Decorated grappling world champion Rodolfo Vieira stepped back into the octagon with a premonition of victory through submission.
At UFC Fight Night 236, held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Vieira (10-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) secured a triumphant return on the main card by submitting Armen Petrosyan (8-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) with an arm-triangle choke in the first round of their middleweight bout – fulfilling a foresight he had.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Vieira expressed satisfaction with his win, highlighting his penchant for finishes. “I’m feeling great with this victory, with one more finish,” he stated. “I knew that he was a high-level striker, but he had a lot of vulnerabilities in his ground game. I knew if I put him down, I would finish him.”
While Vieira had anticipated most aspects of facing Petrosyan, the unexpected challenge came in the form of calf kicks, which briefly disrupted his rhythm in the fight.
“I wasn’t expecting the calf kicks,” Vieira admitted. “He hurt me. I think he hit me like three or four times. At the time, when I was fighting, I didn’t feel anything, but now I’m hurting. But it doesn’t matter. After the kicks, I took him down, and I finished him, and that’s what matters to me.”
Despite the momentary setback, Vieira’s confidence and adaptability proved decisive in securing the victory, reaffirming his status as a formidable force in the octagon.
