Tag Archives: Fabricio Werdum

UFC Fight Night 127: Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Volkov Odds and Prediction

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Fabricio Werdum and Alexander Volkov square off in a battle of former champions from rival promotions.

Former Champions

The former UFC Heavyweight champion Werdum and the former Bellator Heavyweight champion Volkov will headline UFC Fight Night 127 (also known as UFC London) on March 17th, 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Currently ranked #3 in the UFC’s heavyweight division, Werdum will be looking for his third straight win. He is 3-1 since losing the UFC heavyweight title to Stipe Miocic in 2016, with his unanimous decision loss to Alistair Overeem in July 2017 the only blot in his resume in his last four bouts. Werdum has a professional MMA record of 23-7-1.

Tough To Pick

Volkov, meanwhile, is looking to stay unbeaten since moving over to the UFC in 2016. The 29-year old has beaten Timothy Johnson, Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve in his first three bouts with the UFC. Volkov is currently ranked #7 in the standings and is 29-6 in his MMA career. A  victory over Werdum should put Volkov in the Top 5 and include him in title conversations.

This one’s going to be tough to pick. Werdum is the favorite here at -205 at Bovada, while Volkov is the underdog at +165.

Despite being almost 41-years old, Werdum remains one of the best in the business. As he’s gotten older, Werdum’s striking has improved and he’s shown the ability to finish fights on his feet. However, it’s his grappling and ground game that make him unique in his weight class.

Best Submission Artist

Werdum is a top tier Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert. He’s won wrestling medals,  BJJ championships and has 11 MMA wins by submission. Werdum is considered as the best submission artist in the history of the heavyweight  division and will have a huge advantage if this fight goes down to the canvass.

Volkov is comfortable on the ground but he is a striker at heart. 19 of his victories have been by knockout and he has been accurate with his strikes in his first three UFC bouts. He’s a very active fighter who has a top notch ground and pound game if he gets to top position the mat.

Not An Easy Fight

It’s not going to be an easy fight for Werdum. Volkov has the advantage in striking and given his edge in reach and size, he has the ability to strike from the outside and avoid getting taken down by Werdum. If Werdum can’t take him down, Volkov would be content with fighting him at a distance and walking away with a decision.

But if Werdum gets him to the ground, it’s going to be another story. The Brazilian is going to wear down Volkov and take him to deep waters. Volkov has gotten the better of strikers in his young UFC career. But we’re not sure whether he has what it takes to prevent the best submission artist in the weight class from taking him down.

We’re picking Fabricio Werdum to pick up the victory here.

UFC 216 Odds and Prediction: Fabricio Werdum vs. Derrick Lewis

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum squares off against the 7th ranked Derrick Lewis at UFC 216 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada on October 7th, 2017.

Coming From Losses

Werdum is coming off of a majority decision loss to Alistair Overeem but remains one of the most dangerous fighters in the UFC’s heavyweight division with his elite grappling and improved striking game.

Lewis is also coming off a loss. The Black Beast lost steam and got knocked out by Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 110 last June. He announced his retirement after the bout but has since changed course. Now, Lewis tries to avoid losing back to back fights for the first time in his career. It won’t be easy at all.

Dictating The Fight

Werdum is the favorite here at -250. Lewis, meanwhile, is the slight underdog at +195. This should go down to whoever can dictate the fight and make his opponent fight his style.

Werdum is perhaps the best grappler and submission artist in heavyweight history so it would be prudent for him to take this fight to the ground. Werdum’s striking has improved since his title run but we saw what happened when he stood in front of a heavy hitter like Stipe Miocic.  Derrick Lewis has the same kind of punching power, or even better.

Fourteen of the Black Beast’s 15 wins have come via knockout and only four of his total fights have gone the distance. So, either way, Derrick Lewis is going to come out swinging for the fences against Werdum. There is no doubt that if Lewis can connect, Werdum is definitely going to sleep.

Prediction

Werdum, meanwhile, will try to avoid the Miocic mistake. Because he is the best grappler and submission artist in heavyweight history, he will most certainly try to slow down Lewis by taking the fight to the ground where he is an expert. But Lewis may not be easy to put on the canvas.

The Black Beast is 260 pounds and has good takedown defense. Werdum also has to be wary about Lewis’ reach which is two inches longer than his. If Werdum can’t take this fight to the ground, he’s going to have to eat monster punches from the Black Beast.

This could go either way, really. But we’re picking Derrick Lewis to win this one by stoppage. I just don’t see Werdum taking him to the ground. Lewis’ is the longer man by two inches. He also has the heavier hands. Derrick Lewis by late knockout.

