Fabricio Werdum has been counted out before. No one thought he would be the guy to defeat Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, whose aura of invincibility hadn’t been cracked in nearly 30 fights.
But a triangle from the Brazilian ended that reign nearly four years ago. And on Saturday night, Werdum once again stunned the naysayers, battering Travis Browne to earn a title shot against heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez.
Yet UFC president Dana White is not pleased.
“He fought a safe fight to guarantee the [title shot],” White said of Werdum’s performance. “I think he could have finished Travis, but Travis is a tough guy.”
It’s clear from the post-fight press conference that White had envisioned a Velasquez-Browne title fight once Velasquez returned from a shoulder injury.
White’s dismay over Werdum toppling Browne is understandable. The surging contender known as “Hapa” had rattled off three consecutive knockout victories before falling short against Werdum. Two of those knockouts were against big-name heavyweights: Alistair Overeem, whom Travis front-kicked into unconsciousness, and Josh Barnett, who looked lost from the start and ended up face down on the canvas a minute into the fight.
Browne is an exciting fighter. However, he was simply not ready for a title shot.
Against Werdum, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace with an ever-improving stand-up game, Browne couldn’t get a shot in edge-wise. Werdum landed body kick after body kick, and flustered the Hawaiian in the clinch, as well as from range.
Werdum landed 121 significant strikes to Browne’s 60. Browne had not been taken down once in his UFC career, but Werdum put him there a few times throughout the fight.
So all is not lost for White. While a Velasquez-Browne title fight would have been nice, we’re left with an even better matchup between a well-rounded champion and a well-rounded contender.
According to White, Werdum and Velasquez will coach against each other for the “Ultimate Fighter: Mexico,” and their title fight will take place in Mexico later this year.
“As long as Cain’s recovery is on course, the fight will be in Mexico,” White said.