Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães

Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães is a seventh-degree coral belt under Carlos Gracie Jr., and his career tends to be remembered more for his work as a teacher than for his medals. In 1996 he left Rio to open Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte, the team’s first school outside the city. It produced Rômulo Barral, Samuel Braga, Erik Wanderley, Alberto Crane and Marcelo Azevedo, among more than a hundred black belts he has promoted.

As a competitor he fought in the lighter divisions. He won the Pans at light-featherweight in 1996 and at featherweight in 1998, and took bronze at the same tournament in 2000. At the Worlds he reached the featherweight final in 1998 and took silver against Royler Gracie. The following year he was back on the podium with bronze, in a division again won by Royler.

Born in Rio on July 30, 1971, he received his black belt in 1995 and holds a law degree. After more than a decade in Minas Gerais he moved to Houston, where he became Gracie Barra’s regional director for Texas. He also fought MMA, with two wins and one loss, including a victory at the Strikeforce event held in Houston in 2010.

In September 2026 the IBJJF presented him with the official diploma for his rank at a ceremony honoring six masters, among them Carlos Gracie Jr., Otávio de Almeida, Murilo Bustamante, Wendell Alexander and Luiz Carlos “Manimal.” “We gave, and still give our lives to this art and will still give till the end and after,” he wrote on social media.