Ketlen Vieira


Ketlen Vieira da Silva is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As December 16, 2019, she is #7 in the UFC women's bantamweight rankings.

Background

Vieira was born in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. She started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and when she was twelve she started training in Judo. She holds black belts in both disciplines. She is also a decorated wrestler with multiple prestigious titles, including Brazilian national wrestling championship. She transitioned to MMA and trained under Marcinho Pontes, who was José Aldo's early coach at Nova Uniao Manaus gym.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Vieira fought all of her fights in Brazil where she made her professional debut on October 2, 2014 at Circuito de Lutas: Fight Night 4 in São Paulo. She faced Juliana Leite and knocked out Leite in round two. She continued to win the next 5 fights under Mr. Cage and Big Way Fight Night banners where she won the Mr. Cage bantamweight title. Vieira amassed a record of 6-0 in 17 months prior to being signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Vieira made her promotional debut on October 1, 2016 at in Portland, Oregon, United States. She faced Kelly Faszholz and ultimately edged out her opponent to win by split decision. In the post fight interview, Vieira explained her difficulty with weight cutting for this fight. Two days prior to the scheduled fight, she needed to drink one liter of water to provide a urine sample to USADA, which interfered with the process of her weight cut prior to the USADA visit.
She took on Ashlee Evans-Smith at on April 15, 2017. After three rounds, the judges handed the victory to Vieira via unanimous decision with the score board of.
Vieira was originally expected to face Sara McMann at UFC 214 on July 29, 2017. However, the fight was moved to UFC 215 on September 9, 2017. Vieira won the bout via arm-triangle choke submission in the second round.
A bout against Germaine de Randamie was announced for on February 3, 2018. However, the bout was soon cancelled due to a hand injury sustained by de Randamie.
Vieira faced Cat Zingano on March 3, 2018 at UFC 222. She won the fight via split decision.
Vieira was scheduled to face Tonya Evinger on September 22, 2018 at. However, on August 7, 2018 she pulled out due to a knee injury.
Vieira fought Irene Aldana on December 14, 2019 at UFC 245. She lost the fight by knockout in the first round.
Vieira was scheduled to face Marion Reneau on May 9, 2020 at UFC 250. Due to the event being relocated to the United States, Vieira being unable to compete due to visa issues: However, on April 9, Dana White, the president of UFC announced that this event was postponed to a future date Instead, Vieira was scheduled to face Yana Kunitskaya on August 1, 2020 at, and on July 15, 2020, it was announced that the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night 174 on August 8, 2020. Subsequently, Vieira was removed from the card on July 30 for undisclosed reasons and replaced by Julija Stoliarenko.
Vieira and Reneau bout was reschedule on September 26, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Vieira briefly attended university where she majored in law.

Mixed martial arts record