UFC 258, Saturday, February 13, 2021
“My opponents can say or do whatever they want to,
but when you step inside that cage with me,
everything you say on the outside can and will be used against them.”
- Kamaru “The Nigerian Nightmare” Usman
parlay +300
Kamaru Usman -278, 12-0 in UFC since July 2013
Rodolfo Vieira -400, age 31
Belal Muhammad -496, 7-1 ^
Feb 2017 Kelvin Gastelum -227, 10-6 ^ April 2013
Ricky Simon -278, 5-2 ^ April 2018
June 2019 quote on Rodolfo Vieira:
"The brazilian Vieira is well known for his career in BJJ. Vieira in his BJJ career has a record of 96-10 (on paper) with 62 submissions. Some of his accomplishments in grappling include UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro Champion, IBJJF Pans Champion, ADCC Champion, IBJJF World Champion, and much more.
Vieira hasn’t shown much on the feet offensively besides good leg kicks. That’s because he doesn’t usually waste time before shooting for a take down and getting the fight to the mat. Vieira has shown good wrestling, timing his shots and getting his hands together to complete the double leg take down.
The mat is his dojo, as he is a high-level grappler obviously with his background in BJJ. He’s very patient but still quick in his transitions, easily going to the mount and the back easily. He has some rear naked choke wins and one by ground and pound. Hasn't faced good competition, a lot of him is still unknown.
He’s purely a grappler so if he can’t get a take down, he will most likely struggle. Vieira has gone to the third round once as his gas tank held up but his pace did slow. It’s hard to say how he will do against top competition.
What makes Vieira such an exciting addition to the UFC is his style of grappling, which should translate particularly well to elite MMA. For those unfamiliar with Vieira’s grappling, think of him as the anti-Ryan Hall. Vieira is a physically imposing top control artist with excellent takedowns and quite literally some of the best guard passing ever seen in sport jiu-jitsu.
Vieira is not the type of specialist to flop to his back at the first opportunity. No, he’s looking to take his opponent to the mat, smash through his defenses, cut off all potential escape routes, and grab a submission. This skillset should serve Vieira well against world-class MMA competition, where fighters have honed their submission defense. Vieira doesn’t need a submission to win; he can control and win the fight from top position.