Frank Mir: Vinny Magalhaes Has the Best Jiu Jitsu in the UFC Light Heavyweight Division

When I talked to Ultimate Fighter coach Frank Mir this week about the aspiring UFC fighters he coached on the show, it was clear that the fighter who impressed him the most was Vinny Magalhaes.

Mir raves about Vinny's jiu jitsu and views Vinny as a strong favorite to beat Ryan Bader Saturday night and win the six-figure UFC contract.

"Bader's a very strong wrestler, but he didn't have much ground skills," Mir said. "Vinny's such a high-level jiu jitsu guy, if he takes him down it's trouble. When you go to the ground with Vinny, you're done. Bader's only chance of winning the fight is to stay away from him and hope to land a big shot. I think Bader's a great fighter and has a lot of potential but I think it's hard to see how he can beat Vinny."

I mentioned to Mir that UFC President Dana White referred to Vinny's stand-up game as "boring," but Mir said he disagreed with that.

"Vinny's been training at Xtreme Couture, and I've worked with him, and I think his stand-up has improved a lot," Mir said. "I think his stand-up is good. He throws a hard roundhouse. Vinny kicks hard. He's a powerful guy. Now, was he tentative with his hands? Yeah, but he's learned so well, his boxing has improved drastically."

And, of course, there's that jiu jitsu.

"He's the best jiu jitsu competitor in the light heavyweight division -- right now -- in the UFC," Mir said. "He's powerful, flexible, able to do things that no one else can do."

I asked Mir about the heated exchange on The Ultimate Fighter between Vinny and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira regarding whether Vinny is more accomplished in jiu jitsu than Nogueira.

"All Vinny was saying is he's more decorated in the jiu jitsu world -- the sport jiu jitsu world -- than Nogueira," Mir said. "And guess what? He is. That statement is true. He's a more accomplished jiu jitsu competitor than Nogueira."

"Every attribute, if you wanted to make up a perfect jiu jitsu guy, Vinny has," Mir added. "Working with Vinny has made me a lot better at jiu jitsu. If Bader ends up on his ass, it'll be over in 15 seconds."