Vinny Magalhaes, a storied jiu-jitsu black belt and longtime MMA veteran, announced Wednesday that he would return for the sixth time to ADCC competition.
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships is widely considered jiu-jitsu’s ultimate proving ground. Many grapplers refer to the event as the sport’s so-called ‘Olympics’.
Magalhaes, 34, first medaled at ADCC in 2009, placing third in his division. In 2011, however, the Brazilian took home the gold medal in his division, adding a third-place finish in the absolute division to his trophy case.
The man affectionately known as “Pezão” (which translates to “Bigfoot”) has competed under a multitude of jiu-jitsu promotions and rulesets. He is an IBJJF Worlds and IBJJF Worlds Masters champion and has grappled for ACB JJ, EBI, Metamoris, and others.
Magalhaes is also a 13-year MMA veteran, having competed on The Ultimate Fighter and for the UFC, M-1, WSOF (which later became the PFL), Titan FC, and ACB.
Most recently, Magalhaes lost to PFL light heavyweight tournament winner, Sean O’Connell, at the promotion’s year-end finale on New Year’s Eve.
Magalhaes has competed at ADCC every year since 2009, though he has yet to return to his debut weight division of 99kg. In subsequent years, Magalhaes grappled at above the 99kg limit. He believes a return to the lower weight class will allow him to return to his best form.
Magalhaes announced the news on Instagram.
His statement reads as follows:
“2019, ADCC year… And exactly 10 years after my first participation in THE Greatest Grappling Event in The World, the Olympics of our sport,
“I’ll be back down to compete at under 99kg division which was the division that I’ve performed the best in the ADCC (even though I won at +99kg In the following edition, those wins in 2011 weren’t nearly as impressive, in my opinion.
“I’m really looking forward to the main event in Long Beach in September this year!”
ADCC takes place on the weekend of September 28, streaming live on FloGrappling.