Vinny Magalhaes is highly decorated grappler and jiu jitsu practitioner. A good athlete, Magalhaes is quick, strong and fast and given his tremendous grappling base has the tools necessary to develop into a very solid MMA fighter. He's trained with many solid camps in the past, and currently makes his training out of Las Vegas, Nevada as part of Xtreme Couture as he looks to round out his game and compliment his already world-class ground game.

Probably best known for his stint on the eighth season of the "Ultimate Fighter", Magalhaes is a highly decorated submission grappler with one of the best pure jiu jitsu games in the light heavyweight division. Among his grappling accomplishments, Magalhaes is a former BJJ World Champion (twice as a brown belt, once as a blue), Grapplers Quest, Pan American Games and Brazilian National Champion, as well as a two time bronze medalist at the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships and holds a Gracie black belt in BJJ (see his grappling matches with Robert Drysdale, Chris Weidman, and Marcio Cruz below). Magalhaes' pure grappling skills have transitioned over very well to MMA as he's proven himself to be extremely proficient on the ground. Magalhaes has a dangerous top game and very good guard skills, and is a danger to finish the fight anytime the fight hits the mat. While his ground skills are excellent, the problem is Magalhaes' BJJ game is not complimented by great takedowns or wrestling abilities. He's fairly one dimensional in his approach, does have trouble getting the fight to the mat and opponents have been able to keep the fight standing against him (see bouts with Marshall and Bader). Magalhaes is also very committed to his craft and testing himself as a pure grappler, which could be hindering the development of other areas of his game. He is however well travelled in his training, and camps like Team Quest and Xtreme Couture can only aid in his all-around grappling game.

Magalhaes will also need to make significant improvements in his overall standup abilities. Although he is a good athlete who makes effective use of leg kicks and has the natural ability necessary to develop into a solid striker, he seems to shy away from the standup game, looks uncomfortable on his feet and does not like to get hit. Magalhaes' striking skills are still very much a work in progress and will need considerable work as opponents know where he's at his best and avoid going to the ground with him. That was the case in his two bouts following his heavily hyped stint on "The Ultimate Fighter 8", as Ryan Bader and Eliot Marshall were both able to win their fights standing - Bader by TKO and Marshall by decision. Also at times Magalhaes' mental fortitude has been questioned, and he's been accused of cracking under pressure and not performing well when things aren't going his way. Nevertheless, Magalhaes is a very naturally talented light heavyweight who has trained with some of the best camps in the world (including Team Quest and Xtreme Couture) in the past, and is considerably more talented than his professional record would indicate.