Fabricio Werdum Taps Out, Leaves The UFC

Following a tough KO loss to UFC newcomer Junior Dos Santos at UFC 90, Werdum has decided not to brave the shallow pool of UFC Heavyweights again and bows out. Reportedly, on both iFight365.com and MMAWeekly.com, he left after failed contract negotiations.

Arguably, in a fight Werdum shouldn't have been in, Dos Santos made a huge splash in his debut by knocking out the Heavyweight title contender. Then the real champion, Randy Couture, came back into the mix and changed the landscape on top of the division.

Instead of facing off Couture and Werdum in what would've been a legit Champion versus No. 1 in every ones eyes in and out of the UFC, they opted to maximize the few fights left in Couture and fed him Brock Lesnar instead.

Werdum was indeed upset even before he took the fight against Dos Santos and rightfully so. It would be nearly six months to a year before he would even sniff the belt if he had won the fight due to the mini-heavyweight title unification tournament facing off the winners of Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar and current TUF coaches Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir.

Werdum has a few options, with Affliction and/or Japan.As for the UFC, the impact is actually a little bigger. Sure they got Randy Couture back, but what happens if he loses to Brock Lesnar?

Couture probably has no other "marquee" fights left in the heavyweight division in the UFC once if he is to lose to Brock Lesnar. He will probably retire due to the Fedor Emilianenko fight never happening. That and the fact the Fedor deal with Affliction is now "exclusive" as well. The super-fight has less and less chance of happening, whether Couture wins or loses.

All this means the UFC has to count on Couture winning it all, not just beating Lesnar. As for the rest of the division, sure the title picture held hostage and put on hold, but there aren't any real contenders anyway. Top heavyweights Cheick Kongo, Heath Herring and Gabriel Gonzaga have a rebuilding effort in front of them.

Other than that? There probably is not a list that could represent the UFC top 10 heavyweights accurately, and until this mini-tournament is done, we couldn't even put together a justifiable top five.

There are several semi-big non-UFC fighters out there that could help restock the division, such as Antonio Silva, Brett Rogers, Justin Eilers, and Kimbo Slice knock-out artist Seth Petruzelli. But with the title in flux, this may not be the best organization for them right now.

Werdum is gone now, but is the UFC Heavyweight division slowly being ground and pounded out? The ref stopping this fight right now may not be a premature stoppage anymore. UFC Heavyweight division, with their mini-heavyweight tournament, needs to make a comeback and fast.