You won’t ever mistake current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum for being the confrontational type, but get under his skin and you might be dealing with a whole different type of fighter.
Case in point: Boisterous featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who lit into “Vai Cavalo’s” Kings MMA teammate and reigning lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos at the UFC 197 press conference earlier this week.
“RDA” remained relatively quiet as the Irish loudmouth continued to verbally jab at the Brazilian. However, things might have escalated if it was Werdum sitting in his place.
He explains what would’ve happened to MMA Fighting:
“When [reporters] had a question for Rafael and he talked over him, this is no good. If it was my opponent, I would do this [Werdum makes a gesture like throwing water in his face, then makes a slapping sound], I’d say ‘be quiet.’ But that’s not Rafael’s personality. He’s a smart guy, okay, he controls himself, he just thinks about the fight. I thought Conor McGregor wasn’t showing respect. It’s not good. If he does it to me, he has a big problem. It think it’s very important he respects my space and I respect his space.”
Werdum, of course, is a wee bit bigger than “Notorious,” who likely walks around in the 180-190 pound arena. But a future clash between two champions might not be that far away if McGregor continues to rack up belts like he says he will.
In all seriousness, dos Anjos is no slouch and the 27-year-old striking specialist will need to be on his toes against a man who has turned back the likes of Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson in 218 seconds combined.
McGregor earned the 145-pound title in a 13-second romp over former champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194 back in December. The SBG Ireland representative and winner of 15-straight tilts overall main events the UFC 197 pay-per-view (PPV) opposite dos Anjos in Las Vegas on March 5, 2016.
Werdum has his own title defense lined up in two weeks against previous foe Cain Velasquez in the UFC 196 headliner on Feb. 6, 2016.
For more on the UFC 196 and 197 fight cards click here and here.
You won’t ever mistake current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum for being the confrontational type, but get under his skin and you might be dealing with a whole different type of fighter.
Case in point: Boisterous featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who lit into “Vai Cavalo’s” Kings MMA teammate and reigning lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos at the UFC 197 press conference earlier this week.
“RDA” remained relatively quiet as the Irish loudmouth continued to verbally jab at the Brazilian. However, things might have escalated if it was Werdum sitting in his place.
He explains what would’ve happened to MMA Fighting:
“When [reporters] had a question for Rafael and he talked over him, this is no good. If it was my opponent, I would do this [Werdum makes a gesture like throwing water in his face, then makes a slapping sound], I’d say ‘be quiet.’ But that’s not Rafael’s personality. He’s a smart guy, okay, he controls himself, he just thinks about the fight. I thought Conor McGregor wasn’t showing respect. It’s not good. If he does it to me, he has a big problem. It think it’s very important he respects my space and I respect his space.”
Werdum, of course, is a wee bit bigger than “Notorious,” who likely walks around in the 180-190 pound arena. But a future clash between two champions might not be that far away if McGregor continues to rack up belts like he says he will.
In all seriousness, dos Anjos is no slouch and the 27-year-old striking specialist will need to be on his toes against a man who has turned back the likes of Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson in 218 seconds combined.
McGregor earned the 145-pound title in a 13-second romp over former champion Jose Aldo at UFC 194 back in December. The SBG Ireland representative and winner of 15-straight tilts overall main events the UFC 197 pay-per-view (PPV) opposite dos Anjos in Las Vegas on March 5, 2016.
Werdum has his own title defense lined up in two weeks against previous foe Cain Velasquez in the UFC 196 headliner on Feb. 6, 2016.
For more on the UFC 196 and 197 fight cards click here and here.
