A former UFC heavyweight champion and the only man to knock both Werdum and Velasquez out inside the Octagon, “Cigano” wasn’t a believer in “Vai Cavalo”, but his last performance against Travis Browne changed his mind.
“Werdum’s last performance was impressive,” dos Santos told MMAFighting.com. “I’ve never seen him fight so well like he did against Browne. He got a big win and earned a shot at the title.”
dos Santos admits he will root for Werdum as a patriot, but also because he doesn’t think it’s an impossible talk if he performs like in his win over “Hapa”.
“As a Brazilian, I will root for Werdum to bring the UFC title back to Brazil, but he has a difficult task ahead of him,” he said. “Velasquez is an impressive fighter with a great cardio, but I know Werdum is training really hard for that. He stands a chance, yes. If he fights like he did the last time, he has a good chance at winning.”
Velasquez is sidelined with an injury since his fifth-round TKO victory over dos Santos in October. With the heavyweight title match is scheduled for Nov. 15 in Mexico City, “Cigano” believes that being active could give Werdum a small advantage.
“I think it might help Werdum,” he said, “but it doesn’t happen very often these days because the level of training in the gym is do high now, so you can get ready for a fight even if you haven’t fought in a while. I think it won’t be an issue for Velasquez, but can be good for Werdum.”
A former UFC heavyweight champion and the only man to knock both Werdum and Velasquez out inside the Octagon, “Cigano” wasn’t a believer in “Vai Cavalo”, but his last performance against Travis Browne changed his mind.
“Werdum’s last performance was impressive,” dos Santos told MMAFighting.com. “I’ve never seen him fight so well like he did against Browne. He got a big win and earned a shot at the title.”
dos Santos admits he will root for Werdum as a patriot, but also because he doesn’t think it’s an impossible talk if he performs like in his win over “Hapa”.
“As a Brazilian, I will root for Werdum to bring the UFC title back to Brazil, but he has a difficult task ahead of him,” he said. “Velasquez is an impressive fighter with a great cardio, but I know Werdum is training really hard for that. He stands a chance, yes. If he fights like he did the last time, he has a good chance at winning.”
Velasquez is sidelined with an injury since his fifth-round TKO victory over dos Santos in October. With the heavyweight title match is scheduled for Nov. 15 in Mexico City, “Cigano” believes that being active could give Werdum a small advantage.
“I think it might help Werdum,” he said, “but it doesn’t happen very often these days because the level of training in the gym is do high now, so you can get ready for a fight even if you haven’t fought in a while. I think it won’t be an issue for Velasquez, but can be good for Werdum.”
