Feared for his jiu-jitsu, Rodolfo Vieira wants to debut in the UFC with a submission

R. Vieira debuts for the UFC this Saturday. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram @rodolfovieira89

The 'Black Belt Hunter', as the Rio native is known Rudolph Vieira, will make his long-awaited UFC debut. Known for his titles and skills in jiu-jitsu, the athlete will face Polish Oskar Piechota in the second fight of the UFC Montevideo preliminary card, this Saturday (10), in Uruguay. For the fight, the athlete hopes to assert his fame in the 'gentle art' and achieve another submission victory in his career. In an interview with 'Combate', the fighter spoke about his expectations for this weekend's duel.

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“(Oskar) Piechota is a tough guy in jiu-jitsu. He's never won a World Championship, but he's tough. He does jiu-jitsu well, but regardless of where he's from, I'll try to impose my game. I'll try to put him down as quickly as possible for safety, apply my jiu-jitsu and finish as quickly as I can. If I don't make it, I'll be ready for wherever the fight is. I’m confident, happy, I managed to have a good camp (training)”, declared Rodolfo.

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Without straying from his main characteristic, which is fighting on the ground, the athlete did not hide his combat strategy. The fighter, who migrated to MMA in 2017, just over two years ago, states that he has the ambition of becoming UFC middleweight champion (up to 83,9kg). Vieira, however, stated that he knows the difficulties that will be encountered, given the high level present in the organization he currently defends. The Brazilian, however, confirms that his desire is to gradually conquer his space within the division, which today is one of the most competitive in the UFC and has champions Robert whittaker (lienarian) and Israel adesanya (interim).

“My goal is to one day be champion, but it’s something I set as a goal. There's that saying that dreaming small or dreaming big takes the same amount of work, but with the career I've built in jiu-jitsu I'm already very satisfied, very happy. Whatever comes now is profit. If I manage to reach the top 12, the top 10, the top 5 or fight for the belt I will be really happy, it will be the path that God chooses for me. I'm doing my job, I'm giving the most I can, I'm training hard and I'm always hoping for the best, but whatever happens I'll be satisfied”, said the fighter.

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The Rio native is a multiple world jiu-jitsu champion and one of the biggest references in the sport in the world. Regarding the transition from one sport to another, Rodolfo stated that he is fulfilling a dream, and that he received some significant help so that he could adapt to the new style and compete on equal terms against his opponents.

Since I entered MMA this has been my focus, I wanted to arrive well, with experience. I imagined myself fighting here (in the UFC). I've already played in the corner for (Marcos) Pezão, the last one I played was for (Ronald) Jacaré. I was already trying to familiarize myself, because I knew I would be able to get there. It seems like a dream, even though I knew that one day I would make it, I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, but I still can't believe that I'm in the UFC”, concluded Vieira.

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If he emerges victorious, this Saturday, the Rio native will complete his sixth fight in a row without defeat. The athlete then tries to maintain his unbeaten record in his career and overcome the Pole, who is coming off a setback and hasn't fought in over a year.