Vinicius Corrales

Vinicius Corrales was born on July 8, 1986, in Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. His introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came through Sul Jiu Jitsu under Fernando Paradeda, a black belt under Ze Mario Sperry and one of the most influential figures in the development of BJJ across Brazil's southern region. Paradeda's commitment to spreading the art throughout Rio Grande do Sul gave Corrales both a rigorous technical foundation and a competitive environment that proved essential to his growth as an athlete.

Long before reaching the black belt level, Corrales was already making a name for himself on the competition circuit. In 2006, he captured the South American Championship at purple belt, and in 2007, he earned a silver medal at the IBJJF World Championship at the same rank — results that signaled his potential as a future elite competitor.

The performance that truly announced his talent to the wider BJJ world came in 2008, when Corrales — still competing as a purple belt — defeated Tiago Alves, a former Pan American champion at the black belt level, at the Asian Cup. The result drew widespread attention across the BJJ community and earned Corrales coverage in major Brazilian publications, including Tatame magazine. Although he fell in the semi-finals of that same tournament to black belt veteran Guto Campos, the run as a whole underscored his exceptional ability to compete above his rank. His willingness to test himself against higher-graded opponents, and the manner in which he performed against them, laid the groundwork for what was to come at black belt.

In 2009, Fernando Paradeda promoted Corrales to black belt, marking the start of his elite competitive career. The promotion reflected years of disciplined training and a competitive record that had already demonstrated he was operating beyond his grade. Paradeda's lineage through Ze Mario Sperry — one of the foundational figures in BJJ's international expansion — gave Corrales a technical pedigree rooted in one of the sport's most respected traditions.

His early black belt years saw him continue to sharpen his game on the competition circuit. In 2010, he earned a bronze medal at the South American Championship at black belt, reflecting steady progression and a growing consistency at the highest regional level. Each tournament served as preparation for the breakthrough performances that would define the following year.

The 2011 World Pro Cup in Abu Dhabi served as the stage for Corrales' most prominent international debut. Navigating a bracket stacked with elite talent, he defeated a series of highly credentialed opponents on his way to the final. Among them was world champion Romulo Barral, whom Corrales defeated by a score of 6-4 in a result that immediately elevated his profile in the sport. Wins over Gustavo Campos and Eduardo Portugues further reinforced the caliber of his run.

In the final, Corrales met Claudio Calasans in a match that went the distance, ending level on points at 6-6. With no further scoring to separate the two, the gold medal was awarded to Calasans by virtue of two advantages, leaving Corrales with the silver. The margin could not have been narrower — a loss decided by the slimmest possible measure against one of the division's premier competitors. The result nonetheless cemented Corrales as a legitimate world-class black belt in only his second full year at the rank.

Corrales did not allow the narrow defeat at the World Pro Cup final to define his 2011 season. Later that year, he claimed gold at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, securing the world title that had just eluded him in Abu Dhabi and validating his status among the sport's elite middleweights.

The no-gi world title carried particular significance: success in the no-gi format demands a distinct and adaptable skill set, one that cannot lean on the grip-dependent strategies central to much of the gi game. Winning at that level demonstrated a technical versatility and competitive depth that went well beyond his World Pro Cup performance. Together, the two results — a World Pro Cup final appearance and an IBJJF No-Gi World Championship gold medal — made 2011 the defining year of Corrales' career to that point, establishing him as one of the most complete middleweights in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a source of considerable pride for the southern Brazilian BJJ community that had shaped him.