Ketlen
Vieira added another significant feather to her cap on Saturday
night.
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Some six months after besting Miesha Tate,
Vieira defeated another former champion, taking a hard-fought — and
somewhat contentious — split decision triumph against Holly Holm in
the
UFC Fight Night 206 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Vieira was still competing on the regional circuit when Holm became
a massive star by knocking out Ronda
Rousey at UFC 193 in November 2015.
“As I was growing up and watching MMA in Manaus, Amazonas, I still
had dreams of coming to the UFC, and I watched her shock the world
and beat Ronda
Rousey,” Vieira said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference.
“And just like other fighters I mentioned like Miesha Tate
and others, I’ve always wanted to fight them and be a part of this.
So ever since I started, I’ve always wanted to fight her.”
While many observers thought that Holm deserved the nod on the
scorecards, Vieira wasn’t impressed with her opponent’s approach,
which included plenty of clinch work and control time. However,
when the bantamweights were at range, Vieira often seemed to land
with more power than the ex-boxing champion. The Brazilian believes
the judges ultimately rewarded her for more effective offense in
the bout.
“I think she was doing more of an ‘antigame,’ we use that term for
soccer,” Vieira said. “That’s what she was doing, she was basically
trying to neutralize me. She was just pressing me against the cage
but nothing was happening, she just wanted me to stop fighting and
I think that the judges actually saw that.”
Vieira appeared to be on the verge of securing a finish in the
second round, when she trapped Holm in a standing rear-naked choke.
Holm’s eyes bulged and her face turned red, but “The Preacher’s
Daughter” somehow managed to escape the predicament.
“I felt pretty good about that and I thought that she actually was
doing a light tap,” Vieira said. “I saw the ref come in close and
when I looked over to see him coming close that’s when I think she
took the opportunity because I looked away from what was going on
and she escaped me. But God’s plans, they can’t be denied.”
Heading into the fifth round, Vieira received a tongue lashing from
cornerman Andre
Pederneiras, who insisted that she was down on the scorecards.
While that didn’t turn out to be true, Vieira claims that is a
trick her coach employs on a regular basis.
“Not just in the fights, but also in the gym, he’s always like,
‘You’re losing, you’re losing,’” Vieira said. “‘… And yes, it’s
something that he uses to propel us to actually win and to find
more, to actually go for a fight, to look for a fight, to look for
a win. So it’s something that works and he knows he needs to
actually use that kind of approach.”
Vieira is among the winningest fighters in the history of the UFC’s
bantamweight division, and her resume includes victories over the
likes of Holm, Tate, Cat Zingano
and Sara
McMann. With that in mind, she believes a title shot should be
next on the agenda, and she is willing to wait for the winner of
the rematch between Julianna
Pena and Amanda
Nunes scheduled for UFC 277 on July 30. Vieira balked at the
mention of a rematch with Irene
Aldana, who defeated her via first-round knockout at UFC
245.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I just beat someone who beat her,”
Vieira said. “I’d rather take my time, go back to the gym, keep
getting better because I’ve waited a lot. I’ve been close to No. 2
all this time, so I just want to take whatever time is necessary
and wait for the winner there.”