Rodolfo Vieira may be one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners to transition into mixed martial arts, but he doesn’t let these expectations define his fighting style.
Before his showdown with Cody Brundage at UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday in Las Vegas, “The Black Belt Hunter” spoke to Sherdog about the ways the Ultimate Fighting Championship failed to deliver what he hoped. More than any given loss, Vieira declared his disappointment as he has only had five fights in the four and a half years since joining the promotion in 2019.
“I can’t even complain about my career,” he said. “I came to the UFC very early. I came after only two years or so of training. I had good fights – three wins by submission. But I also had two losses. But today I’m more confident, mature and experienced. I wish I could fight a lot more, but injuries and life matters The other kept me away. Without a doubt, I wish I was more active. I didn’t want to only fight five fights during my time in the UFC. But God wouldn’t allow it. I trust his plans. I’m scheduled to fight again. I’m happy and well. That’s what matters. I’m ready to come back to win.”
Vieira’s sporadic fighting schedule might have been a serious hardship for his family, if not for the $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus he received for delivering the high-profile kick to Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC on ESPN 26 July of 2021. “Without any doubt. This reward saved my life and the life of my family.” “After that, I could not fight for about a year. It was hard. Fighting is my only source of livelihood. At the same time, we live a very simple life, without any waste. This was our luck. But, undoubtedly, the reward saved us. It kept us in a state Good, during a time when I was just training and spending.”
Vieira looks relieved to be back in action this weekend, and excited to take on Brundage, an opponent he pays his respects to. This respect extends to Brundage’s ground game; While Vieira is a world-class submission artist, he understands that the basic level of grappling skill in MMA is high enough that there are no gimmicks. “Cody is very difficult,” he said. “He’s dangerous. I respect him. He’s got a wrestling background and heavy hands. He’s got a good jab. In the UFC, there are no easy matches. Anyone you face is good all around. I’m ready. And just because he’s never yielded, doesn’t mean I’m going to look for just that.” My jiu-jitsu is sharp, and my hitting is much better than last time. My main goal is to get the finish before the last bell. I know it’s going to be a tough fight. I’ll be ready for that.”
As with all of his Octagon matches, Vieira prepared for “UFC Vegas 72” at his longtime base of operations in South Florida. “I did my camp at Fusion X-Cel in Orlando. I’ve been here for four and a half years. I’ve got three coaches. My MMA coach is Julian Williams. He’s the owner. Manu Santana handles my amazing portfolio – boxing and karate. Then there’s Salenko Coutinho. Join the The team to be my jiu-jitsu coach. I’ve been without a coach since I immigrated to MMA. It’s made a huge difference to my game. My jiu-jitsu is so much better. It gives me a lot of confidence. I have a great team, fortunately, including great sparring partners.” .