Prof. Marcio Feitosa’s seminar at GB Westchase. Photo: personal archive

GMA Gracie Barra Westchase from Houston, Texas is celebrating their 3^rd year anniversary this week. Last Saturday, the black belt second-degree head instructor Ulpiano Malachias organized an especial seminar hosted by black belt professor Marcio Feitosa. On Sep. 6, the GB Westchase BJJ students will also be able to learn Jiu-Jitsu from 4x Black Belt Hall of Fame Champion, Romulo Barral.

For more information go to www.gbwestchase.com

Draculino at the GB Jiu-Jitsu training camp

Professor Vinicius Magalhaes, leader of GMA member school Gracie Barra Texas, travelled to Irvine, California, the week before the IBJJF Worlds Masters & Seniors to teach a special training camp.

We paid a visit to him during one of the classes and captured him teaching three guard pass techniques.

Read more about the training camp here.

Vinicius Draculino to teach training camp at GB America

The 1st ever World Championship for Master & Senior athletes is coming up next October 7th, in Long Beach, California.

With that in view, GMA member team Gracie Barra decided to offer a very special training camp for its students.

Professor Vinícius “Draculino” Magalhães, leader of GB Texas, will be at GB America, in Irvine, to conduct the training.

The fifth degree black belt will be teaching in California from October 1st to October 5th.

The cost is $125 and there is a limit of 50 spots.

Only blue belts and up can participate.

For more info, go to graciebarra.com.

Draculino and his team of black belts in Texas

GMA member Vinicius Draculino had a very special ceremony last August 30th.

The 5th degree black belt gathered some of his black belts for a graduation evening at Gracie Barra Texas.

GMA member Ulpiano Malachias (GB Westchase) and Brandon Mulins got their 2nd degree; Pablo Silva and Tyler B got their 1st degree to the black belt.

The event had the presence of 12 black belts in total, including Erik Wanderley, Tammy Greco and Ted stickel.

Overall, over 100 students were present.

Each professor awarded with new degrees taught the group his favorite position.

For more info, go to graciebarratx.com

GMA member Vinícius “Draculino” Magalhães will be in Marbella, Spain, on November 16th.

The four degrees black belt and leader of Gracie Barra Texas will be teaching a three hour seminar at Dynamic Training Center.

Draculino’s class will be divided in 1h30 for Jiu-Jitsu and 1h30 for MMA.

The cost is $60 for both and $50 for one of them.

For more info, go to dynamicmarbella.com.

To know more about Draculino, go to graciebarratx.com

Black belt Vinícius “Draculino” Magalhães welcomed old friend and fellow GMA Renzo Gracie.

Draculino did not miss the opportunity to register the occasion.

Take a look.

For more info, go to graciebarratx.com

André in his battle with Bráulio Estima at the ADCC / Photo: John Lamonica

André Galvão is on a tear in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu. This Saturday in New York, the black belt beat every opponent in his path in nabbing the cash prize on offer at the NYC Ultimate Absolute.

“I had four matches and won them all, I’m pleased as punch,” a joyous Galvão told GRACIEMAG.com.

Along the way, the Atos representative had to make it past the likes of Antonio Braga Neto and Vinny Magalhães, not to mention his opponent in the final, Rustam Chsiev.

“I tapped out Nolan Dutcher in the first match, then I managed to beat Braga Neto by a sweep in overtime. Now Vinicius “Pezão” [Magalhães] I beat by getting back mount,” André recounts.

“My opponent in the final stalled a lot. The match time was 25 minutes and we didn’t score any points. But I launched a bunch of attacks: omoplatas, kneebars, chokes, footlocks… That earned me the 10,000-dollar prize, and I got another thousand for the finish in my first match,” he elaborates.

Now Galvão’s energy is directed towards the ADCC.

“That’s all I’m thinking about. Davi Ramos and Bruno Frazatto are here helping me out, and Gilbert ‘Durinho’ should be showing up, too. I haven’t given up on MMA. I tried to get into TUF and even had a fight scheduled for August, but it didn’t end up happening. Now Zuffa bought Strikeforce, I’m closer to the UFC, but I’m only focused on the ADCC for now,” he says in closing.

Jeremy had a tough childhood. He grew up with a single mom and an absent dad, and was always moving and having to start over in new towns and at different schools. He had several “dads” come in and out of his life and at one point, he and his mom lived in a battered women’s shelter to escape an abusive situation. When he was in 6^th grade, his mom remarried and Henderson settled down in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he stayed until he graduated from high school in 2000.

Jeremy (right) with Cyborg. Photo: Personal archive

“I had no direction,” he says, “I wasn’t an angry kid; I never started the fights. I just always seemed to attract trouble.” Although he didn’t like to fight, it was at that time he began to find himself drawn to the world of MMA.

