Considered a great Brazilian promise in the middleweight (up to 83,9kg) of Ultimate, Rudolph Vieira speaks bluntly about his MMA career. With an appointment this Saturday (13), when I will face anthony hernandez No. UFC 258, the athlete opened up about his career in the sport and, in an interview with the SUPER LUTAS YouTube channel, he opened up about his fear of presenting himself. The Brazilian is undefeated in the sport in seven fights.
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This weekend, Vieira will make his third appearance with the Ultimate gloves. In his first engagements, the fighter asserted his reputation as one of the biggest names in the history of jiu-jitsu, and submitted his opponents in the opening rounds.
Why MMA?
Multi-time world champion in the 'gentle art' and known by his opponents as the 'Black Belt Hunter', Rodolfo decided to test himself in mixed martial arts after achieving everything he wanted in jiu-jitsu. Seeking a new motivation, the fighter explained why he chose MMA.
“Actually, it was something I had been working on for a long time in my head. I had my goals in jiu-jitsu, the titles I wanted to win. So after that, I decided to go into MMA. In fact, the moment came after I won the ADCC (2015). (…) Then I thought: 'I need to train MMA soon'. That's what I had in mind. Soon after, I received the offer to fight. (…) It was the push I needed. It was more for the challenge. I was already satisfied with jiu-jitsu and needed something bigger in my life”, said the Brazilian.
Transition process
Unanimity when it comes to the 'gentle art', Rodolfo needs, with each training session, to improve and adapt his qualities to a new modality. The fighter then spoke about the transition process to mixed martial arts.
“It’s another sport. The adrenaline is even worse. I had to change everything, learn other modalities. Learning boxing, wrestling, which is different from when you're fighting jiu-jitsu without a gi. Jiu-jitsu is different from competition to MMA. So, every day, I work to evolve at least in the bases and fundamentals in each modality. This is good for me, because it is motivating me to learn new things, to vote to become a white belt. And, in jiu-jitsu I didn’t have that anymore”, said Vieira.
'Fear of Fighting'
Used to competing in high-level competitions, Rodolfo makes no secret of the fact that he feels fear before challenges within MMA. Honestly, the athlete did not deny his fear of exchanging blows against a rival in the confrontation area and spoke with good humor about the matter.
“I don't face it (when I come face to face with my rival before the fight) because I'm really scared. I'll have to fight the guy the next day. Facing it, there, is not possible. I cope as best I can. (…) I'm not afraid to expose this and you have to be truthful and not lie, like most people do. Say you're not afraid, make a bad face, push your opponent, whatever. I am not. I deal with it well. I know that fear will not stop me, it never has. It never stopped me in jiu-jitsu and it won't stop me in MMA. It's also good to show people that anyone can do it. Sometimes a guy wants to pursue an MMA career, but is very afraid, and doesn't go because of fear. (…) This sport is really bad (laughs), even though I'm doing it, I don't really like it. I like training, fighting, no. But that’s what I decided to do”, said the carioca.
Commitment at UFC 258
Undefeated in his career and with 100% success rate since joining the Ultimate group, Rodolfo is confirmed for this Saturday's show (13), which takes place in Las Vegas. At the UFC 258, the Brazilian will exchange forces against anthony hernandez and will seek to continue with a perfect record. Before the clash, then, Vieira analyzed the confrontation against the North American.
“He (Anthony) is a guy who, despite having more submissions in his career, is a guy who also changes (fights on the feet), puts him down. In the last fight, he lost, he was knocked out by Kevin holland (May 2020). Once before, he won. (…) It was a very tough fight, he showed a lot of heart, because he was kind of losing on the feet and managed to finish. But, I believe that my jiu-jitsu will make a difference. My jiu-jitsu and my takedowns, which will give me victory”, he concluded.
Athlete analysis
If he overcomes Hernandez this weekend, Rodolfo will take another step towards the elite of the division led by Israel adesanya. Today, at 31 years old, the Rio native has seven commitments without a setback. So far, none of the Brazilian's fights have reached the judges' decision, with six submissions and one knockout achieved.
Hernandez, 32, is going through a delicate moment in Ultimate. In three commitments, the fighter achieved a triumph, losing his last fight and in his debut clash, against the recently released Brazilian, Markus Maluko.
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