Born and raised on Paquetá Island in Rio de Janeiro, Vinicius started grappling at 11 with coaches Jenailton Silva and Thiago Sorriso, two influential figures in the young carioca’s upbringing.
His path to professional jiu-jitsu looks like many others: he started early, worked hard, became a full-time athlete in his mid-teens and gradually earned the rewards. What is unusual is that “Machine” has stayed with the same team from day one, Brazil 021.
Professors André and Hannette saw his potential early, and in 2017 they brought him to the United States to face a new level of competition at the Worlds, the Pan Americans and the professional Fight 2 Win events.
That approach paid off. His breakthrough came at the 2020 IBJJF No-Gi Pans, where he took bronze at featherweight. In 2021, competing as a brown belt, he won gold without a single point scored against him in the talent-dense 149 lb division.
