Vinicius Pereira

Vinicius dos Santos Pereira is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cássio Francis who represented Cassão Team in the sport’s international figures during the first few years of his career, a team associated with Gracie Barra. Pereira earned his place as one of BJJ’s rising stars during his brown belt career, a time when Vinicius conquered numerous important titles on the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit. In 2021 Vinicius Pereira joined the neighboring Felipe Pena Team (FP Team), another squad associated with GB.

Vinicius Pereira Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Vinicius dos Santos Pereira

Nickname: “Vinny” which is short for Vinicius.

Lineage: C. Gracie > H. Gracie > C. Gracie Jr > Vinicius Draculino > Cássio Francis > Vinicius Pereira

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place Copa Podio FW Grand Prix (2021)
• 1st Place IBJJF Curitiba Summer Open (2019)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2022)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Rio Winter Open (2021)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2017 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJE World Championship (2017 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF São Paulo BJJ Pro (2018 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Rio Fall Open (2017 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Vitoria Open (2018 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Floripa Fall Open (2018 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Floripa Spring Open (2017 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Floripa Spring NoGi Open (2017 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Belo Horizonte Open (2018 brown)
• 1st Place UAEJJF Brasilia National Pro (2018 brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2016 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Belo Horizonte Open (2016 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Belo Horizonte Winter Open (2017 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Belo Horizonte Summer Open (2017 purple)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Peso Leve (76,00 kg / 168.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Gracie Barra (FP Team)

Vinicius Pereira Biography

Vinicius Pereira was born on May 2, 1995, in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of southeastern Brazil’s Minas Gerais state and one of the largest cities in South America.

In a country where the vast majority of children starts their sporting life in football (soccer), Vinicius’ parents chose a different path for their son, and by the time he was 4 years old, Pereira was signed on to jiu-jitsu classes with coach Marcos Antônio of the Scorpions academy.

Dos Santos Pereira remained with coach Marcos until his orange belt, then moving on to the Felix brothers gym, another local academy where he stayed until his purple belt. It was after earning the purple belt rank, that Vinicius started contemplating earning a living from jiu-jitsu and turning into a professional athlete. For that purpose, he then joined Cassão Team, a workgroup led by Cássio Francis, a former star of the local Gracie Barra academy.

Although relatively recent, the Cassão Team soon became one of the strongest academies in the country. A fact we alluded to in our 2018 article “Cassão Team, A Quiet Legion of Killers on the Rise“. It was under Francis’ umbrella that Vinicius became one of the best-known faces of the brown belt division, a status that earned him the rank of black belt by the end of 2018.

Vinicius Pereira vs Daniel Lima