Rodolfo Vieira Believes Wellington Turman to Be Most Difficult Challenge of Career

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Vaunted Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight submission specialist Rodolfo Vieira will not take any opponent lightly anymore.

After being nominated for both “Upset of the Year” and “Submission of the Year” in 2021, each due to his submission defeat to Anthony Hernandez at UFC 258 in February, the five-time world Jiu-Jitsu champion is starting 2022 anew. After submitting slick American grappler Dustin Stoltzfus in July, Vieira (8-1) is primed to take on a new, challenging test. At UFC 270 on Jan. 20 in California, “The Black Belt Hunter” will face fellow countryman Wellington Turman (17-5) in his fifth Octagon appearance. Vieira spoke to Sherdog ahead of his matchup next month, explaining that this camp is unlike any in recent memory.

"I fought most of my previous fights without a striking coach,” Vieira admitted. “The move of Mano Santana [karate coach of Lyoto Machida, Patricio Freire and Patricky Freire] to Florida was a turning point in my career. In my last fight, he just trained me via video [using] Zoom and WhatsApp, and I had an amazing performance. Last five months we have been training personally almost every day, and karate timing has been excellent to improve not only my striking but also my takedown timing.”

Vieira found himself inspired by all-time great champ Georges St. Pierre, acknowledging that the Canadian viewed by many as the greatest of all time succeeded at least in part due to his karate background.

“[St. Pierre’s] movement was all based on karate,” Vieira noted. “Besides excellent striking, GSP had the best takedown rating of UFC history, and his karate movement played an important role on that.”

Rodolfo knows, however, that his opponent Turman is also being trained by a great team, and he is not underestimating his adversary.

“I don’t know him, but respect him a lot,” the Brazilian explained. “Not only for training with the champions Glover Teixeira and ‘Poatan’ [Alex Pereira], but for everything he showed on his previous fight. Definitely, Turman is a complete fighter, and I’m prepared for a war in all areas. I believe it will be a great fight, and I have no doubt he will be the most difficult challenge of my career.”

Not wanting to repeat the past by falling short to a less accomplished grappler, Vieira fully remembers his failures against Hernandez. Even though “Fluffy” tapped him out, Vieira is still expecting a more difficult opponent in Turman.

“[It] is strange to say that, but I believe Turman is a worse opponent [for me] than the guy who defeated me. But, no doubt, 11 months later, I’m a much improved Rodolfo than I was when I fought Hernandez,” Vieira concluded.