Henderson graduated from high school early, at 17, and asked his mom to sign him into the Air Force. He thought maybe the military would provide him with the direction he needed so badly. “I wanted to get out of Florida,” he says, “I knew I didn’t want to stay there, but I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do.”

It turns out the Air Force wasn’t it. Henderson signed up for six years and in 2001 he was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. “The Air Force was not into MMA training,” Henderson says, “They didn’t want me to fight or compete, but I knew when I started training it was the only thing I wanted to do.” Henderson had finally found his direction, only to discover it wasn’t considered “acceptable” by Air Force standards.

He was determined to train in MMA regardless of the disapproval of his employer. About a year later, Henderson went to Dallas to watch a local MMA event. One person who really stood out that night was Marcus Hicks. “I was impressed with his fight and decided to meet him and start learning from him,” Henderson says, “He lived about 3 ½ hours away. I drove to his gym every weekend and learned more in a few hours than I did training every day back at Dyess.”

Hicks taught Henderson No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. “Marcus was very quiet,” Henderson says, “He didn’t talk to many people, but we hit it off. He ended up becoming my roommate and best friend.” In 2005, Henderson was temporarily stationed in Dallas for six months and he began training with Hicks full-time.

“In 2006 I had my first amateur MMA fight in Missouri for an organization called Cage of Honor,” Henderson says, “I won my fight in 55 seconds. It was ground and pound from the guard and ended in a TKO.” There was no real Jiu-Jitsu in that match, but Henderson says he doesn’t think he even really understood what Jiu-Jitsu was at the time. He’d trained mostly in submission fighting and No-Gi for MMA.

Three months later Henderson had a second fight and lost to a Jiu-Jitsu guy.  “I was a huge fan of Randy Couture,” Henderson says, “So, with $300 in my pocket, some clothes, and my gym bag, I moved to Portland, Oregon to train out of Team Quest. I gave my apartment and everything in it to a guy I’d been working with in Dallas.”

But Henderson still wanted to train in Jiu-Jitsu. “Not too long after training at Team Quest I was driving to work one day and saw a local Jiu-Jitsu school, New Breed Academy, owned by Johnny Ramirez,” Henderson says, “I decided to stop in and see what it was all about. I fell in love with Jiu-Jitsu and training in the Gi.” Henderson started training with Ramirez, who let him move in above his academy. He slept and trained there full-time for five months.

That year, Ramirez took Henderson and some of the other students to California to compete in the Pan. “When we arrived in L.A. I knew that California was the place I wanted to live,” Henderson says, “When we got back to Portland I talked to Johnny about my training experience and he offered to let me stay at his academy in Santa Fe Springs, California, and teach the kids program there.”

Henderson happily moved to CA and enjoyed the life of training, teaching, and living by the beach. “It was amazing,” he says, “I got a chance to train with a lot of really great guys, like Andre Galvao, Marcelo Garcia, Leo Vieira, Marcel Louzado, Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro, and many more.”

In 2007, Henderson was feeling homesick for his family. His mom had moved to Abilene, Texas, in 2004, and so he decided to move back and open a school there, since he knew there were no Jiu-Jitsu schools in town. He leased a small 1500 square foot building and started “Redstar MMA.” “I was a blue belt at the time,” he says, “My school specialized in Jiu-Jitsu, Gi and No-Gi training, and MMA. I taught all the classes. A lot of my Jiu-Jitsu was No-Gi, so I traveled a lot to train with other Jiu-Jitsu practitioners to learn more about Gi training.”

One of those people was Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes, who had just moved to Houston to open up a Gracie Barra School. “I have been the biggest fan of his and his students Romulo Barral and Samuel Braga since putting on the gi, and I knew that he was the person I wanted to learn from the most,” Henderson says, “I contacted Gracie Barra about becoming an affiliate and flew Draculino to my school in Abilene for the first time in 2007.” Henderson’s academy is now officially called GB Abilene and Draculino is his professor.

Henderson received his purple belt from Draculino at the end of 2007. “Draculino has a true talent for showing details and the invisible Jiu-Jitsu that a lot of teachers understand, but have a hard time teaching. I think that’s what makes Draculino so great. He can compete with the best of them, but he can also teach the information that he uses in tournaments by showing you every little detail”, he tells.

Today, Henderson still travels around training with some of the world’s best Jiu-Jitsu practitioners to learn more about the art, but now he’s also flying them in to give seminars at his school. Most recently, Roberto Cyborg gave a class, while his next big seminar is on October 8^th and 9^th with Draculino and Romulo Barral. After that, he says he’s got his sights set on Kayron Gracie.

