Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting.
Heavyweight Fabricio Werdum looked great against Roy Nelson last night at UFC 143. Werdum took home a well deserved unanimous decision win, taking all three rounds on all three judges' score cards for 30-27's across the board.
This was Werdum's first UFC bout since losing to current champ Junior dos Santos by KO back at UFC 90 in 2008. Since then Werdum has fought four times in Strikeforce, going 3-1 and being the first to defeat Fedor Emelianenko.
UFC president Dana White sang Werdum's praises after the bout and it's easy to see why. Werdum beat up Nelson on the feet and nearly dominated him on the ground. Werdum ate a couple of hard punches, but recovered and was never in serious danger of losing the fight.
"Roy is very tough and can endure a lot of beating, but I found his weak spots," Werdum said after the fight. "This fight was important to me. I trained hard every day for this fight. I had a good strategy going into the fight but the main thing for me was to come out with a victory. I want to fight in Brazil next."
But does this mean we have a new contender in the UFC heavyweight divsion?
Not so quick.
Werdum may be 4-2 in his last six fights, but the two men he's lost to just happen to be the champ dos Santos and the #1 contender Alistair Overeem. Overeem beat Werdum in an awful fight last year that saw Werdum flop into guard more times than anyone this side of Thales Leites or Demian Maia against Anderson Silva. His loss to dos Santos, a quick KO when Werdum loooked down (a cardinal sin in boxing) into a perfect uppercut, was at least a very watchable fight and the kind of quick-finish that is rarely repeated in a rematch.
We'll see if Fabricio Werdum has what it takes to be a contender in the UFC heavyweight division.
As for Roy Nelson, this was his third loss in four fights. Expect Nelson to be under heavy pressure from the UFC brass to drop down to the light heavyweight divsion.
0 recs | 43 comments
Yes
discoandherpes - February 5, 2012
happy face
cletusvandam - February 5, 2012
thats amazing.
he looked good, but roy nelson is a heavy bag with a mullet who should be worried about the future of his brain.
gspmademegay - February 5, 2012
I've always disliked Werdum fights
But last night was great, mostly because Nelson knows how to take a beating and never stops walking forward. Werdum may have won me over last night.
Erasedhead - February 5, 2012
They should have him fight Mir
Winner gets a title shot.
simpsycho - February 5, 2012
I really love that idea
Dave Strummer - February 5, 2012
Sounds good.
Sweet Scientist - February 5, 2012
i might be alone in this
But given Mirs power, I see Werdum getting beat up standing up
sitnam90 - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Glad I missed this
Roy you cost me a sig… that I am awaiting.
menckenstein - February 5, 2012
Sorry for the delay.
Please feel free to keep the “Daniel James Miller Foundation” as the lead to your sig. After that, however, let’s have:
“Menckenstein:
(noun)
Definition: a traditional doll crafted from the stomach hair of obese, unkempt, typically diabetic men who suck at fighting. This type of doll is commonly crafted in the deep South and seems to be exclusively purchased by fans of the NBA franchise the LA Lakers, who believe the dolls give them the power to be as cool as Celtics fans.”
Meh. It’s not great, but it’ll do. Enjoy :)
POW - February 5, 2012
Dang
Crying into Kobe’s lap as Roy wipes my tears with his mullet.
menckenstein - February 5, 2012
Cheers.
POW - February 5, 2012
Fabricio, Mike, Mike, Fabricio you know what to do
MattParker117 - February 5, 2012 via mobile
I think Werdum can absolutely hang with all but the absolute cream of the division
I’d bet a million dollars on JDS beating him again if they met, and I don’t think he’d beat a healthy Cain or Overeem, but other than that, there’s a lot of fights for him to win.
Dave Strummer - February 5, 2012
Agree about JDS and Reem, but seeing what he could do standing and from guard against Velasquez would be interesting.
sheikybaby - February 5, 2012
Cain's kickboxing is pretty damn sharp
and his gas tank is much better than Werdum’s. I don’t see Cain playing guard games with Werdum. I think he’d feel (correctly) that he had an advantage standing, and look to keep the fight there.
Dave Strummer - February 5, 2012
Cain could put a pace on
even in three that Werdum could never hang with, I thought he looked tired in this fight, and I also think he fucked around in this fight a bit. I don’t know if his level of focus is gonna carry the day against a guy like Frank Mir. I keep feeling like he needed to finish Nelson, he had him hurt, he had him at perfect distance, and he couldn’t keep up the pace necessary to do it. I get that Nelson has a strong chin, too. But still, he had a good chance to finish and he didn’t kick it up a notch to do it. I have JDS, Reem, Cain, & Mir all handling this guy. He’s a big and athletic dude, but he seems like he isn’t putting the work in on cardio, given the players in the top 5.
DankNabbot - February 5, 2012
Mir-Werdum intrigues me
I probably take Mir, but not by all that much. The other three I agree are probably too much for him. I’d really be interested in Werdum-Mir though.
