The UFC may be heading to Newark, New Jersey, for this weekend’s (Sat., January 30, 2016) UFC on FOX 18, but almost the entire focus of the collective MMA world is fixated on Cain Velasquez’s withdrawal from his UFC 196 heavyweight title rematch against current champion Fabricio Werdum on February 6 from Las Vegas.
The story goes that Velasquez pulled out of yet another title fight due a back injury, and rising No. 2 heavyweight Stipe Miocic was signed to replace the oft-injured former champion. It was a large blow to an already somewhat weak pay-per-view (PPV) card, but things only sank when Werdum withdrew from the short-notice bout the next day after claiming back and foot injuries of his own.
Disappointing yet understandable; however, things truly hit the proverbial fan when Werdum came out and admitted that he would have fought through the presumably nagging injuries if Velasquez were able to fight at the event. The puzzling statement not surprisingly elicited a rather negative backlash directed at Werdum, most of which was the to-be-expected belief that he was ‘scared’ and wasn’t willing to step up and save an event for his employers.
While there is certainly merit to both sides of the discussion, ultimately Werdum simply had too much at stake to risk in a short notice bout against a dangerous but largely unpopular champion, one where his PPV points weren’t likely to be all that good as a result. Whether you can accept Werdum’s points of view or not, the currently targeted champion spoke up in a detailed statement (courtesy of MMA Fighting) explaining his decision.
Hop to the next page to find out what Werdum thinks about his choice and his critics….
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