Overview

• The middleweight matchup was confirmed for UFC 322 on November 15 after being first reported by ESPN Brazil’s Higor Ciconello.
• Outlets disagree on the event location, with reports split between Madison Square Garden in New York City and Las Vegas, and the venue has not been clearly settled in coverage.
• Nickal returns following a second-round TKO loss to Reinier de Ridder at UFC Des Moines in May, the first defeat of his 7-1 career.
• Vieira, a five-time BJJ world champion, is coming off a unanimous decision win over Tresean Gore and holds an 11-3 record with nine submission victories.
• The pairing highlights a high-level grappling contrast of Nickal’s NCAA-caliber wrestling against Vieira’s submission prowess with implications for both fighters’ trajectories.