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By: Cameron Lyman, MMATorch Contributor
This past weekend, Fabricio Werdum submitted Antonio Nogeira at UFC on Fuel 10 in their "TUF: Brazil 2" coaches match up. The show itself was announced in October of 2012, and effectively put Werdum out of action for a year while the heavyweight division plodded along. When the season was announced, though, it made sense that Werdum should get a title shot with a win over "Big Nog."
Going back to his first stint in the UFC, Werdum went 2-2, with Junior dos Santos sending him to Strikeforce in his last loss. In Strikeforce, he racked up three straight wins - two of which came over UFC title challenger Antonio Silva and legend Fedor Emilianenko - before being outpointed by Alistair Overeem. When Strikeforce folded, his run in the sister promotion was enough to have him welcomed back into the UFC by "Big Country" Roy Nelson.
At the time of that fight, Nelson was 3-2, alternating between back to back wins and losses. By no means was he a contender in the heavyweight division. After beating Nelson, he defeated Mike Russow, who at the time was on a four fight winning streak, but was not a household name. That win led to "TUF: Brazil 2," and put together this past weekend's matchup.
During the time that Werdum as facing Russow and Nogeira, Roy Nelson neatly put together a three fight knockout streak over Dave Herman, Matt Mitrione, and Cheick Kongo. Nelson's next assignment comes this weekend against Stipe Miocic, another prospect in the division. If Nelson can finish Miocic, the division finds itself in a funny place. You would have to agree that Roy Nelson deserves a title shot or at the very least should be put into a bout that would determine the number one contender. While some observers believe that Werdum earned a title shot by submitting Nogeira, some also believe that that win may be irrelevant given what has happened in the division during the last year.
But where do we go from here? Can we put Werdum in against Roy Nelson, a man he beat not so long ago? This echo's the problem the UFC had when Bigfoot Silva scored his come from behind knockout of Alistair Overeem. The “Demolition Man” was to be given a title shot if he beat Silva, however Silva prevailed. Silva was crushed by Cain Velasquez last year, but came back by knocking out Travis Browne and Overeem. With no other contender, Silva was awarded a title shot and we had a strange rematch that ended just as quickly as their original match. Actually faster.
It looks like the UFC is putting together Velasquez-Dos Santos 3 for the next Heavyweight Title fight. As observers, we are wondering if Werdum should wait to be next to fight for the title. I think fighting again is in his best interest as there are other forces at play here. Overeem returns to the cage, for the first time since his loss to Bigfoot, when he faces Travis Browne in August. The logical opponent for both Nelson and Werdum is the winner of this fight. Oddly, what makes the most sense to me is for Werdum to again face Roy Nelson, though I see that as highly unlikely. Knowing the UFC's logic in awarding title shots, I would not be surprised if Overeem gets the nod if he can finish Browne.
While Werdum may have an impressive record of 6-1 over the his last seven, his inactivity has made him slightly irrelevant, even with his recent victory. I believe he needs another win before being granted a title shot; however, he has already faced the current field of contenders. If Overeem can get past Browne, maybe we will see the rubber match between Werdum and the "Demolition Man." Maybe dos Santos will be injured and Werdum will get the replacement call. In all this uncertainty, there is only one thing for certain: you never know what the near future will hold in the thin heavyweight division.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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