Fabricio Werdum Vs. Top Five UFC Heavyweights: How Does He Stack Up?
The Strikeforce heavyweight tournament gets underway Saturday night in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with the main event of that show being the return of Fedor Emelianenko and his fight with Antonio Silva.
However, the main event of the tournament could take place on April 9 when Fabricio Werdum takes on Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. It's only a quarterfinal match in this tournament, but it's definitely the most anticipated fight of the tournament, with the possible exception of a Fedor-Overeem matchup.
Werdum is riding off the high of giving Fedor his only legitimate loss in MMA last June, when he baited Fedor into a triangle submission.
His stock just continues to rise with each performance. He has won three straight fights, all over quality competition. It started with Mike Kyle in August 2009, then Antonio Silva in November 2009 and finally the Fedor fight.
How would Werdum stack up against the top five heavyweights in UFC?
Werdum fought for UFC from April 2007 to October 2008. The two sides parted ways due to a contract dispute, and he went to Strikeforce shortly after.
Since everyone has their own opinion on who the top five heavyweights in UFC are, to give this list a little uniformity, I am going by Sherdog's top five UFC heavyweights. So if you have an issue with the five opponents that I have chosen, take it up with the editors at Sherdog.
We will start with No. 5 and work our way up to No. 1.
Werdum Vs Frank Mir
1 of 5
Fabricio Werdum's stock has been climbing ever since he joined Strikeforce in 2009. He has looked impressive in winning all three of his fights.
His Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has really become strong over the last couple of years. His striking and power are very good, even though he hasn't won a fight via T/KO in almost three years. He really seems to be more focused on setting up his submission game lately. He is a smart fighter, as evidenced by the Fedor fight when he fell to the ground to bait Fedor in for a submission.
Frank Mir was once one of the top heavyweight fighters in the world, but his performances lately has left a lot to be desired. In his last five fights, he has a 3-2 record, and the three victories came over guys who are far past their prime (Mirko Cro Cop, Cheick Kongo and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira). The two losses came against younger, more athletic fighters (Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar).
This one would probably be over in a hurry. Werdum is too fast for Mir, and his skills matchup really well with him in this matchup.
Prediction: Werdum over Mir via Submission
Werdum Vs Shane Carwin
2 of 5
This fight would be interesting because of the clash of styles that the two men have.
Werdum, while efficient in the standup game, is more comfortable on the ground. He wants to take the opponent down and work from there. If he gets into a standup battle, he can hold his own for awhile. He is proficient in Muay Thai and Judo, so we know that he can strike, but that's not what he wants to do with a guy like Shane Carwin.
Carwin has an underrated submission game, but he is much more comfortable trying to pound his opponents into oblivion. He packs a lot of power into his strikes, and that has served him very well throughout his career. One area that he has to improve on, and it showed in the fight with Brock Lesnar, is his cardio. He can dominate early, but if he can't put the fight away he will run out of energy.
Werdum has more skills than Carwin does. He has better cardio, so even if Carwin were to start throwing punches he would eventually wear down. The advantage goes to Werdum in this fight.
Prediction: Werdum over Carwin via KO
Werdum Vs Junior Dos Santos
3 of 5
This is one fight that we have already seen happen. It was at UFC 90, and it was Werdum's last appearance in the UFC to date.
Werdum didn't look good in this fight, to say the least. He was out of shape, and really didn't seem to care about the fight all that much.
However, a lot has changed in the time since these two men have fought. Both men have shot up the heavyweight rankings, and their performances have gotten better.
Junior dos Santos is a very powerful fighter. He has great striking and an underrated submission game. He trains with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, probably the best submission fighter in MMA history. He has the stamina to stay with Werdum throughout the course of a three round fight.
Dos Santos won the first match that these two men had, and would be the favorite going into a second match. He gets the nod in this fight because his standup is a bit better than Werdum's.
Prediction: Dos Santos over Werdum via decision
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Werdum Vs Brock Lesnar
4 of 5
A lot of MMA fans consider Brock Lesnar a fraud. It's likely just a result of his big push right away and the fact that his overall skill set isn't as good as a lot of top heavyweight fighters.
He's not a fraud, but he does have a lot of things to work on before he gets into the octagon with Junior Dos Santos in June. His striking needs a lot of work, but his power is there. He is a freakish athlete, and he is probably the fastest heavyweight fighter in the entire world.
He doesn't matchup particularly well with Werdum.
Werdum is a much more advanced striker and submission fighter than Lesnar is. He can't match Lesnar's power, but he has the ability to avoid it, and that will make Lesnar very one dimensional. If he can avoid Lesnar's takedowns he should be in very good shape in this fight.
Werdum gets the nod over Lesnar in this fight because he is much more well-rounded as a fighter.
Prediction: Werdum over Lesnar via submission
Werdum Vs Cain Velasquez
5 of 5
Werdum has had quite the meteoric rise up the heavyweight ranks during his time in Strikeforce, but Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight fighter in the world today.
He does so many things well that it's hard for anyone to account for them. If you want to avoid his strikes, he will take you down. If you want to fight on the ground, he is a world class wrestler. He has tremendous speed and quickness. He doesn't get enough credit for his power, despite having eight knockout wins. He can use submissions if he has to, but thus far it hasn't been necessary.
Werdum does matchup fairly well with Velasquez in this fight. He can handle a fight on the ground, and since Velasquez is a great wrestler the fight could easily end up there.
If Werdum were to defeat Velasquez it would be in a similar fashion to the way that he defeated Fedor. He would use his smarts to bait Velasquez into getting over aggressive, and he would take advantage of it.
This would probably be the best fight of any of the five on this list and in the end Velasquez would come out on top in a close fight.
Prediction: Velasquez over Werdum via decision
For more news and analysis, visit the official Strikeforce: Fedor vs Silva News, Results And More page
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