UFC
Fabricio Werdum says he's fighting Travis Browne in main event of a UFC card this March
Jan 8, 2014 - 10:35:44 AM Fabricio Werdum says he's fighting Travis Browne in main event of a UFC card this March

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

When UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez was forced to undergo surgery on his shoulder, top contender Fabricio Werdum said he wanted to wait for his title fight. He's since changed course on that, and revealed this week that he'll be fighting Travis Browne in the main event of an as-of-yet unannounced UFC card this March.

"I had a meeting with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta and told them I wanted to wait, but then I thought about it and saw that I would need to wait too much before my next fight," Werdum said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. "You don't remember what you don't see."

"We don't have a date 100 percent confirmed yet, but I believe it's going to be in March. I already know that it's going to be a main event, so it's a five-round fight. He doesn't have a good cardio, so that's good for me. He's explosive when the fight starts, tries to finish it quickly, with jumping stuff and knockouts, so I see a lot of openings to defeat him."

Browne earned his spot in a No. 1 contender fight when he knocked out Josh Barnett to close out his 2013 schedule at UFC 168. Werdum feels more than prepared for what he brings to the cage, and after seeing what Browne did to several fighters last year, Werdum says he won't be making the same mistakes.

"Travis Browne has been doing great recently with three consecutive 'Knockout of the Night' bonuses, so it would be a great fight before a shot at the title," Werdum said. "We have trained together a few times three years ago, and he knows how the training was. He knows that he doesn't have a good ground game. He's not an expert on the ground, and I'm getting better and better in the striking area. I train with Rafael Cordeiro for seven years, so we'll plan the right strategy to win."

"I won't go there like (Gabriel) Gonzaga and Barnett did. Barnett looked desperate, he didn't look like the veteran that he is. The clinch, the takedown, the body lock will eventually happen. I don't need to shoot for a double leg. His takedown defense and elbows are really good, so I won't make this mistake. We will fight on the ground eventually."

Ultimately, Werdum wants to solidify his status as the top contender for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, and this is a fight which he believes will make him stronger.

"I want to show the UFC that I'm ready for the title," he said. "This fight will help me to get busy and prove once for all that I'm ready for a shot at the UFC title. It was sad that Cain Velasquez got hurt and I won't fight for the title now, but it is what it is. This is going to make me stronger."

Penick's Analysis: This is absolutely the right fight to make here, and if he's right about March as the date it means a very packed schedule for the UFC that month. Not that it's surprising, but they've already got cards on March 1, March 8, and March 15, so this is probably a main event for a card the next weekend or two in Brazil for them. As for the matchup itself, Werdum shouldn't put any stock in any training he did with Browne three years ago. Browne is clearly on a much higher level than he was three years ago, and won't be the same fighter Werdum rolled with then. This is going to be a big heavyweight fight, and the winner will be in line for a shot at Velasquez.