A Blessing in Disguise

When Viviane Araujo steps into the cage Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas to face Alexa Grasso, it will mark the end of a string of near misses between the two, and the vindication of a year’s worth of frustrating waiting. UFC Fight Night 212 represents the third time the two flyweight contenders have been scheduled to fight, as Araujo was forced to withdraw from their clash at UFC 270 in January, and Grasso returning the favor in August. The bout fizzled so many times that both women have taken other fights in the interim, with Araujo picking up a win over Andrea Lee and Grasso defeating Joanne Wood.

The passage of time has only made the matchup more intriguing, and their additional wins in the meantime have elevated it from just another good Top 15 scrap into a possible title eliminator. “Vivi” feels the heightening anticipation, believes that fans in their home countries probably do as well, and expects that the fight will deliver.

“So many fans have been waiting for this fight – both Brazilians and Mexicans,” the 35-year-old told Sherdog. “They can expect a very versatile fight. Both Alexa and I will be ready. We spent a lot of time studying Alexa’s game. She, no doubt, has very good boxing. It’s very sharp. She’s well-rounded. She’s smooth when escaping ground attacks. We’re studying her weaknesses, so I can use my strengths to attack her. It’s going to be a five-round bout. I’m looking forward to being very aggressive from the start of each round. I don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges. I suffered bitterly, being on the wrong side of the decision against Katlyn Chookagian. I’ve changed my attitude. I’m more aggressive. I’m always advancing. It’s what I’ll do again in this next fight against Alexa. I’ll show that my boxing is also good. I’ll showcase my strong points, which are my aggression and speed. I’ll nullify her game.”

She also recognizes the heightened stakes that the oft-delayed Grasso fight now carries. In January, Araujo would have been coming into the bout off of a loss and trying to get back on track. Now she is instead looking for her second straight win, and is better positioned to make her case for a matchup with UFC flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko. “With another win I will be a worthy challenger to the belt,” she said. “I have no doubt. I’m training hard. I’m putting in a lot of work. My goal is to reach the top of my weight class, challenge the champion, and become the champion – the best.”

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Araujo’s frustration after the Chookagian loss has led her to re-examine her approach. A prolific finisher in her pre-UFC career in Brazil and Japan, she is currently on a string of six straight decisions, and is resolved to go back to taking her destiny into her own hands. “Without a doubt, being in the UFC’s top 10 comes with a much tougher roster of very high-level opponents,” she said. “Our fans can expect a very high technical level. Getting a finish requires much more precision. Sometimes it’s a lucky strike, or we land in a grappling position from which there’s no escape. At our academy, we train to get finishes like that before the final buzzer. I’m working on ways to catch my opponent by surprise – to be unpredictable. But I’m not changing my game too much. My style is to keep moving forward, always giving my opponent a difficult time. I spot openings. I land heavy hands, and that’s how I make my opponents walk backward. At this high level, all opponents are tough. In the end, the most important thing is getting a finish, regardless of how we do it.”

She has also taken advantage of the multiple postponements to refine her preparations. The cancellation of their second matchup came very late, so Araujo has in effect had two full camps to prepare for Grasso. “I was supposed to have fought Alexa on Aug. 13. As such, I had already completed a full training camp. I was very ready. I learned that she pulled out one week before. I had done all my work and I was just in the process of losing weight. Gladly, I don’t cut much. I always keep my weight low when training. At the same time, it’s exhausting to go through all that, not to mention the high-intensity training sessions. After the cancelation, I took a week off to rest. We eventually resumed training and furthering our studies of Alexa’s fights. It was important to have a break between these two training camps, so I wouldn’t show up completely worn out, stressed out, or injured on fight night. All my work was done in Brasilia. My main training partners are Lucas Catta Preta, who’s a muay Thai black band, and Arlos Avelino de Souza who’s a luta-livre grappling expert. I also have a great wrestling coach – Luis Alessandro Hernandez Frades. We're working a lot of my wrestling. Master Duca from the Boxe de Rua academy is my boxing coach. He’s working on my punching accuracy and power. I’m a jiu-jitsu black belt. We also do a lot of ground training with coach Erik Batista da Silva. And Daniel Evangelista, is our head coach. Anderson Carvalho is my muay Thai head coach. I’ve been with this team for a very long time. Everything is working out.”