Vitor Vianna Record: 12-3-1

Building a reputation

In October 2006, Vianna handed future UFC and Bellator veteran Francis Carmont a decision loss at Kam Lung, a notable scalp on his rising résumé. That same year, however, he ran into unbeaten prospect Thiago Silva, who was 6-0 at the time, and absorbed one of the few defeats of his career. Vianna regrouped and kept winning, and by 2010 he scored a win over grizzled veteran Aaron Brink at a Millennium Events show, signaling he was ready for a larger promotion.

Bellator run

Vianna's profile peaked during Bellator's fifth-season middleweight tournament. He opened with a decision win over Sam Alvey at Bellator 50 in September 2011, then stopped the highly regarded Bryan Baker with punches in the first round at Bellator 54 the following month to reach the tournament final. There he met the powerful Alexander Shlemenko at Bellator 57 and dropped a decision, falling just short of the tournament crown. His final listed bout came at Bellator 61 in March 2012, where Brian Rogers caught him with a first-round flying knee – a spectacular finish that closed the book on a long and accomplished career.

Fighting style

Vianna was, first and foremost, a grappler, and his finish breakdown tells the story of a fighter who could win in multiple ways: of his 12 victories, four came by submission and five by knockout, giving him a 75% finish rate. His world-class jiu-jitsu made him dangerous on the ground from any position, but he was no one-dimensional fighter – he showed real punching power, as the first-round stoppage of Bryan Baker demonstrated. His losses tended to come against elite, durable opposition, and twice he was caught by knockout, underscoring that his ceiling on the feet sat a notch below his mat game.

Career highlights

• Bellator Season 5 middleweight finalist — beat Sam Alvey and stopped Bryan Baker to reach the tournament final, the high point of his MMA run.
• Multiple-time world grappling champion — earned a black belt and elite submission-grappling honors before ever turning to MMA, the foundation of his entire game.
• 75% finish rate — closed out nine of his 12 wins inside the distance, blending dangerous submissions with legitimate knockout power.