It didn’t take long for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to plug the co-main event hole for its upcoming pay-per-view (PPV) event inside Quickens Loan Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, after news broke yesterday that Ben Rothwell was forced out of his Heavyweight showdown against Fabricio Werdum because of a knee injury.
Indeed, UFC has pegged Travis Browne to fill the “Big” shoes next month (Sept. 10, 2016) at UFC 203 (via MMAJunkie.com), providing “Hapa” with an opportunity to exact revenge on the Brazilian. Werdum defeated Browne via unanimous decision at UFC on FOX 11 back in April 2014, snapping a three-fight win streak and dousing the hulking Hawaiian’s championship aspirations in the process.
Werdum would go on to win the interim division title and then unify it in his next bout with a submission of Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 in June 2015, only to lose it earlier this year courtesy of Stipe Miocic’s heavy hands at UFC 198. Browne, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses (2-2) since his defeat to Werdum, most recently suffering a technical knockout loss to the aforementioned Velasquez at UFC 200 just last month.
UFC 203 features the first-ever title defense for local fan-favorite, Stipe Miocic, against Alistair Overeem in the Heavyweight PPV main event of the evening. Former WWE star C.M. Punk is also slated to make his long-awaited mixed martial arts (MMA) debut on the PPV main card opposite Mickey Gall.
To check out the latest UFC 203: “Miocic vs. Overeem” fight card and rumors click here.