Rodolfo Vieira
“The Black Belt Hunter”
Source: sherdog.comRodolfo “The Black Belt Hunter” Vieira is a Brazilian black belt with five adult gi World golds and a 2015 ADCC title who later entered the UFC.
Biography
Sources for this profile
IBJJF, Hall of Fame, accessed 2026-10-04(opens in a new tab)
The IBJJF Hall of Fame lists him as Rodolfo Vieira Srour.
Where in the source: Hall of fame — RODOLFO VIEIRA SROUR
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The IBJJF includes Vieira in its Hall of Fame.
Where in the source: Hall of fame — RODOLFO VIEIRA SROUR
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Sherdog, Rodolfo Vieira fighter record, accessed 2026-10-04(opens in a new tab)
Sherdog lists Rodolfo Vieira's birth date as 25 September 1989; the structured profile binds the year only.
Where in the source: RODOLFO VIEIRA — AGE 37 / SEP 25, 1989
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Sherdog identifies Vieira with Brazil and Rio de Janeiro.
Where in the source: RODOLFO VIEIRA — BRAZIL / RIO DE JANEIRO, RIO DE JANEIRO
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His recorded fight nickname is The Black Belt Hunter.
Where in the source: RODOLFO VIEIRA — The Black Belt Hunter
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Sherdog's professional fight history begins with Vieira's 10 February 2017 win over Zarylbek Daniyar; it lists his UFC debut as a 10 August 2019 submission win over Oskar Piechota.
Where in the source: FIGHT HISTORY - PRO — WIN Zarylbek Daniyar / Feb / 10 / 2017; WIN Oskar Piechota / Aug / 10 / 2019
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Graciemag, From the treasure chest: How an absolute champion is born, 2011-06-08 (reprinted 2010 interview)(opens in a new tab)
Vieira started in 2003.
Where in the source: From the tracks to the top
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Bruno Sousa, Arlans Maia and Júlio César Pereira guided Vieira at GFTeam.
Where in the source: From the tracks to the top
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Vieira beat black belts at World Pro 2009.
Where in the source: From the tracks to the top
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He received his black belt afterward.
Where in the source: From the tracks to the top
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Vieira trained bottom guard despite strong takedowns and passing.
Where in the source: Do you practice a lot of positions where you feel uncomfortable?
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GFTEAM Oficial, Nossa História, accessed 2026-10-04(opens in a new tab)
GFTeam's own history traces the team from its Universidade Gama Filho training program to Grappling Fight Team under Júlio César Pereira, Marcus Bello and Alexandre Baraúna, with headquarters in Méier, Rio de Janeiro; this explains the UGF and GFTeam names in Vieira's early and later results.
Where in the source: Nossa História / Mestres Julio Cesar, Marcus Bello e Alexandre Baraúna — 'Surgiu então a GFTeam (Grappling Fight Team)'; 'A matriz agora está localizada no bairro Méier'
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IBJJF, 2008 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship results, adult brown-belt open division(opens in a new tab)
The official 2008 IBJJF Worlds archive records Rodolfo Srour of UGF as the adult brown-belt open-class champion; Graciemag independently identifies this as Rodolfo Vieira's brown-belt absolute title.
Where in the source: ADULT / BROWN / MALE / OPEN CLASS — '1 Rodolfo Srour'; 'UGF'
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Graciemag, Rodolfo Vieira turns twenty-four today, 2013-09-25(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag connects the nickname Black Belt Hunter to Vieira's 2009 World Pro qualifying run, when he beat black belts while still a brown belt.
Where in the source: Rodolfo Vieira turns twenty-four today — 'Initially known as The Black Belt Hunter'; 'trial in 2009 beating top level black belts'
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IBJJF, 2011 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship results, adult black-belt heavy and open divisions(opens in a new tab)
At the 2011 IBJJF Worlds Vieira won both adult male black-belt heavyweight and open-class gold, each with Bernardo Faria in second place.
Where in the source: ADULT / BLACK / MALE / HEAVY — '1 Rodolfo Vieira'; '2 Bernardo Faria'; ADULT / BLACK / MALE / OPEN CLASS — '1 Rodolfo Vieira'; '2 Bernardo Faria'
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IBJJF, 2012 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship results, adult black-belt heavy division(opens in a new tab)
At the 2012 IBJJF Worlds Vieira won adult male black-belt heavyweight gold, with Xande Ribeiro runner-up.
Where in the source: MALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY (202.00LB) — '1 Rodolfo Vieira Srour'; '2 Alexandre Couceiro Ribeiro'
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Graciemag, Do you recall the last time Rodolfo Vieira lost before the 2012 Worlds?, 2012-06-02(opens in a new tab)
In the 2012 Worlds open-class quarterfinal Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida edged Vieira 8–7 after a late double-leg takedown, ending Vieira's run in that bracket despite his heavyweight gold.
