After losing his heavyweight title to Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC 198 in his home-country of Brazil, his first loss in almost five years, Fabricio Werdum is looking to get back inside the Octagon sooner rather than later.
Werdum (20-6-1) suffered a devastating KO at the hands of Miocic in a matter of two-minutes and forty-seven seconds of the first round, and lost the title he won back in June of last year when he submitted Cain Velasquez in Mexico.
Following the bout Werdum was adamant on an immediate rematch against Miocic, however it appears the UFC might want to go in a different direction, perhaps giving a title shot to the surging Alistair Overeem.
In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, Werdum’s manager Ali Abdelaziz revealed who his client may want to throw down with next:
“Fabricio wants a chance to win back his belt, but we’re not sure that’s the direction the UFC wants to go right now,” Abdelaziz said.
“So I spoke with Fabricio, and he thinks that Josh Barnett would be a great opponent.”
“There were talks before about them competing in a grappling match, but why not have a fistfight instead?”
Abdelaziz said he is not a big fan of Barnett, but respects him all the same, and believes he and Werdum would put on quite the show:
“Personally, I’m a big fan of Josh Barnett. He’s a true veteran of the sport and a legend, just like Fabricio. I think this would be a fantastic fight, and Fabricio does, too.”
“It’s with all due respect, but yeah, we’re laying out the challenge. I hope Josh will accept the fight.”
Barnett (34-8) is coming off of a submission loss to Ben Rothwell late this past January, via gogo choke at UFC on Fox 18. Barnett has won three of his last five fights including wins over Frank Mir and Roy Nelson over the past three years.
A bout between the two world-class grapplers would be a fun one, but will Werdum get his wish?
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