Viscardi Andrade celebrates debut with UFC victory

Viscardi (left) defeated B. Marunde at UFC Rio 4. Photo: Josh Hedges

Viscardi Andrade celebrated not only his victorious debut in the UFC, over Bristol Marunde at UFC Rio 4, but also a new image in front of Brazilian fans, who accompanied him in the second edition of The Ultimate Fighter Brasil. In the program he came out as a villain, but little by little, with work and dedication, he has shown that he was misunderstood in the program.

At the end of the duel against the American, Viscardi dedicated the victory to coach Francisco Veras, who suffered the death of his mother last Thursday. With the fatality on the eve of Viscardi's fight, Veras was unable to be in the corner for his pupil's debut in the biggest MMA event in the world.

“The atmosphere during the preparation for the fight was sensational. We were at a strong pace, but at the same time, relaxed. That's when we received the news that Veras' mother was not well. When she found out that she passed away, she said she would enter the octagon and dedicate the victory to him. I managed to win and fulfill my promise”, says the athlete.

The attitude of compassion contrasts with the image that the athlete had in TUF Brasil 2 due to a disagreement with Rodrigo Minotauro, who at the time was the coach of the opposing team. For Viscardi, image editing ended up hindering him, but, over time, he has managed to overcome his villain image and is now seen as a good guy.

“I know it's like that on television, they sometimes edit the images... You always need to have a villain in the programs and in TUF it ended up being left for me because of the problem with the Minotaur, who is a legend of the sport. I also really appreciate what he's done in MMA, but there we were rivals. After my debut in the UFC, many people came to talk to me saying that I'm not what they thought, that I'm a good guy. I think it's a matter of time before he becomes the 'good guy' for the fans”, he jokes.

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