GB Abilene has outgrown two locations and they are now in their third and nicest location, a 4,500 square foot academy in a busy shopping center. “I’m so excited to be part of the GB team and to have Professor Draculino to learn from. It’s the most rewarding feeling to have a great academy and to be able to teach my students what I have learned over the years.” As far as his training is concerned, he is focusing solely on the Gi now. He will compete in the 2011 Pan and Worlds.

While Henderson’s life may have settled down and changed dramatically, his ability to attract trouble has not. It was after a seminar at Henderson’s GB Abilene school that he and Braulio Estima heard some shots at outside a bar. It’s nice to know that some things never change!

Check out the highlights from the fight in the video below:

The outcome of this Saturday’s Strikeforce: Houston was two new champions: For the vacant middleweight title, Ronaldo Jacaré got the better of Tim Kennedy, and the light heavyweight belt switched hands after Rafael Feijão overcame King Mo.

From the outset Rafael Feijão took the lead in the standup department against King Mo, which opened the way to his triumph. In the first round Mo managed to land a well-placed takedown, but Feijão responded with solid strikes. After an evenly-matched first round, Feijão managed a knockdown in the third stanza. King Mo tried to recover, but was knocked out by a string of knees and elbows. Thus Feijão secured the organization’s light heavyweight belt, as well as his ninth knockout in ten wins.

Known for his skill on the ground, Ronaldo Jacaré didn’t use much of his Jiu-Jitsu against Tim Kennedy. In the middleweight title deciding fight the black belt took the upper hand through his standup. Jacaré did try for the takedown, but Kennedy’s wrestling prevailed. The Brazilian’s boxing came on strong, though. A cross in the third round opened a deep gash on his opponent, and at the end of the bout the judges deemed Souza the victor by unanimous decision.

In the preliminary matchups, André Galvão’s win over also-black belt in Jiu-Jitsu Jorge “Macaco” Patino stood out. Galvão went to his ground work and ground and pound, while Macaco landed some solid strikes in the standup action. The bout went to the third round, when Galvão landed punches for the knockout at 2:45 min, with Macaco on all fours.

Veteran Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães debut in the organization on the right foot with his unanimous-decision win over Rocky Long. Another black belt Chad “Robo” Robichaux beat Humberto DeLeon and remains unbeaten in MMA with nine wins.

Check out the complete results:

Strikeforce
Houston, Texas
August 21, 2010

Rafael Feijão defeated Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal by TKO at 1:14 min of R3

Ronaldo “Jacaré” de Souza defeated Tim Kennedy via unanimous decision
K.J. Noons  defeated Jorge Gurgel via KO at 0.19 min of R2
Chad Griggs defeated Bobby Lashley via TKO at 5min of R2
Daniel Cormier submitted Jason Riley (strikes) at 1:01 min of R1
André Galvão defeated Jorge Patino via TKO at 2:45 min of R3
Vinicius Magalhães defeated Rocky Long via unanimous decision
Adam Schindler submitted Kier Gooch via rear-naked choke in R1
Reynaldo Trujillo defeated Jose Santibanez via TKO (strikes) R1
Chad Robichaux defeated Humberto DeLeon via split decision
Arteneus Young defeated Chad Cook via unanimous decision

Photo: uscombatsports.com

GMA member  and 4th-degree black belt Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhães, leader of Gracie Barra Texas, will be returning to MMA on August 21st.

He will be facing Rocky Long at Strikeforce, in Houston.

At 39, Draculino took training for the fight very seriously, as you have followed here in GRACIEMAG.com.

Today, we came across a great picture of the professor on Facebook.

So, tell us; Do you think Draculino is ready to fight?

GMA Chad Robichaux will also be fighting on the Strikeforce card.

For more info, go to graciebarratx.com, mmathewoodlands.com

Do you own a Jiu-Jitsu academy and want to have your school featured  on GRACIEMAG.com? It’s easy, all you need to do is to become a GMA member. Click here and find out how.

At 39 years of age, Draculino’s been out of MMA for about five years, but is making his return debut on August 21^st on the Strikeforce Houston card. He says that whether he fights or not, Jiu-Jitsu is his art, lifestyle, and work, and that he represents it with pride, on and off the mats, and in and out of the cage.

From left, Frankie Edgar, Draculino and Ricardo Almeida. Photos: Luca Atalla

Why did you decide to take this Strikeforce fight?

I got a call from Saul Soliz, one of the matchmakers. He said that they wanted to put guys from Houston in the show that could fill the arena up. At the beginning I said, “Maybe.” Then I thought about it and said to myself, “It’s like they are inviting you to the biggest party in town, with the best seats, etc, and you won’t show up?” That’s when I made my decision! My opponent so far is Rocky Long. He has 45 fights. He’s a guy who never quits. He’s really tough and comes from a boxing background. He’s a little taller than me and looks a little bigger, but this is quite normal, as I am not a big or strong guy at all.

