BJJ ace Rodolfo Vieira showcased improvements in his striking and cardio tonight t UFC On ESPN 26 against Dustin Soltzfus, but in the end it was a nice submission in the third round that sealed his victory.
Round One:
left hand for Vieira. Jab from Stoltzfus. Good right hand for Vieira. He comes in again and Stoltzfus gets a right hand through.
Jab from Vieira. Another good left hand from him. Stoltzfus punches off the guard of his opponent. Vieira gets through with a nice one-two.
Hard leg kick for Vieira. Stoltzfus was looking for a kick there, but got clocked by a punch first.
Jab for Vieira and Stoltzfus tries to fire back with punches of his own. Jab for Stoltzfus. Jab from Vieira, but Stoltzfus was simultaneously launching into a spinning kick to the body.
Stoltzfus has picked up his work rate here, but Vieira’s punches land cleaner again. Stoltzfus lands, but again Vieira soon fires back with a heavier jab.
Stoltzfus works his jab to nice effect now and then a kick upstairs attempted. Both men throwing power punches at times, but Vieira’s work is finding the target cleaner so far, while Stoltzfus blows often come off the high guard.
Stoltzfus with a jab and hook combo. Stoltzfus drives forward in the final seconds of the round and lands a jumping knee to the body.
Round Two:
Stoltzfus pumps out the jab. Vieira drives into a takedown and lands it strongly. He moves to his opponent’s back, but Stoltzfus is able to stand up and soon get back to striking range.
Clipping right hand from Stoltzfus. Body punch from Vieira. Now an inside leg kick from him. Stoltzfus gets a right and a jab through the guard.
Another flurry from Stoltzfus and a right hook lands. He attempts a head kick that comes off the guard. Jab for Vieira.
Another left hand gets through from Vieira. He’s picking his spots for that jab nicely. Now an outside leg kick.
Stoltzfus bleeding significantly from his nose at this point in teh fight.
Stoltzfus feeling out with the jab. Kick to the body from Stoltzfus. A jab gets through too. Vieira’s jab lands heavier.
Vieira catches Stoltzfus with a punch, but then responds with one of his own that seems to wobble the Brazilian a little.
Stoltzfus has a cut to his cheek now too. He lands a nice right hand. leg kick for Vieira and then that jab. And again. Right hand for Stoltzfus.
Stoltzfus drives into a takedown attempt, but Vieira stuffs it and turns him into the cage in the final seconds of the round.
Round Three:
Stoltzfus staying active with punches. Vieira gets a big takedown. he’s in half-guard. Stoltzfus works back to his feet and Vieira was trying to take his back, but slipped off.
Vieira clinches up against the cage though and then brings him back down again. He’s not finding it easy to keep Stoltzfus down though.
Stoltzfus rises back up, but Vieira athletically jumps and spins onto his opponent’s back, wraps up a standing rear-naked choke and then drops back to the mat with it, which forces a swift tapout from Stoltzfus at 1.54mins of the final round!
