UFC on FOX 11 headliner Travis Browne was one big win away from a shot at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, but he just couldn’t find his rhythm against Fabricio Werdum.
While the Brazilian jiu-jitsu second-degree black belt is known for his slick submission game, it was his precise Muay Thai game that shone against “Hapa,” outstriking his American counterpart for almost the entirety of their 25-minute encounter.
Browne’s sole bright spot came early in the opening frame, dropping Werdum with a punching combination, where he unfortunately broke his left hand.
Ricky Lundell, Browne’s grappling coach, shared an X-ray of the broken mitt on Twitter yesterday.
Update on @travisbrowneMMA : Here’s the hand break pic from when Browne dropped Werdum in Round 1 on #UFConFOX11 #ufc pic.twitter.com/ffqKHbVU8a
— Ricky Lundell (@Rickylundell) April 20, 2014
The Greg Jackson’s MMA standout showed unbelievable toughness throughout the matchup, eating dozens of the Brazilian’s best shots and still coming forward in hopes of making something happen.
Of course, that kind of warrior’s spirit comes with a price: on top of a broken hand, Browne also suffered some busted ribs and some dislocated bones in his foot during his latest Octagon outing, according to Lundell.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Browne also broke his nose, which netted him a 90-day suspension from the Florida State Athletic Commission, per Mixedmartialarts.com.
The loss snapped a three-fight win streak for Browne, who scored knockouts over heavyweight mainstays Gabriel Gonzaga, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett in the past year.
With the win, Werdum now ties Velasquez for the longest active win streak at heavyweight (four) and will be the next challenger for his UFC gold.
Browne has yet to publicly comment following Saturday’s loss.
John Heinis is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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