Rivalries: Ketlen Vieira

Ketlen Vieira can no doubt see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow from her current position as a Top 5 contender in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division.

The burgeoning Nova Uniao representative will draw arguably the highest-profile assignment of her career when she faces former champion Holly Holm in the UFC Fight Night 206 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Vieira, 30, has alternated wins and losses in each of her past four outings. She carries a 6-2 record inside the Octagon, including victories over Kelly Faszholz, Ashlee Evans-Smith, Cat Zingano and Sijara Eubanks.

As Vieira approaches her high-stakes showdown with Holm at 135 pounds, a look at some of the rivalries that have helped shape her career to this point:

Sara McMann

Vieira announced her arrival as a serious player in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division when she submitted the Team Alpha Male rep with an arm-triangle choke in the second round of their featured UFC 215 prelim on Sept. 9, 2017 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. McMann conceded defeat 4:16 into Round 2. The encounter was marked by stunning momentum swings. McMann manhandled the Nova Uniao rep for much of the first round, where the 2004 Olympic silver medalist delivered a takedown, passed to half guard and achieved full mount, all while scoring with intermittent punches and elbows. The unbeaten Vieira turned the tables in the second, as she struck for a takedown of her own, framed the choke and elicited the tapout with a crushing squeeze.

Irene Aldana

The Lobo Gym export cut down the previously undefeated Vieira with punches in the first round of their UFC 245 undercard clash on Dec. 14, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Aldana drew the curtain 4:51 into Round 1. In her first appearance in nearly two years, Vieira dictated the terms for a majority of the standup exchanges but paid a steep price for leaving her chin exposed. A leaping left hook from Aldana leveled the Brazilian in the waning seconds of the first round, and two follow-up right hands pounded her unconscious at the feet of referee Jason Herzog. It remains the only stoppage loss on the Vieira resume.

Yana Kunitskaya

A strong second round and violent surge at the end of the third propelled the American Top Team standout to a unanimous decision over Vieira in the UFC Fight Night 185 co-main event on Feb. 20, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. All three cageside judges struck 29-28 scorecards for Kunitskaya. Vieira—who missed weight for the match by two pounds—controlled much of the first and third rounds with superior topside grappling. However, she all but gave away the middle stanza, where she was far too content to work from her back once Kunitskaya powered into top position. Still, Vieira appeared to be ticketed for a decision as time ticked away in Round 3, as she climbed to full mount, advanced to the back and threatened with a rear-naked choke. Kunitskaya sprang a late reversal, shifted to a position of dominance and cut loose with elbows, one of which opened a significant gash near the Invicta Fighting Championships vet’s right eyebrow. Those efforts seemed to do enough to curry favor with the judiciary.

Miesha Tate

Vieira moved ever closer to contention in the Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s bantamweight division when she took a unanimous decision from the former 135-pound titleholder in the UFC Fight Night 198 headliner on Nov. 20, 2021 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Scores were 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46. Tate was the aggressor from the outset, pressing forward with punches and no doubt hunting for takedown opportunities. Vieira was tentative at times, sensational at others. Ultimately, the power in her hands made the difference. She lashed out Tate with two-and three-punch combinations, and even though she absorbed her share of shots in return, the weaponry the Brazilian brought to bear proved to be far more damaging. By the time the fifth round was in play, Tate was bleeding heavily from the nose and struggling to see out of her left eye, the Vieira right hand having exacted its intended toll.