Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez have a lot in common. Both are former UFC heavyweight champions, and each suffered brutal losses in their last title fights. On top of that, they have a history with each other. After many injuries and bumps in the road, Werdum finally got his crack at UFC gold against Velasquez at UFC 188. The Brazilian grappler-turned striker had already clinched the interim belt from Mark Hunt at UFC 180, and was rampant in victory over his Mexican foe.
‘Vai Cavalo’ displayed excellent striking prowess, and of course his Brazilian Jiu Jistu was water tight. Defeating Velasquez with a stunning third round submission, Werdum finally placed his name with the all-time greats of the sport. Recognition, as deserving as it was, also came with questions about Velasquez’s conditioning. ‘sea level Cain would have smashed him!’ said some adamant fans, and so talks of an immediate rematch materialized. When Werdum decided to move on from the Velasquez saga, he did so at his own cost.
The Short Reign
Werdum’s reign at heavyweight was very short indeed. Facing Stipe Miocic in his first attempted defense, ‘Vai Cavalo’ was squashed in epic fashion by the Croatian boxer. As he rushed Miocic with reckless abandon, Werdum felt the power of the new champion as he face planted on the octagon canvas. Bouncing back at UFC 203, Werdum defeated Travis Browne before kicking coach Edmond Tarverdyan in the aftermath.
For Velasquez it’s been a somewhat similar story. Although h was absent from the octagon for 13 months after losing to Werdum, Velasquez also rebounded against ‘Hpa.’ Although he didn’t assault coach Edmond after the fight at UFC 200, ‘CV’ did score an impressive first round TKO with a wheel kick added in. As per coach Rafael Cordeiro’s instagram account, Werdum will face ‘sea level Cain’ in Las Vegas on December 30!
Who you got?
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