New York, NY — Wrestling versus Jiu-Jitsu has been the storyline ahead of Rodolfo Vieira’s fight with Bo Nickal at UFC 322 this Saturday.
However Vieira, who would be the BJJ side of that equation (with multiple BJJ world championships and other grappling titles), doesn’t quite see it that way.
“Yes, everyone asks me about that, but I don’t see it this way. I don’t feel this rivalry,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC 322 media day. Rather, he explained, “it’s gonna be MMA. Maybe MMA versus wrestling or grappling, because I’m not going to go there and try to take him down all the time, because it’s going to be a hard thing to do.”
With that in mind, Vieira added that “I prepared myself for everything: to do jiu-jitsu, to do striking, to do MMA.”
Nickal will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Reinier de Ridder in New York City; one fight prior, the NCAA Division I wrestling champ had spent a full 15 minutes on the feet against Paul Craig.
“I thought he did a great job,” Vieira said of that performance. “A lot of people said he didn’t do well, but I didn’t see it this way. In my point of view, he did great. Showed everyone that he can strike for three rounds. That’s one thing that I need to be ready for.”
Watch the full UFC 322 media day appearance by Rodolfo Vieira above.
