MMA Preview – Rodolfo Vieira vs Armen Petrosyan at UFC Fight Night 236
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RODOLFO VIEIRA VS ARMEN PETROSYAN FACTS
When is UFC Fight Night 236? Saturday 10th February, 2024 - 22:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC Fight Night 236? UFC APEX, Enterprise, Las Vegas (US)
Where can I get tickets for UFC Fight Night 236? Click here to buy tickets for UFC Fight Night
What channel is UFC Fight Night 236 on? TNT Sports 2
Where can I stream UFC Fight Night 236? TNT Sports subscribers can stream the fight online via the TNT Sports website and Discovery+
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ and you can sign up for access as part of a Disney Bundle here!
RODOLFO VIEIRA VS ARMEN PETROSYAN LOWDOWN
Rodolfo Vieira (9-2) is 2-2 in his last four. Anthony Hernandez (2021) humbled him suffering his first loss. He gassed out and suffered the shock submission in the second round. He has worked hard on his cardio since and responded with a classic submission over Dustin Stoltzfus (2021). He was then outclassed by Chris Curtis (2022) in a unanimous decision but has bounced back again notching up his eighth submission which was over Cody Brundage in April last year.
Now, he takes on the Muay Thai and kickboxing specialist Armen Petrosyan (9-2). He proved he is more than a striker on his UFC debut fending off the grappling of Gregory Rodrigues (2022) and squeaking out a split decision. However, his takedown defence could not prevent him from getting ragdolled by Caio Borralho five months later. He has bounced back since that loss earning two classy unanimous decisions over AJ Dobson (2022) and Christian Leroy Duncan (2023)
RODOLFO VIEIRA VS ARMEN PETROSYAN PREDICTION
Thankfully, this has been rebooked after Petrosyan fell ill before UFC Fight Night 231. It seemed like fate that these two would eventually meet sitting on the same record after both transitioning into MMA from successful combat careers.
This fight is a throwback striker vs grappler match-up and will all boil down to whether Vieira can keep Petrosyan down. We saw how good his takedown defence and get-up game was against Rodrigues and he will have the confidence of not falling into the Brazilian’s web.
There is less room for error as Vieira’s jiu-jitsu is at the top of the food chain. His cardio has also dramatically improved, and he will keep hunting the takedowns deep into the fight. We expect to see Petrosyan frustrate Vieira in the first round and keep springing back up to his feet.
However, we can see Vieira keeping up that pressure to either earn a decision or if he can wear Petrosyan down enough, he can wrap up a submission. The value is with the underdog, but we are backing the grappling beast.
Prediction: Vieira via Decision
Value Bet: Petrosyan to win
