Strikeforce Preview: If Werdum Wins Tourney Where Does He Rank Amongst UFC HW's
When this tournament is over, whichever of the eight competitors is crowned the Grand Prix Champion should also be considered one of the top two heavyweights in the world. Fabricio Werdum has a tough lineup scheduled, and his position as the number one heavyweight in the world could be a couple fights away.
His first fight is scheduled for April 9 where he will be facing the well-rounded powerhouse Alistair Overeem in a rematch of their 2006 fight. Werdum defeated Overeem by kimura in the second round.
Since then, Werdum has compiled a record of 6-3, improving his record to 14-4. His wins include Fedor and Aleksander Emelianenko, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Antonio Silva.
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Depending on the results of the first round and his fight, he may find himself, if victorious, fighting Fedor Emelianenko or Antonio Silva once again. Both fights would further solidify his position as one of the world's best heavyweights, but would they take him to the top spot?
It's very possible that Werdum will make it to the final round of the tournament and will have gone through two of the toughest heavyweights in the entire division. His next three fights could include victories over Overeem, Fedor Emelianenko, and Josh Barnett; all top 10 heavyweights. A rematch with Andrei Arlovski could also help boost his record by having the chance to avenge his first loss from the UFC.
After the loss to Arlovski, Werdum had two victories in the UFC before being knocked out by Junior Dos Santos in one of the biggest upsets in 2008. He was one fight away from a title shot before receiving a brutal uppercut that dropped him like a ton of bricks.
It would be hard to rank Werdum ahead of Dos Santos as of now, but both have fights coming up that will determine where they rank in the heavyweight division. Dos Santos is scheduled to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 131.
If UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez, fights before the tournament is complete, it will have been against Junior Dos Santos or Brock Lesnar, depending on who wins their fight. It would be a hard argument to put Werdum ahead of Dos Santos if he makes it past both Lesnar and Velasquez. Velasquez would also have a place as the number one heavyweight if he defeats Dos Santos.
Other notable UFC heavyweights include Shane Carwin, Roy Nelson, and Frank Mir. Nelson and Mir are scheduled to fight at UFC 130 and could very well determine the number one contender for the UFC heavyweight championship. This shouldn't effect Werdum's place in the top 10.
If Werdum wins the Strikeforce tournament, he would be ranked in the top two or three fighters in the division, but until he avenges his loss to Junior Dos Santos, he will have to make a case for himself as the number one ranked heavyweight by fighting rematches.
If his previous wins over Fedor Emelianenko and Alistair Overeem, which were both submission wins, didn't boost him into the top three, beating them again probably won't do much more this time around.
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