Days after suffering the first loss of his MMA career at UFC 258, Rodolfo Vieira called the February setback the “worst day of my life.”
But in hindsight, Vieira has changed the way he sees his submission defeat to Anthony Hernandez.
Vieira’s loss was only the second time in UFC history that an ADCC champion was forced to tap inside the octagon, and that was far from an easy experience for the jiu-jitsu legend, who had only been finished twice in grappling matches. But Vieira said he has grown from his defeat ahead of his next octagon appearance, a middleweight clash with Dustin Stoltzfus at Saturday night’s UFC Vegas 31.