Rodolfo Vieira: Grappling with Expectations

Rodolfo Vieira may be one of the greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners ever to cross over to mixed martial arts, but he doesn’t let those expectations define his approach to fighting.

Ahead of his matchup with Cody Brundage at UFC Fight Night 223 on Saturday in Las Vegas, “The Black Belt Hunter” spoke to Sherdog about the ways in which his Ultimate Fighting Championship run has fallen short of what he hoped. More than any particular loss, Vieira professes disappointment that he has only 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 into the UFC very early. I came in 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 much more confident, mature, and experienced. I wish I could have fought more often, but injuries and other life matters kept me away. Without a doubt, I wish I could have been more active. I didn’t want to have just five fights during my time in the UFC. But God didn’t allow for that. I trust in His plans. I’m scheduled to fight again. I’m happy and well. That’s what matters. I’m ready to get back to winning.”

Vieira’s sporadic fight schedule might have represented a serious hardship for his family, if not for the $50,000 “Performance of the Night” bonus he netted for his highlight-reel submission of Dustin Stoltzfus at UFC on ESPN 26 in July of 2021. “Without any doubt, that bonus saved my and my family’s lives,” he admitted. “After that, I didn’t get to fight for nearly one year. It was hard. Fighting is my only source of income. At the same time, we live a very simple life, without any waste. That was our luck. But, without a doubt, the bonus saved us. It kept us well, during a period when I was only training and spending.”

Vieira sounds relieved to be back in action this weekend, and excited to face Brundage, an opponent for whom he professes his respect. That respect extends to Brundage’s ground game; while Vieira is an world-class submission artist, he understands that the baseline level of grappling skill in MMA is high enough that there are no gimmes. “Cody is very tough,” he said. “He’s dangerous. I respect him. He has a wrestling background and heavy hands. He has a good jab. In the UFC, there are no easy matchups. Anyone you face is good everywhere. I’m ready. And just because he has never been submitted, it doesn’t mean I’ll only look for that. My jiu-jitsu is sharp, and my striking is much better than last time around. My main goal is to get a finish before the final buzzer. I know it’s going to be a tough fight. I’ll be ready for that.”

Same as for all of his Octagon bouts, Vieira’s preparation for “UFC Vegas 72” took place 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 have three coaches. My MMA coach is Julien Williams. He’s the owner. Mano Santana handles my striking – boxing and karate. And then there’s Salenco Coutinho. He joined the team to be my jiu-jitsu trainer. I had been without a trainer since I migrated to MMA. He’s made a big difference in my game. My jiu-jitsu is much better. It's giving me a lot of confidence. I have a great team, thankfully, including great sparring partners.”