Big Nog vs. Fabricio Werdum 2: Welcome to the Jungle
It was 2001 when Big Nog first landed in Pride collecting a submission win in his debut against Gary Goodridge. Pride was a Japanese organization that held its first event in October 1997. The organization continued for a decade until 2007 when the Fertita family purchased the company and absorbed its assets into the UFC. Big Nog’s last fight with Pride was in 2006, before joining the UFC in 2007
During Big Nog’s time in Pride, an impressive resume was built with submission wins over Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, and Mirko Crocop. Big Nog also defeated Randy Couture and went 1-1 against Josh Barnett. It was Big Nog’s 20th fight in Pride that saw him win a uNanimous decision victory over Fabricio Werdum. Almost seven years have now passed since they fought in 2006 and the two are set to face off in a thriller rematch on June 9th Live from Brazil at UFC on Fuel TV 10. This bout follows the two fighters coaching stint on the Ultimate Fighter Brazil 2 reality show.
The parameters for the fight will be slightly different this time round. Both fighters will be meeting in a cage rather than a ring and fighting under UFC rules. Unlike the first fight, there will be no ten minute first round to get the show on the road. Another distinction is that Werdum had less than half the number of professional fights compared to Big Nog when they first met. The big question for fans will be who has improved more since 2006? One fight that fans can consider is Werdum’s fight against Roy Nelson at UFC 143 where he put together a Muay Thai clinic with dominant clinch work and devastating knees. Or perhaps Big Nog’s first round KO of Brendan Schaub at UFC 134.
To refresh old memories, the first fight got kick started with Fabricio Werdum entering the stadium with the Guns n Roses entrance song “Welcome to the Jungle” blazing. This entrance song set the theme perfectly as Werdum was spectacularly dropped in the opening thirty seconds of the round by a crisp left hook from Big Nog. Further into round one, Werdum was again dropped to the canvas by a straight right. He recovered both times but was clearly being outboxed.
Rounds two and three were a lot closer. Both fighters exchanged a series of leg kicks, take downs, submission attempts, reversals, body shots and some stiff jabs. Neither fighter was able to dominate the other on the ground, both utilising effective guards. It was the dominant first round won by Big Nog that helped secure the uNanimous decision victory.
So fight fans, who do you see winning this fight and would you like to see the UFC introduce a ten minute first round considering the feeling out process that we often see in opening rounds?
