Prospect in the Spotlight (July 31-Aug 1): Juan Pablo Vieira

Introduction

Friday, July 31st, Brazilian lightweight prospect Juan Pablo Vieira will be in action for LFA, where he will be looking continue his winning ways against Eduardo Terencio. He will be looking for another win, as Vieira looks to inch closer to a UFC. He represents Centro da Lutas Dyogo Teles, an underrated camp in MMA. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”

Strengths

Jiu-Jitsu: Vieira is a very good Brazilian jiu-jitsu artist who is slick on the mat with his positioning, passes, ability to find a submission from out of nowhere. Four of his wins come by way of tapout, with the armbar being three of those wins. He is very slick and aggressive, which can overwhelm his opposition. He uses his ground-and-pound effectively as well, though he’d prefer to slap on a submission to finish his opponents.

Flashy Striking: Vieira has a very solid striking game and has some flash when he throws as well. Five of his wins come by way of knockout, with some by ground-and-pound. However, he also has a flying knee knockout in his pro debut and has shown one-punch knockout ability while with the LFA. His striking, in addition to his ground skills, make him an all-around threat.

Needs Improvement

Question Marks vs. Wrestlers: The one thing we’ve yet to see out of Vieira thus far is how he fares against amateur wrestlers. Seeing as there are a ton of top-level wrestlers in both the UFC and PFL, we cannot simply judge his wrestling and counter-wrestling, especially since Brazil, where he competes, doesn’t have a bastion of wrestlers to challenge him.

Outlook

UFC Top 20: I am very impressed with Vieira thus far and he’s only 22 years old, meaning the best is yet to come. He has finished all of his fights before the third round, with only two leaving the first round. He has continually stepped up in competition, including recent times, showing he’s not going to be a Brazilian regional can crusher. He has the all-around skills to be successful at the highest level and I really think he will be once he gets the call to the UFC. That should come soon.