Last night, at the UFC on FOX 11 event held in Florida, a new number one contender emerged for the UFC Heavyweight Title when Fabricio Werdum defeated Travis Browne over five rounds. Browne was the favorite with the odds at the sportbooks heading in, but he was never able to mount any offense against Werdum, who basically won every single round. This leaves Fabricio Werdum as the clear cut next challenger for the UFC Heavyweight title currently held by Cain Velasquez, in a match the UFC has penciled in for Mexico.
Werdum has been talked about for a title shot before, but this win seals the deal. Werdum holds a special place in MMA history as he is the man who first defeated Fedor Emilianenko, and now with this win over a rising contender, he is in line next. He was impressive in defeating Browne, as he was aggressive in the stand up, using punches as well as kicks and knees to stifle Browne’s game and not let him get off. On the ground, it was widely known Werdum would dominate, but he showed himself to be a pretty complete fighter in dominating from start to finish.
And it is unclear what type of fighter Champion Cain Velasquez will be for the defense. Velasquez has been dominant in establishing himself as champion and soundly defeating the challenge of former champion Junior Dos Santos, but he has undergone several surgeries, a should repair being the latest.
If Velasquez returns at the top of his game, it will be interesting to see. Werdum set and maintained a pretty high pace against Browne, and that is Velasquez’ bread and butter. Velasquez as a wrestler always had the option to try and take Dos Santos down. Though Dos Santos obviously knows Jiu Jitsu, he is unlikely to finish a fight from his back, meaning Velasquez was going to be safe on the ground. He wont have that luxury against Werdum, and he will have to work harder than ever to outpace and outwork Wedum standing.