How many MMA fights have you had and what’s your record?

My record in Sherdog is 1-1. I did some things in the past, vale-tudo style, but it was more like a dojo challenge and I did not get paid, and they did not put me up in a hotel or anything like that. This was back in the jungle days! I competed in Japan in the G1 promotion. They had MMA fights, but my match was against a guy from Shooto, Hiroshi Umemura, and a sport match, so people think that I fought MMA in Japan, but my match was sport BJJ.

Vinicius and UFC champion Frankie Edgars

Why have you now decided to compete in MMA?

I always liked and trained in what is now called MMA  (before vale-tudo) at the first Gracie Barra school in Rio, located at Avenida Olegario Maciel in Rio de Janeiro. I began my training in boxing because of Ralph Gracie, who used to love to train boxing and no-gi. So, as I stayed a lot at the school, Ralph beat me up pretty bad, but I learned something in the process. Then I got hooked. It’s weird. Some people say, “You’re crazy,” but there’s something about MMA that attracts me to it. Don’t ask me what it is, but there is something! Maybe the challenge? The adrenaline? I can guarantee it’s not money or fame. They aren’t paying me that well and in Jiu-Jitsu circles people already know me a little, so who knows……

How long have you been preparing for the fight and what have you been doing to prepare for it?

I train pretty much every day and work out at least two times a week. It’s not hard for me to get in shape. I have been training for one month now specifically for this fight, and I have a couple more weeks to go. I’m training all the aspects of a fight: conditioning, striking, wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and mixing it up also. It’s hard, especially because I am not a kid anymore!

Vinicius trains with UFC champion Frankie Edgars

What other belts, arts, skills and talents do you have and how long have you been training in each discipline?

For an MMA fight you have to cover all areas. Jiu-Jitsu is my bread and butter, but I have a good amount of time in boxing and muay thai training. I learned a lot from great coaches in Brazil, such as Master Olimpio Cunha in muay thai, and Ely Pereira in kickboxing. In boxing, I had Wagner, Coelho, Cezario, and Washington. All of them belong to the Nobre Arte team in Rio. In the U.S., I had the honor of training with Master Rafael Cordeiro at Affliction. Even though it was one day, I will never forget that training session. Master Rafael simply made me a part of the group and worked with me one-on-one for about an hour in the cage, giving me the best tips and showing incredible techniques. He is a true Master in the art. In Houston, I have the great support of my student and friend, Kristen Sommers, who trains me in conditioning and kickboxing.  My students from GBBH and GBT push me hard and give me great training support.

You’re entering this event with a student of yours, Chad “Robo” Robichaux. Have you been training together and how does it feel to put on a show in your “hometown” of Houston with him?

Chad is a great MMA fighter. Undefeated. He has a school in the Woodlands, one hour from my school. We train together often and he is a great training partner. Fighting in Houston is a lot of pressure because we’ll have a big crowd there to support and see us, but I try not to focus on putting any additional obligations on my shoulders, since I will do my best. Hopefully, I will perform my best and get the victory. Chad, too.

How does Jiu-Jitsu help you with your confidence in the cage? How has it shaped your life? What lessons have you learned from it that you can apply to daily life and in the cage?

Jiu-Jitsu is the art of the samurais. The Gracie family is a clan with several samurais in spirit. We, their students, were taught to be healthy, fair, brave, kind, and loyal. I will carry those lessons in my spirit through eternity. All these elements are incorporated into my life in everything I do. MMA fights are just a small portion of my life. The lessons that the Gracie family and Jiu-Jitsu gave me are applied in all my daily actions and thoughts.

When you fight MMA, do you feel like you’re representing Jiu-Jitsu or is it a completely separate sport to you?

Gracie Barra is my family. Master Carlos is the chief of a big and strong organization. He is our master and I belong to that organization. Even though MMA is not the main activity of Gracie Barra, everybody knows that I am Gracie Barra, so, like it or not, I am a GB guy in the cage.

Draculino takes a breather

How do you perceive MMA? Do you see it as a sport or just a fight in a cage?

It is a sport. Like Renzo Gracie said: the toughest sport in the world, where there are more techniques involved than a Russian ballet!

Is there anything you’d like to say to your students before your big fight?

I really believe that you have to practice what you preach. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. If you have a dream and believe in yourself, don’t let anyone put you down and say you can’t do it. Just try it, if your heart says to. It’s very easy to criticize and point the finger at others when you’re not willing to do what they have the guts to do, or love to do. It’s important to at least TRY! To my students all over the world: you are the best and I am your number one fan. I will always try my best to not let you down and I appreciate all the help and support that you have always give me.

Check out the complete gallery of photos taken by Luca Atalla:

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