UFC on FOX 11 will determine the next in line against heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, and Junior dos Santos believes that Travis Browne will come out victorious on Saturday night.
Browne headlines the UFC fight card against Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert Fabricio Werdum in Orlando, Florida, and dos Santos sees the Hawaiian a slight favorite in the heavyweight contest.
“It’s a close fight,” dos Santos told MMAFighting.com. “Werdum is really good on the ground and his chances of winning this fight are on the ground. I think that Browne is a slight favorite in this fight, but anything can happen. I will cheer for Werdum because he’s Brazilian.”
No matter who wins on Saturday night, “Cigano” says, Velasquez will likely retain the title when they meet later in 2014.
“MMA is not an exact math,” the former champion said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the favorite or not, if you’re not in a good day things can go wrong. Velasquez would be the favorite against any of them, but they can surprise him.”
Browne enters the UFC on FOX 11 main event riding a three-fight win streak with three first-round knockouts, while the Brazilian scored three dominant victories since returning to the Octagon in 2012.
“Travis can go for the knockout, and Werdum does well on the ground,” he said. “Velasquez’s best weapon in the wrestling, but I think he would change his game in a fight with Werdum. He wouldn’t risk going to the ground against Werdum, so it’s up to Werdum to get better in his standup game and force Velasquez to go for the takedowns.”