Vinny Magalhaes has been one of the biggest success stories of the Professional Fighters League’s inaugural season, sitting at the top of the light heavyweight pack heading into the playoffs.
Uniondale, NY — Vinny Magalhaes has skyrocketed to the top of the PFL’s light heavyweight rankings this season. With two first round finishes and twelve points, the former UFC fighter and ground specialist has proven versatile and well-rounded. One submission, one knockout, and no mistakes. “I think I’m going to win the whole thing,” Magalhaes predicted. Given his success thus far, it’s hard to pick against him.
Magalhaes spoke to Cageside Press among other outlets following his win over Brandon Halsey at PFL 5 in Uniondale, NY on Thursday.
“I haven’t trained for anybody specifically,” he said of his approach to his PFL 5 opponent. “It is a tournament, there’s a bracket, there’s all these guys, and of course I try to see what which guy does differently. But I’m training in all areas of my game. I’m trying to improve my jiu-jitsu game, I’m trying to improve my wrestling, trying to improve my striking.”
“The more I train, the more I feel confident in every single area,” Magalhaes continued. “For me it’s not about one fight, it’s about when I’m fighting. If I’m going to be ready, if I dedicated myself and trained the way I should have.”
It’s been working so far. “I’m feeling one hundred percent every time I’m walking to the cage.” That has resulted in the TKO of former Bellator middleweight champ Halsey at PFL 5 on Thursday, and a rear-naked choke of Jamie Abdallah at PFL 2 earlier in the season.
As for the playoffs starting with two fights in one night, Magalhaes expects his grappling background will serve him well in that respect. “It’s just like a tournament,” he pointed out, something he has plenty of experience with in the jiu-jitsu world. “This is a sport, even though there’s punches and kicks, I’m used to the whole experience of having to go against two different opponents or more in the same night.”
As for who might threaten him in the post-season, he continues to feel his own teammate is the only real threat. If he makes the playoffs. “The only guy I feel like, who is always the toughest guy, is Ronny Markes,” Magalhaes said. “Because we are teammates. Fighting a teammate is sometimes not about skill level. You don’t want to be fighting a friend. You don’t want to be taking food from his table. That’s what’s going to end up happening, if I fight him, I’m going to have to beat him.”
“Ronny’s the toughest guy,” he added. “But he’s not even in yet, so who knows.”
Catch the full post-fight press scrum with Vinny Magalhaes at PFL 5 above!
