Las Vegas, NV — #2-ranked women’s bantamweight Ketlen Vieira has an unquestionably big fight on her hands at UFC Vegas 67 this Saturday.
Vieira is paired up with Raquel Pennington, who sits on a four-fight win streak and is ranked #5 in the weight class. The winner could be primed for a title shot, though Vieira made it clear during Wednesday’s UFC Vegas 67 media day that she has not been told anything on that front.
“Nothing was told to me, so I don’t even think about it,” Vieira (13-2), who enters to fight off back-to-back wins against Holly Holm and Miesha Tate, advised media outlets including Cageside Press. “A few years ago when I had four [consecutive] victories, a lot of talk was about that — maybe I’d have the chance to fight for the belt. And that was not good for me.”
“So my mind right now is, Raquel has a belt, and I’ve got to beat her,” Vieira continued. “If I don’t beat her, I’m not going to fight for the belt. So she has a belt right now in my mind. I leave everything in God’s hands.”
On the subject of Pennington, who fought for the UFC women’s bantamweight championship in 2018, Vieira admitted that “Raquel is very, very tough. She has a lot of experience, and that makes her even tougher. There’s nothing I can bring to the cage that she hasn’t faced before. She even fought for the title, so I’ve got to be 100% focused for this fight, I’ve got to bring my 100% for this fight, and that’s my plan. I know how tough she is.”
Born in Manaus in the Amazonas, Viera has yet to fight in her native Brazil for the UFC, despite spending her entire career outside the promotion competing there. She’s missing UFC 283 in Rio de Janeiro by all of a week, but is willing to accept that a fight at home is simply not in plan just yet.
“Everything has a reason. I leave it in God’s hands. Who knows, maybe he has a better plan for me in the future. If I didn’t have the chance to fight in Brazil yet, it’s because he doesn’t want it, so let’s see in the future.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 67 media day appearance by Ketlen Vieira above.
