Tag: Fabricio Werdum injured

Josh Barnett Offers To Fight Stipe Miocic For Heavyweight Title

The UFC’s heavyweight division has been thrown for quite the loop in the past two days. Yesterday (January 24, 2015) it was announced that former champion Cain Velasquez was out of his scheduled rematch with champion Fabricio Werdum at February 6’s UFC 196 due to injury. No. 2-ranked Stipe Miocic quickly stepped in to take

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The UFC’s heavyweight division has been thrown for quite the loop in the past two days.

Yesterday (January 24, 2015) it was announced that former champion Cain Velasquez was out of his scheduled rematch with champion Fabricio Werdum at February 6’s UFC 196 due to injury. No. 2-ranked Stipe Miocic quickly stepped in to take on “Vai Cavalo”, but it was reported earlier today that the Brazilian was also pulling out of the bout due to an injury, leaving the promotion and Miocic in a limbo.

In the midst of all of the commotion, No. 8-ranked former divisional king Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett, who’s slated to meet Ben Rothwell at this weekend’s UFC on FOX 18, offered to take on Miocic for the title if need be:

“If they page me 911, if they send me the number, I will absolutely take the fight,” Barnett told MMAFighting. “If they want a heavyweight championship main event, I’m your man. I’ll go in. I’ll take care of business and I’ll give them what they want. I’ll give them what they need, which is a healthy, motivated championship fighter. That’s what they’ll get.”

“Interim title,” Barnett said. “It’s set up for a title match. Let’s keep it going. That’s what they need on Super Bowl weekend. They need a title fight. They need a heavyweight title fight. That’s what we can provide. Former champ and a No. 1 contender. That’s what people want to see.  They want to see championship level fights. They want to see the top guys go at it. We can do it.”

“The Warmaster” continued on, saying that he’s completely healthy, and if it were up to him he would go five rounds for the title right now:

“I’m ready,” Barnett said. “I’m willing. I’m capable. I’ll fight Stipe. I’ll go five rounds for a heavyweight title right now. We’re good.”

“For whatever reason, Werdum is hurt, Cain is hurt,” Barnett said, “Stipe stepped up and now Stipe doesn’t have a partner to dance with. I’ll dance with him. And then we’ll fight. And then maybe I’ll dance with him again afterwards. A nice slow one. When we’re all beat up and bruised and battered. When we’re vulnerable. That’s the time to go cheek to cheek on the dance floor.”

Although an interesting proposition, the idea is quite unlikely given Barnett’s upcoming fight, and the fact that Werdum should only be out for a few months.

“The Warmaster’s” opponent, Rothwell, also took to his official twitter account to voice his displeasure towards the idea:

What should the UFC do regarding not only UFC 196, but the heavyweight division in general?

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Werdum Would’ve Fought Velasquez Injured, Miocic’s Manager Blasts Champ

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum was supposed to defend his title for the very first time at February 6, 2016’s UFC 196 in a rematch against former boss Cain Velasquez. Things were shaken up, however, when Velasquez was forced out of the bout yesterday (January 24, 2015) due to a back injury

The post Werdum Would’ve Fought Velasquez Injured, Miocic’s Manager Blasts Champ appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Reigning UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum was supposed to defend his title for the very first time at February 6, 2016’s UFC 196 in a rematch against former boss Cain Velasquez.

Things were shaken up, however, when Velasquez was forced out of the bout yesterday (January 24, 2015) due to a back injury suffered in training. The UFC quickly announced that No. 2-ranked Stipe Miocic would step up on short notice to battle Werdum for the title, which is why fans were so shocked to hear today (January 25, 2016) that Werdum will also be pulling out of the fight due to an injury.

Speaking with MMAFighting.com, “Vai Cavalo” elaborated on his injury, adding in that if Velasquez hadn’t pulled out that he would’ve still fought:

“I was already injured,” Werdum told Brazilian journalists on Monday. “I have a foot injury, and haven’t been able to throw kicks in training for two weeks. I would still fight Cain because I was injured the last time, but I also hurt my back last Friday. I went to the doctor, tried to continue training, but couldn’t spar as I should spar.

“I decided not to fight because I’m not 100 percent,” he continued. “If Cain was the opponent, I would go on. It’s not his fault, it’s nobody’s fault. Injuries happen. You can’t avoid them. I have no option. I made this decision because I’m not feeling 100 percent.”

Team Miocic wasn’t too pleased with this, as the Croatian’s manger said a champion shouldn’t “pick and choose opponents”:

“We’re extremely disappointed to hear that Werdum is pulling out of the fight,” Miocic’s manager, Greg Kalikas, told MMAFighting.com via text message. “If he’s [Werdum is] healthy enough to defend against Cain, we can’t understand why he’s not healthy enough to fight Stipe, who would only have 12 days to prepare for him as it stands.

“A champion shouldn’t pick and choose opponents. A true champion fights all comers. If he won’t fight Stipe with a short camp, are we supposed to believe he’d fight Stipe coming off a full training camp? No, he wouldn’t… and that’s a bad look for the supposed best heavyweight on the planet. All we can hope is that Werdum ‘heals’ up quick and will agree to fight Stipe sooner rather than later.”

Do you agree with Miocic’s manager, or should Werdum heal up and fight at his best?

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Fabricio Werdum Pulls Out Of UFC 196, Title Fight Scrapped

The circus surrounding February 6, 2016’s UFC 196 from Las Vegas has continued. Yesterday (January 24, 2016) it was announced that former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez would be forced out of his scheduled main event rematch with current champion Fabricio Werdum due to a back injury. It was then quickly made clear that No. 2-ranked

The post Fabricio Werdum Pulls Out Of UFC 196, Title Fight Scrapped appeared first on LowKick MMA.

The circus surrounding February 6, 2016’s UFC 196 from Las Vegas has continued.

Yesterday (January 24, 2016) it was announced that former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez would be forced out of his scheduled main event rematch with current champion Fabricio Werdum due to a back injury.

It was then quickly made clear that No. 2-ranked Stipe Miocic would step up on short notice to take on “Vai Cavalo” for the undisputed world title. Now, however, it appears as if the title won’t be up for grabs at all.

MMAFighting.com has reported that Werdum will also be pulling out of UFC 196 due to an undisclosed injury.

The nature of the Brazilian’s injury is currently unknown, and the UFC has yet to comment on the situation, but it appears as if they may have some trouble on their hands.

The scheduled co-main event features a welterweight bout between former champ Johny Hendricks and Stephen Thompson, not exactly a pay-per-view (PPV) headliner.

Stay tuned to LowKickMMA as more details unfold.

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