Fabricio Werdum vs. Alistair Overeem: Who Will Take The Grudge Match?

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Former UFC Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum takes on Alistair Overeem in a battle of Top 3 UFC Heavyweights. The two will fight in the main card of UFC 213 on July 8th, 2017 at the T-Mobile Arena.

Both Aiming At Another Title Shot

Werdum has won seven of his last eight fights and is coming off a win over Travis Browne at UFC 203. One fight earlier, Werdum lost the UFC Heavyweight title via first round knockout to Stipe Miocic in Brazil at UFC 198. The #1 ranked Werdum is looking for another shot at gold. A victory over the #3 ranked Overeem would almost certainly give him that.

Overeem, meanwhile, is coming off a 3rd round knockout of Mark Hunt at UFC 209. The former Strikeforce Heavyweight champion has won five of his last six bouts with his only loss coming during his title challenge against Miocic at UFC 203. Overeem’s last three victories have been by stoppage. A victory over Werdum could also lead to another title shot versus Miocic.

Breaking The Tie

This is the third fight between these two massive individuals, but their first meeting in the UFC promotion. Werdum won their first fight at Japan’s Pride Promotion in 2006 by kimura submission. Five years later, Overeem returned the favor when the two met at Strikeforce in 2011. Overeem won that fight by unanimous decision.

Fast forward another six years and they meet again in a bout that will not only break the tie but also decide which one continues with his title quest. Werdum is now 39 and Overeem 37 and this could very well be their last run at the UFC Heavyweight belt, now owned by Stipe Miocic, who owns victory over both.

Odds and Prediction

Overeem is the slight favorite here at -150, while Werdum is the underdog at +110. Eleven years after they first fought, their styles haven’t changed a lot, except perhaps for Werdum, who has developed an elite striking game. Despite that, the Brazilian still prefers to fight on the ground, where he has the advantage over every other heavyweight in the business.

Werdum’s such a great grappler and excellent submission artist and he’d rather stay down rather than strike with Overeem. Reem prefers to strike where he owns some of the most vicious kicks in the business. But that doesn’t mean he can’t fight on the ground. Nineteen of the Dutchman’s 42 wins have come by submission, so he’s no joke there either. With his versatility and the superior striking skills, we’re going with Alistair Overeem here.

Unless Werdum can take this fight to the ground, Overeem’s more diverse game makes him a good pick here.

Pick: Alistair Overeem by early  knockout or unanimous decision.

UFC 203: Travis Browne vs. Fabricio Werdum Meeting Coming

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Fabricio Werdum’s UFC Heavyweight title run began with a 2014 victory over Travis Browne at UFC on Fox 11. Werdum’s 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 unanimous decision win led to an interim title bout against Mark Hunt at UFC 180 and then to a unification match against Cain Velasquez at UFC 188.

Travis Browne knows that had he won that bout, it could have very well been his own title run. Now Browne has the chance to get that one back and get back to the title picture as well.

Stepping In On Short Notice

Ben Rothwell, Werdum’s original opponent for UFC 203, pulled out of the bout on Thursday with a knee injury. Insiders are saying Big Ben tore a meniscus and may have suffered an ACL injury. With that development, the UFC scrambled to look for a replacement foe. Multiple sources are confirming that Travis Browne has verbally agreed to step in on short notice and that Werdum himself has given the thumbs up for the rematch to happen.

Given all this, an official announcement is expected shortly.

Browne has gone 2-2 since his loss to Werdum in 2014. Most recently, Hapa suffered a first round KO loss to former champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 200. On the other hand, Werdum is coming off a first round knockout loss himself. Vai Cavalo was knocked out by current UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 in Werdum’s own backyard in Brazil.

Werdum was calling for an immediate rematch. However, the UFC gave the first crack at Miocic to 4th ranked Alistair Overeem. The pair will fight for the UFC Heavyweight title at the main event of UFC 203.

Getting Back To The Title Picture

For Travis Browne, the opportunity to fight Werdum on less than 30 days notice could be a blessing in disguise. As we said, not only will he have the opportunity to get revenge, he will have the chance to shoot right back in the title picture with a victory. Werdum is currently ranked as the Top contender while Browne is at #7. But despite his recent skid, Hapa could vault right back in the Top 5 if he wins.

While Miocic is the champ, the UFC’s Heavyweight division has become a wider field. In the past, it was just dominated by Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos. But because most ( if not all ) of the contenders have punching power, nobody can be counted out. That can be well said about Travis Browne who has 14 KOs in 18 wins. If he can seize this opportunity, he has a shot at finally nailing that elusive title shot.