It was a simple question posed by a reporter to UFC heavyweight Brendan ‘The Hybrid’ Schaub (7-3), “Who would you like to fight next?”
The answer has apparently turned into something much bigger than Schaub would have ever imagined.
While doing an interview in Los Angeles, Schaub was asked that question while promoting the upcoming release of the UFC Undisputed video game. He answered by saying “Fabricio Werdum would be a fight that the UFC fans might like to see,” which made it’s way to the Brazilian.
Werdum (14-5-1) responded on Twitter (@fabriciowerdum) late Monday night saying “@BrendanSchaub I’m ready for you, anytime, anywhere!” which has set fans of both fighters into a frenzy by Tweeting their support, and calling on UFC President Dana White to make the fight happen.
Speaking to MMAFighting.com on Tuesday, Schaub offered his thoughts on how a simple comment has spiraled into possibly meeting his next opponent.
“I wasn’t calling him out, but man, he got word of that and I guess he just ran with it. I woke up this morning to all these Twitter mentions and text messages and I thought, what’s going on? Sure enough, I come to find out that he’s saying, ‘I’m ready to fight Brendan.’ Hey, I’m all for it, man.”
“I don’t really care. To fight a guy like Werdum would be great. Me mentioning his name is nothing disrespectful at all. I’ve got nothing but respect for him. I think he’s ranked number five in the world and he’s one of the biggest names out there. That’s why I brought his name up, and I think he’d be one hell of a challenge for me. Tell me where to sign.”
Schaub is coming off a knockout loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira this past August at UFC 134, ending a four fight win streak for the TUF 10 finalist.
Werdum meanwhile, has been campaigning for a return to the UFC and may be latching onto this as an opportunity to get him back into the Octagon. The Brazilian lost a unanimous decision to Alistair Overeem this past June, ending a three fight win streak which included his upset victory over Fedor Emelianenko.