ADCC Hall of Fame legend and UFC veteran Vinny Magalhaes has just been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon in Las Vegas, Nevada. The arrest took place on Saturday December 7th, 2024 and Magalhaes is currently in custody at Clark County Detention Center, according to initial investigation conducted by MMAFighting. Magalhaes allegedly threatened three individuals with a deadly weapon during a domestic argument, although no shots were fired and no injuries were reported. Magalhaes appeared in court just a few days after the incident took place on the following Tuesday and he’s now scheduled to return for his next hearing on December 23rd, 2024.
If Magalhaes is found guilty of all three charges then he could face up to a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison as a result. The trial will begin shortly before Christmas this year and it will likely take some time to come to a conclusion, no matter which way it ends up going. Magalhaes is far from the first BJJ and MMA star to have encounters with law enforcement, but this is one of the more surprising charges in recent years. Magalhaes has never been a particularly polarising or controversial figure during his combat sports career and was largely considered to be a respectful competitor.
Magalhaes was already an elite grappler before he made the transition to professional MMA, winning an IBJJF No Gi World Championship back in 2007. He got his big break in the world of MMA the very next year, as he made it all the way to the final season 8 of The Ultimate Fighter and earned a UFC contract in the process. He had two stints with the UFC over the years and was also a top contender at PFL towards the end of his career. His biggest achievements were always in no gi grappling though, and he added an ADCC world title to his collection in 2011.
ADCC is where Magalhaes had some of the biggest moments of his combat sports career, and he won three more bronze medals at the event over the years. That led to him being inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame earlier this year, as part of the second class of athletes to be awarded the honour. Although he earned his status as an ADCC legend, Magalhaes wasn’t content to rest and he even competed in the over 99kg division at ADCC 2024 just a few months ago. That’s why the news that Vinny Magalhaes has been arrested for assault has come as such a surprise to those who have followed his career.
