UFC 180 Results: 3 Fights for Fabricio Werdum to Take Next

Heading into UFC 180’s main event between Fabricio Werdum and Mark Hunt, the smart money was certainly on the Brazilian. “Vai Cavalo” wasn’t just physically and mentally more prepared, he also presented significant matchup issues for the Kiwi.

How the fight actually unfolded was a little surprising, though. Despite the knockout, Werdum wasn’t as competitive on the feet as some had anticipated. He looked hesitant from the opening bell, and each right hand from Hunt only reinforced his hesitance.

Even when the fight went to the floor, Werdum didn’t get an awful lot done with his ordinarily potent guard. In fairness, Hunt did a surprisingly good job of keeping the Brazilian pinned against the cage, limiting his offensive options.

When Werdum eventually landed the knee that signaled the beginning of the end of Hunt’s interim title bid, it’s fair to say that it was against the run of play.

“Outclassed” is too strong a word for what happened prior to the knee, but Hunt was winning the fight, and it wasn’t particularly close. This should be cause for concern for anyone who believed Werdum had a realistic shot against Cain Velasquez.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the immediate options for the UFC’s new interim heavyweight champion.

Cain Velasquez

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The most obvious option for Vai Cavalo is the originally planned bout with heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

Naturally, this is the ideal next fight for Werdum. However, Velasquez’s perpetual injury issues mean that there is no guarantee this fight will come off. Indeed, there is no reason to think any announced UFC fight will come off.

The appeal of MMA has been so thoroughly undermined by constant injuries that fan reaction to fight announcements more closely resemble hope than expectation.

If Velasquez and Werdum do somehow make it to the cage relatively unscathed, the Brazilian’s performance against Hunt should give us pause. While he poses some real problems for the champion on paper, it’s hard to imagine the Werdum from UFC 180 being particularly competitive.

Junior dos Santos

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A fight with Junior dos Santos may interest Werdum for the simple fact that the former UFC heavyweight champion holds a win over him. The idea of getting that loss back may appeal to the interim champ.

Of course, for this fight to make sense, Dos Santos needs to take care of business against Stipe Miocic at UFC on Fox 13. And the outcome of that contest is by no means a foregone conclusion.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine the UFC being enthusiastic about setting up Dos Santos to potentially be first in line for another crack at Cain Velasquez.

In their most recent two bouts, Velasquez has proved beyond a shadow of doubt that he is the superior fighter, and no one is particularly interested in seeing a fourth fight between the pair.

Still, it would be interesting to see how Werdum would fare against Dos Santos, given the improvements he has made to his overall MMA game over the past few years.

Stipe Miocic

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Stipe Miocic is a fighter on the rise. His combination of crisp boxing and effective wrestling makes him a tough prospect for anyone.

Whether he has the tools to get past Junior dos Santos remains to be seen, but it certainly isn’t a gimme for the former UFC heavyweight champion.

Should Miocic pull off the minor upset, he will have more than earned his shot at the heavyweight title. And assuming Cain Velasquez is back on the shelf, it would make sense to have him face off against Werdum for the interim strap—or perhaps even the real heavyweight title.

Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, though.

Everyone would rather have the first option come off without a hitch. The last thing we want to see is arguably the greatest heavyweight ever reduced to a “what if?” due to persistent injury problems.