Dave Strummer - February 6, 2012
JDS didn't finish Nelson either.
And he was pacing himself against him too. It’s not a huge knock on him. Mir’s not a cardio machine either, and last time he went to round 3 it was at the pace of a dying horse.
VenusBlue - February 6, 2012
He’s a solid top 5 heavyweight
Afrotikiman - February 5, 2012 via mobile
werdum’s striking looked real good.
I know Overeem is on a different planet than Nelson, but I wouldn’t mind seeing this werdum fight overeem again, and I never thought I’d say that.
Phildo - February 5, 2012
Eeeee, I wouldn't go that far
but he did look good. Werdum’s problem against Overeem wasn’t bad striking. Werdum’s problem was that he did not engage in any way and seemed happy to just wait out the clock.
Erasedhead - February 5, 2012
Silly question, Werdum has been contending with the very best for years.
Kenya_MMA - February 5, 2012
No
Treating Roy Nelson like a punch bag doesn’t mean your stand-up has become A+.
Cain, JDS and Overreem all beat him.
dude-1981 - February 5, 2012
So 3 guy in the world can beat him so that means he can’t contend with the very best? GTFO.
Kenya_MMA - February 5, 2012
I take 'contend' as contend for a title.
I think he is just below that level.
dude-1981 - February 5, 2012
Cain's chin has been exposed, expect him to lose his next fight embarrassingly ;)
Jack Slack - February 5, 2012
Ready to contend?
He was already a contender in the UFC before he left. Can’t imagine subbing the best heavyweight ever and edging Bigfoot Silva can have taken away from that.
Jack Slack - February 5, 2012
Werdum is 4-1 since leaving the UFC with his only loss being to the UFC champ…I mean Alistair Overeem. He looks more dedicated and very improved, even before last nights win. Will he hold the title? Not sure, but no doubt, he adds another compelling name to the title mix. I would love to see Mir vs Werdum.
BJJDenver - February 5, 2012
Werdum is a top 5 HW even before the Nelson fight, of course he's ready to contend.
And Roy Nelson is a glorified journeyman, I don’t think beating him up on the feet tells us anything.
SSreporters - February 5, 2012
yes
Werdum outclassed Nelson everywhere easily
not champion calibre, but i could see him being a contender
Cunny - February 5, 2012
They need to match up Nelson and Kongo
See who’s the ultimate gatekeeper
Full Mount - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Cain vs Nelson
I’d like to see Cain take on Nelson next. Both are coming off losses, both guys are aggressive like to throw leather etc. Then we can see how “well” Velasquez chin is post Jr.dos Santos?
Hankverdee - February 5, 2012 via mobile
i don't know,
but what i do know is that beating up on someone that was never a contnder should not automatically qualify you as a contender.
tha dude - February 5, 2012
I still see holes in Werdum's striking
He extends his arms way too much as a defense – reminds me for some reason of the second Rahman/Lewis fight. Lewis saw Rahman doing that every time he jabbed, so he feinted then came over the top and knocked Rahman’s block off.
Werdum got away with it because Nelson’s striking is so basic.
While I agree Werdum has improved his striking a ton, it still needs a lot of work. Give him Mir, please.
Farthammer - February 5, 2012
Let Mir take care of him
so we don’t have to hear it. Nelson grabbed a leg and floored him, imagine what Mir would do.
rockyman500 - February 5, 2012
Yeah, Mir would destroy Werdum. Mir pretty much only loses to massive wrestlers these days. Werdum’s stand up has improved, but I can’t get that Overeem fight out of my head. That was embarassing. Fedor was beating him up on the feet as well before he got submitted.
rationalthought2012 - February 5, 2012
The same Mir who just got outstruck by Big Nog?
Hmmm…
VenusBlue - February 5, 2012
The same Mir who outstruck Big Nog in the first outing, outstruck Nelson, outstruck Kongo, and outstruck Mirko. Maybe i jumped, the gun on Mir destroying Werdum, but I don’t like all this Werdum hype. BTW, Big Nog has better boxing than most give him credit for. His only loses since 2006 have been to Cain and Mir.
rationalthought2012 - February 5, 2012
Fedor was beating him up on the feet? What? I love both guys but on first strike Werdum played possum. Fedor barely grazed him. I don’t understand how Mir would destroy him. He has faced much, much better strikers than Mir. I think it’s a close fight. Mir isn’t going to destroy him and if he rolls with him he is going king a massive risk.
memitim - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Regardless, I would like to see Mir v Werdum.
rationalthought2012 - February 5, 2012
His striking looked good, but it is nothing compared to JDS or Overeem. He needs a power double leg takedown to deal with those guys, and we just haven’t seen that.
dpk875 - February 5, 2012
If Roy Nelson dropped to 205
would he then be Forrest Griffin?
DankNabbot - February 5, 2012
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