# Rodolfo Vieira

> The Black Belt Hunter: five-medal IBJJF World champion, 2015 ADCC −99 kg champion, and submission-focused UFC middleweight.

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- **Last updated:** 2026-07-18

## Identity

- **Name:** Rodolfo Vieira
- **Full name:** Rodolfo Vieira Srour
- **Nickname:** Caçador dos Faixas Pretas
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Grappling Fight Team (GFT) / Fusion X-Cel
- **Nationality:** Brazil
- **Born:** 1989-09-25
- **Birthplace:** Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- **Weight class:** Heavy / Super Heavy (94–100 kg gi; ADCC −99 kg; UFC middleweight 185 lb)
- **Height:** 5'11" (180 cm)

## Biography

Rodolfo Vieira Srour is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Julio César Pereira and one of the defining heavyweight gi competitors of the 2010s. Born on September 25, 1989, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he began training at 13 primarily to lose weight rather than chase a sporting career. His first instructors were Arlans Maia and Bruno Souza; after his blue-belt period he moved into Universidade Gama Filho, the Rio program led by Julio César Pereira that became Grappling Fight Team. Vieira would become GFT's first global star, helping move the academy into the center of elite competition.

Vieira's nickname, Caçador dos Faixas Pretas (Black Belt Hunter), came before he was a black belt. In 2009, still a brown belt, he won the Abu Dhabi World Pro after beating multiple black belts, including two-time world champion Braulio Estima. The result was so significant that Julio César awarded him his black belt at the airport when he returned to Brazil. After injury interrupted much of 2010, Vieira came back in 2011 with one of the great gi seasons: double gold at the Pan Championship, double gold at the Abu Dhabi World Pro, and double gold at the IBJJF World Championship, repeatedly meeting Bernardo Faria in finals.

From 2011 through 2014, Vieira was the sport's benchmark heavyweight pressure passer. He won IBJJF World Championship black-belt gold in four straight title years, collecting five World gold medals when the 2011 absolute is counted, and added Abu Dhabi World Pro, European Open, Pan, and Copa Pódio titles. His rivalry with Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida became one of the era's central storylines, especially in absolute brackets, while Vieira's wins over athletes such as Xande Ribeiro, Bernardo Faria, Andre Galvao, Leandro Lo, and Felipe Pena showed how well his passing, back attacks, armbars, and arm-triangle control scaled against elite opposition.

Vieira also proved that his jiu-jitsu translated outside the gi. At ADCC 2015 in São Paulo he won the −99 kg world title, defeating Adam Sachnoff, Cassio Francis da Silva, Xande Ribeiro, and Felipe Pena, then beat Benson Henderson and Rafael Lovato Jr. during an absolute run that ended in the semifinals against João Gabriel Rocha. FloGrappling's ADCC results archive records the −99 kg final as a referee decision over Felipe Pena and the absolute bronze as an injury walkover after Yuri Simoes could not compete.

In late 2015 Vieira announced a move toward mixed martial arts, training through American Top Team and Team Nogueira before making his pro debut in 2017 with a rear naked choke. He signed with the UFC in 2019 and became one of the middleweight division's clearest examples of elite BJJ adapted to MMA: most of his wins have come by submission, with repeated arm-triangle finishes over opponents such as Oskar Piechota, Saparbek Safarov, Cody Brundage, and Armen Petrosyan. UFC and Sherdog records list him as an active middleweight at 11-5 after his April 2026 bout, with three UFC Performance of the Night bonuses and a UFC record for arm-triangle submission victories.

## Lineage

Mitsuyo Maeda > Luis França > Oswaldo Fadda > Monir Salomão > Julio César Pereira > Rodolfo Vieira

## Instructors

- Julio César Pereira
- Arlans Maia
- Bruno Souza

## Signature techniques / game

- Knee-slide pass
- Pressure passing
- Armbar
- Choke from the back
- Arm-triangle choke / katagatame
- Rear naked choke

## Major achievements

- 1st Place ADCC World Championship (−99 kg, 2015)
- 3rd Place ADCC World Championship Absolute (2015)
- IBJJF World Championship black-belt gold — five medals across four title years (2011 weight and absolute; 2012, 2013, 2014 weight)
- IBJJF World Championship Absolute silver (2012, 2013, 2014)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship — weight and absolute (2011)
- 1st Place IBJJF European Open — weight and absolute (2012)
- UAEJJF / AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro champion — multiple weight and absolute titles (2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014)
- Copa Pódio Grand Prix Champion (2013, 2014)
- UFC middleweight veteran; three Performance of the Night bonuses
- UFC record holder for arm-triangle choke submission wins

## Colored belt highlights

- 1st Place Abu Dhabi World Pro (2009, brown belt; defeated Braulio Estima en route to title)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals — weight and absolute (2008, purple belt)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals — weight and absolute (2007, blue belt)

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rodolfovieira89/
- BJJ Fanatics: https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/fighters/rodolfo-vieira

## Sources

- [BJJ Heroes — Rodolfo Vieira](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/rodolfo-vieira-bjj-wiki)
- [Wikipedia — Rodolfo Vieira](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Vieira)
- [Digitsu — Rodolfo Vieira](https://digitsu.com/people/rodolfo-vieira)
- [FloGrappling — Complete Results: 2015 ADCC](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/5043536-complete-results-2015-adcc)
- [UFC — Rodolfo Vieira](https://www.ufc.com/athlete/rodolfo-vieira)
- [BJJ Fanatics — Rodolfo Vieira](https://bjjfanatics.com/blogs/fighters/rodolfo-vieira)
- [Wikimedia Commons — Rodolfo Vieira and E. Zenkevich](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rodolfo_Vieira_and_E.Zenkevich.JPG)

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