale, Magalhaes will face the undefeated Ryan Bader in order to crown TUF 8's light heavyweight tournament winner.

Vinny will face fellow TUF 8 contestant, Eliot Marshall at UFC 97.