Jon Jones put on a very strong performance at UFC 182, but one man was willing to throw some fighting words in the light heavyweight champ’s direction. That one man happens to be interim heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, who gave Jones a stern warning about stepping onto his turf.
@JonnyBones good fight tonight against @dc_mma but better you stay there at your division. #vaicavalo @danawhite
— Fabricio Werdum (@FabricioWerdum) January 4, 2015
Werdum is riding high at this time. Since losing to Alistair Overeem in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix, “Vai Cavalo” has been lights-out in the cage. He is currently on a dominant five-fight winning streak, most recently scoring a flash knockout at the expense of the heavy-handed Mark Hunt, who he defeated at UFC 180, which allowed him to take the interim heavyweight belt.
Worth noting is that this is not the first time Werdum has discussed a potential matchup with Jones. Back in November, Jones came just short of saying he would be able to beat Werdum without incident, which prompted some stern back talk from Werdum.
While the exchange did not make particularly strong waves in MMA circles, Werdum seems to have taken Jones’ boasts to heart.
That said, at the UFC 182 post-fight press conference, Jones played down a possible move up to heavyweight, saying that he is actually becoming more and more comfortable with cutting down to the 205-pound weight limit of the light heavyweight division.
With a marquee fight against the winner of the UFC on Fox 14 main event just over the horizon, there is little reason for Jones to put much thought into leaving the division behind. As for Werdum, he has numerous potential challenges on his plate, including an eventual title unification bout with Cain Velasquez.
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