Fabricio Werdum enters his fight this Saturday as a Zuffa employee once again. The services of Werdum were no longer needed in the UFC after his surprising loss to some Heavyweight named Junior Dos Santos, who was making his UFC debut back in 2008. Whether it was a disagreement over pay or if Werdum really was “thrown out” by the organization it clearly was a blessing in disguise. It’s funny how a change of scenery or even the motivation to get back where you know you belong can work.
What we didn’t know then is that Werdum was merely a stepping stone for JDS. 3 years later both fighters find themselves right at the top of the Zuffa HW food chain. Werdum was the first fighter to finish the once unbeatable Fedor Emelianenko. He also owns a Win over the other man to defeat Fedor after his 28 fight Win streak in Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. After Dos Santos took out Werdum he violated 6 more UFC Heavyweights and has now earned a title shot against Cain Velasquez this fall. If Dos Santos can beat Cain and Werdum can win the Strikeforce Heavyweight GP…. well that’s one of the many storylines we have to prepare ourselves for in the “Business as Usual” world we now live in.
First things last. The last time the worlds other top Brazilian Heavyweight fought in the opening round of a Grand Prix was against current Strikeforce, DREAM & K-1 World Champion Alistair Overeem. Werdum eliminated The Reem in the Openweight Pride Grand Prix via kimura only to lose the next Round against Big Nog . After going an unimpressive 2-4 in his next 6, Overeem is currently on a 10 fight unbeaten streak (+5 straight Kickboxing victories) and has really seemed to have found his stride as a full-time Heavyweight. It’s likely that the winner of Saturday Night’s Main Event will be the new favorite of the Tournament.
From a business standpoint the UFC has to be rooting for Overeem. “The demolition Man” is more marketable, he’s the closest thing to what Fedor was supposed to be when he signed with Strikeforce. Werdum is a fighter that used to fight in the UFC and couldn’t hack it. That’s in the rear view though. If Werdum can take this thing his stock goes up and maybe he can earn that pay-day he felt he deserved after the JDS loss.
