Rodolfo Vieira's MMA coach says that not only was he "made for MMA', but that the world champion is the most promising prospect to have made the transition from jiu-jitsu to MMA. 

"If Carlson Gracie was alive and he met this guy he would fall in love," says Marcus 'Parrumpa' DaMatta. 

"His jiu-jitsu is Carlson Gracie style: power, pressure, takedown, submission. I feel this guy was made for MMA. He just needs to transition to jiu-jitsu for MMA training. When he gets that part of not just grabbing, but doing jiu-jitsu and punching the guy, he will be unbeatable."

Photo: Erin Herle

Parrumpa is one of the coaches at American Top Team responsible for steering Vieira's transition from pure grappling to MMA. 

DaMatta says that when they first met at a UFC event in Brazil, he assured the black belt world champion that he could help him crossover into MMA successfully. 

"We got introduced and I said 'if you ever want to go into MMA I would love to have you at American Top Team'. He was like, 'man I'm really scared, I don't know what I'm going to do'. 

"I said 'I've been in your shoes'. It's not like I had a bright career, but I was there in the beginning like all grapplers were. I said that 'your game was made for MMA, once you get people down and punch them really hard they're going to give up their back or katagatames or whatever'." 

Not only is 'Parrumpa' very pleased with Vieira's progress, but he feels that he could become the most successful jiu-jitsu athlete to transition to MMA. 

"I always felt that the most promising prospect for jiu-jitsu in MMA nowadays was Rodolfo. Way more than Buchecha, Malfacine, the Mendes brothers, even Marcelo [Garcia]. All these guys are amazing guys. To me, Marcelo is the best ever. But the thing is, he didn't transition very well.
But this guy in daily training, he is amazing. When he puts his MMA gloves on, it becomes easy for him."