Rodolfo Vieira was working with MMA veteran and coach Diego Braga for the primary time forward of UFC Vegas 86, coaching alongside head coach Davi Ramos, when tragedy struck.
Braga was killed by members of felony group Comando Vermelho in January.
Now, Vieira is concentrated on honoring Braga with a masterful efficiency on Saturday.
“He was a particular man, very nice man,” Vieira instructed MMA Preventing. “I keep in mind when Davi texted me [with the news], and I used to be studying it, ‘No, it’s not doable.’ I saved staring on the telephone and considering, ‘Did Davi ship the mistaken title? Was it one other individual?’ But it surely was him.
“We have been very, very unhappy, man. I by no means thought that might occur, and in the mean time we have been the closest.”
Vieira, who meets Armen Petrosyan on the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, determined to maneuver his camp from Orlando to Rio de Janeiro after his 2023 combat with Petrosyan was pulled from UFC Sao Paulo on the eleventh hour. He then enlisted UFC veteran Ramos as his head coach.
He didn’t assume twice when Ramos steered calling Braga to assist along with his preparation as soon as the match was rebooked. Braga had coached a few of Brazil’s finest fighters, together with Anderson Silva, and was centered on main his son Gabriel Braga within the PFL.
“Davi and I spoke, and we thought it will be higher if we referred to as him as a result of Davi at all times had a fantastic relationship with him,” Vieira stated. “We weren’t that shut, however we have been at all times cool, I at all times favored him, he’s at all times handled me rather well, so we referred to as him [to be part of the camp]. We have been coaching for 3 weeks already, if I’m not mistaken. I used to be going to Davi’s health club each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to assist, and sadly that tragedy occurred.”
Vieira deliberate on having Braga in his nook at UFC Vegas 86. After tragedy struck, he as a substitute referred to as Mano Santana, Vieira’s head coach in Orlando, to be with him throughout combat week. Making ready to face Petrosyan twice hasn’t been straightforward, Vieira stated, however he’s simply glad that the 2 are lastly assembly contained in the octagon after back-to-back camps.
“We tried to do the identical factor in Rio, to maintain the sport plan we have been engaged on, specializing in takedowns and jiu-jitsu,” Vieira stated. “I used to be capable of work that in Rio, much more so than in Orlando, so the change was good in that sense though I’m already used to the coaching routine in Orlando.”
Petrosyan is 8-2 as an expert MMA fighter with a number of knockouts early in his profession, however he has notched all choices in his 3-1 stint below the UFC banner.
Vieira, a jiu-jitsu legend, scored all his 4 UFC victories by submission.
“I see myself submitting him, after all. Will probably be onerous to beat him on the ft,” Vieira stated with fun. “He’s actually good on the ft, so it’s going to be a combat, him making an attempt to maintain it on the ft and me making an attempt to take him down.”
“I believe he’ll do all the things he can to get again to his ft after I discuss him down,” he continued. “We’ve watched his fights, and he at all times offers his again when he’s making an attempt to get again up. It’s onerous for somebody who isn’t a grappler after they get taken down, they often give their backs, as a result of they don’t have the method to get again up utilizing the half guard or a single leg, so I’ll do all the things I can to maintain him down. That’s what we’ve labored on.”
