Celso Vinicius Celsinho - 3rd-Degree BJJ Black Belt & MMA Fighter

Celso Vinicius is a 3rd-Degree BJJ Black Belt under legendary Roberto Gordo Correa. Celso, also called Celsinho, was the best lightweight competitor in the mid-2000s. He represented Gracie Barra Academy. After the tragic death of Ryan Gracie, Celso became the head coach of Ryan Gracie Academy in Sao Paulo. He also made his debut career in MMA in the decade of 2010.

Celso Vinicius was born on 27 December, 1983 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Before Celso Vinicius, there was another fighter with the same name, so Celso was called “Celsinho”, which means “Little Celso”.

When Vinicius was a young kid, he saw an MMA event in 1998. He was amazed by the fighting style of the grappler. Being a young Brazilian, he was captivated by the fighter's admirable qualities and decided to train with some professional and accomplished BJJ athletes.

He was amazed by the ground grappling technique of the MMA fighter and how he displayed a captivating performance and won the match. Vinicius perceived BJJ as mentally and physically technical support rather than the use of sheer force. Not being a fighter, the fighting style attracted him, and the idea of getting dominance over your opponent left an impression.

As the fighting style gave him a sense of dominance, he decided to pursue BJJ. He found an academy and enrolled in it in 1988. The same year when he got fascinated by grappling techniques.

As a natural athlete, Celso Vinicius quickly acclimated to BJJ. As BJJ is very popular in Brazil, he enrolled in a BJJ academy and developed a challenging BJJ game in only 2 years. He was also noticed by the media because of his rapid success.

It happened when he competed in the “Expert Adults Division” of a renowned grappling tournament while he was just 16 years old. He was recognized as a BJJ athlete who was competing with adult athletes while still being a teenager. His stardom is almost comparable to the Ruotolo Brothers, Kade Ruotolo, and Tye Ruotolo.

Advancing to the final of a grappling tournament, he fought with a prodigy fighter, Thiago Fernandes of Nova União. The fight went on for 20 minutes and the match ended as a draw. As an acknowledgment and because of the display of elite skills of both competitors, the organization awarded both Celso Vinicius and Thiago Fernandes with the first prize.

In 2007, Ryan Gracie was found slumped and dead in his jail cell in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His institute, Ryan Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, was one of the strongest teams in São Paulo with more than 1000 students. It was left without a coach upon the death of Ryan Gracie. Celso Vinicius took over Ryan Jiu-Jitsu.

After the takeover, in an interview with Tatame Magazine, Celso Vinicius said prior to Ryan Gracie’s death, Ryan Gracie contacted him and asked him to join the academy as an assistant coach. That is why the process of taking over Ryan Jiu-Jitsu became easy for Celso Vinicius.

With the passage of time, Celso Vinicius’ techniques got more refined and deadly. It was in 2014 that he won the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship also called Mundial in the Brown Belt Division.

After Celso’s victory at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. He was promoted to Black Belt by his longtime master, Roberto Gordo Correa.

Celso Vinicius secured 3rd place at the IBJJF World Championship in 2007 as a Black Belt.

In the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro, Celso Vinicius won 2nd place in 2011 as a Black Belt.

After joining Ryan Gracie academy, Celso Vinicius started learning MMA. He competed in small tournaments as an MMA fighter and earned his righteous stardom in 2011.

In December 2010, Celso Vinicius took his first professional MMA fight. He defeated his opponent who tapped out to the strikes rather than submission and Celso earned his first professional MMA fight.

Celso continued his MMA career in 2015 until his last fight. He was competing in grappling competitions though. He retired from MMA with a solid 5-1 record.

Jack McVicker is a BJJ Black Belt under Wellington Dias. Celso Vinicius, being an aggressive ground grappler, tried to pin Jack to the ground. Celso Vinicius scored 21 points throughout the match but did not let Jack McVicker score even a single point. Celso’s enthusiasm for ground grappling techniques let him win the match against Jack McVicker.

Lucas Lepri is a BJJ Black Belt. He is famous for winning many BJJ competitions and tournaments. During the fight, Celso was forced into submission by Lucas Lepri but Celso quickly reversed the whole situation and got out without submitting. Celso Vinicius won the final by scoring 4 points against Lucas Lepri.

Davi Ramos is a 4th-degree BJJ Black Belt under Master Cesar Guimaraes. Celso Vinicius had a strong grip on Davi Ramos. Even though Davi Ramos is one of the top BJJ fighters, he submitted to Celso Vinicius. Both Davi Ramos and Celso Vinicius are MMA fighters and that was clearly portrayed in their fighting style. Celso Vinicius submitted Davi Ramos via Choke from Back from the cross collar grip. The match lasted for 9 minutes and 48 seconds.

Celso Venicius VS Bruno Frazatto / World Championship 2010

Celso Veniscius VS Davi Ramos / World Championship 2010

Celso Venicius VS Jack McVicker / World Championship 2008

Time Travel Tuesdays - Celso Vinicius vs Lucas Lepri - Pan Ams Gi 2008

Photo Credit: @celsinhovenicius