Middleweights
Rodolfo Vieira (5-0) vs. Oskar Piechota (11-1-1)ODDS: Vieira (-220), Piechota (+180)
Vieira’s UFC debut made for a pleasant addition to this card, as it will be interesting to see how much damage the Brazilian can cause in the middleweight division.
A multi-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Vieira’s MMA career to date has gone about as expected: five finishes, all of which took place on the ground. Vieira will attempt to go for number six against Poland’s Piechota, who is a decent enough first test. Piechota has some quick knockouts on his recent resume, which is a bit misleading. His style is marked by its relative patience and willingness to wait for opportunities to present themselves, and his best skills have traditionally been in the grappling realm. Piechota did well against Gerald Meerschaert in his last fight, until the Roufusport mainstay turned things around for a submission. He probably will not even get that far here.
Vieira does not look to be at the point where he has the wrestling skills to automatically set up his submission game every time out, but Piechota also figures to defer enough to allow him to get things rolling early and effectively. The pick is Vieira via first-round submission.
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