Vinny was promoted to Black Belt by his Instructors Vinicius Aieta and Royler Gracie ,on the Podium after winning thirteen matches (Ten by Submissions),and take home two Gold Medals in the 2005 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship as a Brown Belt. In 2007,Vinny would become the first Jiu-Jitsu No Gi World Champion in the Super Heavy Weight Division as a Black Belt. In 2009, Vinny had an impressive performance in the most prestigious Grappling Tournament in the World, the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship , winning 2 Bronze Medals (Under 99 kg Division and Absolute Division). On his way to win the Bronze Medal in his weight Division, Vinny beat BJJ World Champion Rodrigo Cavaca (1st Round, Inverted Heel Hook),the 2003 ADCC World Champion and 2x BJJ Absolute World Champion Marcio Cruz(Quarter-Finals, Flying Armbar), ADCC Brazil Trial Winner and MMA Fighter Glover Teixeira (3rd Place Match, Armbar) and Losing by point to the eventual Champion Xande Ribeiro (Semi-Final, Points). On his run for his second Bronze Medal, Vinny beat the 2005 ADCC Absolute World Champion Dean Lister by Judges Decision, moving on to the Quarter-Finals against the 2X NCAA Wrestler and MMA Prospect Chris Weidman, who he beat by Flying Armbar (His second in the Competition), which put him in the Semi-Final against Braulio Estima, who beat Vinny by points, and became the eventual Absolute Champion. In the 3rd Place match, Vinny used his experience against Gunnar Nelson to score a Takedown in the last few seconds of the over time to guarantee his second Bronze Medal in his first ADCC.
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Do you want to win by knock-out or by decision? The answer is simple. View your competition as the enemy, deserving to be beat in to the ground without mercy. Don’t just win - completely and totally dominate your opponent.  And this is exactly how Michael Palmieri coaches his athletes.    Michael works with fighters and other elite athletes from all over the globe. He is a professional strength & conditioning coach as well as an extreme athlete specialist. Michael is also a sport scientist, performing the research and testing necessary for athletes to find the best way to improve their performance. When they need to be faster and stronger than their opponents, and survive longer on and off the field of battle, he develops the programs needed for them to excel, and then drives them to overcome their weaknesses.    Having presented lectures and written articles for multiple associations, Michael is also the state director for the North American Strongman organization, a judge for the INBA , the state chairman for the NSCA , and is a former powerlifter.   Michael is the president and founder of The Institute of Sport Science & Athletic Conditioning , a Las Vegas based consulting firm which advises numerous athletes and teams, members of the U.S. Military, and various professional sports organizations from all over the world.
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