Piazzon vows to 'slice' Uriel's face as bad blood fuels DWCS heavyweight clash

Mario Piazzon is relishing the animosity surrounding his Dana White’s Contender Series return, promising things will “get ugly” when he meets Guilherme Uriel in a heavyweight bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on August 25.

The two Brazilians made their hostility plain at Monday’s official weigh-ins, pressing foreheads during the final face-off in a confrontation Piazzon says has roots in social-media snubs. “He blocked me and everyone around me on Instagram, but I kept my Instagram exactly the way it was,” Piazzon told MMA Fighting. “I’ve never said anything about him. From my side, there’s nothing, but if he looks at me differently when the time comes, things are going to get ugly.”

Piazzon is no stranger to charged atmospheres on the Contender Series. In his first DWCS appearance in September 2023, he left victorious after opponent Alexander Soldatkin was disqualified for an illegal knee in the third round — a night Piazzon says was defined by the Russian’s perceived disrespect throughout fight week. “I like that hostile atmosphere,” he said. “Last season, Soldatkin would walk past me with a lot of attitude. He would disrespect me, look at me like I was nothing. Once that cage closes, we’re going to throw down.”

Neither Piazzon nor Soldatkin earned a UFC contract that evening, but Piazzon credits the experience with sharpening him as a fighter. “I came out of there with the experience that I’m tough too, that I’m good too,” he said. “I believe in myself, and I have the potential to be fighting among the top 15 in the UFC.”

The road back to DWCS was not without turbulence. In his third fight after that 2023 appearance, Piazzon suffered a jarring upset loss in São Paulo, stopped in under three minutes by Alex Junius — a journeyman with a record of 15-39 who had lost 20 of his previous 24 bouts. Piazzon has since reframed the defeat as a turning point. “It was the biggest learning experience of my life,” he said.

Now back on the sport’s most prominent developmental stage, Piazzon is focused on one outcome: a UFC contract. With tensions already at a peak before the opening bell, Tuesday night’s heavyweight matchup promises to be one of the more combustible bouts of the current DWCS season.