Where in the source: Do you recall the last time Rodolfo Vieira lost before the 2012 Worlds? — 'historic 8-7 outcome in the absolute quarterfinals'; 'last-ditch double-leg from Bochecha'
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IBJJF, 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship results, adult black-belt heavy and open divisions(opens in a new tab)
At the 2013 IBJJF Worlds Vieira won adult male black-belt heavyweight gold and finished second to Marcus Almeida in the open class.
Where in the source: MALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY (202.00LB) — '1 Rodolfo Vieira Srour'; MALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS — '1 Marcus Vinícius Oliveira de Almeida'; '2 Rodolfo Vieira Srour'
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IBJJF, 2014 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship results, adult black-belt super-heavy and open divisions(opens in a new tab)
At the 2014 IBJJF Worlds Vieira won adult male black-belt super-heavyweight gold and again finished second to Marcus Almeida in the open class.
Where in the source: MALE / ADULT / BLACK / SUPER HEAVY (215.00LB) — '1 Rodolfo Vieira Srour'; MALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS — '1 Marcus Vinícius Oliveira de Almeida'; '2 Rodolfo Vieira Srour'
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E. Spencer Kyte, Rodolfo Vieira Fights to Conquer His Fears, UFC, 2021-02-12(opens in a new tab)
UFC's 2021 profile credits Vieira with five gold and two silver medals at the gi World Championships from 2011 through 2014, matching the opened IBJJF division results.
Where in the source: World Championships paragraph
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After his grappling career Vieira moved into professional MMA; UFC's 2021 profile discusses that new competitive challenge and his 2019 UFC debut against Oskar Piechota.
Where in the source: Piechota debut paragraph
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UFC's account of Vieira's 2020 bout with Saparbeg Safarov describes repeated takedowns, back control and a mounted arm-triangle finish, showing how his top-control grappling appeared in MMA.
Where in the source: Safarov fight opening
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In a 2021 UFC interview, Vieira said his fear of being hit in MMA motivated him to train harder and to approach the new sport as a challenge, as fear had done in jiu-jitsu competition.
Where in the source: Fear interview
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Graciemag, Rodolfo Vieira e o GP dos Pesados, 2013-01-10(opens in a new tab)
In a 2013 interview Vieira credits GFTeam training partners with varied guard styles, passing at distance and close range, and takedowns, saying he used that variety in competition preparation.
Where in the source: Você deu atenção a alguma técnica em especial? Queda, guarda…? — 'tem gente que faz de tudo, meia-guarda, de gancho, guarda-aranha, guarda fechada, passam a guarda afastado ou colando, derrubam'
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Graciemag, Rodolfo Vieira e Leandro Lo analisam os dois combates no GP, 2014-02-02(opens in a new tab)
After submitting Leandro Lo from back control in a Copa Pódio heavyweight Grand Prix final, Vieira described using a leg drag to pass, then holding the advantageous top position and taking the back as Lo turned. Lo independently described the same sequence.
Where in the source: Copa Pódio de Jiu-Jitsu: Rodolfo Vieira e Leandro Lo analisam os dois combates no GP — 'Entrei com um legdrag e tratei de não perder'; 'Quando ele virou, eu consegui chegar nas costas'
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ADCC Latin America, ADCC History Match: Rodolfo Vieira vs Felipe Preguiça, 2026-02-20(opens in a new tab)
At the 2015 ADCC Worlds Vieira won the under-99 kg division, submitting Adam Sachnoff and Cassio Francis, beating Xande Ribeiro on points in the semifinal, and defeating Felipe Pena by referees' decision after a scoreless 40-minute final.
Where in the source: ADCC 2015 history article, Vieira route paragraph
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In the 2015 ADCC final Vieira's early double-leg attacks led to a back take, mount and a katagatame attempt before the long standing exchanges; the ADCC account credits his continued takedown and submission attempts in the judges' decision.
Where in the source: ADCC 2015 history article, final-bout narrative
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FloGrappling, Complete Results: 2015 ADCC, 2015(opens in a new tab)
The contemporaneous ADCC results report Vieira as the absolute bronze medallist in 2015 after losing his semifinal to João Gabriel Rocha; Yuri Simões could not contest the bronze match.
Where in the source: Male Absolute — 'Joao Gabriel Rocha def Rodolfo Vieira 2-0'; 'Rodolfo Vieira vs Yuri Simoes Yuri injured, unable to fight'
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