Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez II: Potential Date, Location and More
UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will reportedly get his wish of fighting rival Cain Velasquez in a Brazilian football stadium in their rematch, as the Brazilian confirmed the bout is likely to take place in the Arena da Baixada stadium in Curitiba, which seats 42,000. Werdum hopes the bout can take place in March.
As Guilherme Cruz of MMAFighting.com reported, he said:
"It’s not 100 percent yet, but the fight will happen in March. I wanted it to take place in Porto Alegre, but Gremio’s soccer stadium doesn’t have a roof. There’s a soccer stadium in Curitiba with a retractable roof, so it’s probably going to be there. This fight will happen in a soccer stadium because a lot of people are waiting for this.
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Per Cruz, Werdum's first choice was the 60,000-seat Arena do Gremio, home of Gremio, one of Brazil's biggest football clubs.
The Brazilian beat Velasquez for the title at UFC 188 in Mexico City, having won the interim title against Mark Hunt in 2014. While most expected Werdum to move on to other heavyweight contenders, the controversial nature of the win lends itself to an immediate rematch, which should take place early in 2016.
As Chuck Mindenhall of MMAFighting.com reported, the favored Velasquez struggled with the altitude during their first meeting, wearing down significantly during the fight, which led to a third-round submission.
Bleacher Report's Chad Dundas thinks a rematch is the only realistic option for the heavyweight division right now:
"Despite the poor early reviews, putting Werdum and Velasquez together again so soon is a necessary, if not exactly ideal move. Simply put, there are too many lingering questions about their first meeting—and those questions need answers.
Besides, if you buy the idea that Werdum and Velasquez are the two best heavyweights in the world right now—and you should—there’s just no better option. The sport's most unstable championship could do a lot worse than have these two dudes spend the next few months quarreling over it.
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Junior dos Santos, Stipe Miocic and Andrei Arlovski will get their chance once these two rivals settle their differences, with Velasquez, whom many still see as the best fighter in the division, having no more excuses if he loses again.
The first bout was highly entertaining until the 33-year-old started slowing down, and given the sport's huge popularity in Brazil and the high profile of this rematch, Werdum should be able to sell out an entire football stadium for his title defense.
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