Former UFC Champ: Stipe Miocic Should Knock Out Fabricio Werdum
No. 5-ranked former UFC heavyweight champion Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos suffered a brutal TKO loss in his last bout to Alistair Overeem last December.
Despite the loss, however, Dos Santos’ title hopes haven’t been completely killed just yet given the wide open landscape of the UFC’s heavyweight division.
In fact, the Brazilian slugger owns wins over both men competing in the next title fight at May’s UFC 198, champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum and contender Stipe Miocic.
Since returning to the UFC in 2012, Werdum has rattled off an impressive six straight wins including four finishes. While noting his recent success along with his world class ground game, Dos Santos actually sees “Vai Cavalo” running into trouble against Miocic, especially if the fight plays out on the feet:
“Werdum has evolved a lot, he impressed in the few times he fought. He has evolved a lot,” dos Santos told MMAFighting.com. “His ground game is the best in the heavyweight division, no question about it. He has what it takes to keep the belt for a good time, but he’s facing a tough opponent next. Miocic has that knockout punch. I was completely dizzy a few moments when we fought. He has that punch, and his stand-up is more complete and better than Werdum’s.
“I don’t see how… Werdum is excellent on the ground, but I don’t see him taking anyone down. If the fight stays standing, I see Miocic as the favorite. If it goes to the ground, it’s going to be fast. But I see Miocic as the favorite standing. Comparing their qualities, I don’t see Werdum taking him down, so it’s going to be a stand-up fight and Miocic has an advantage.”
Miocic has scored back to back finishes over Mark Hunt and Andrei Arlovski, and has won five of his last six with his only loss in that stretch coming to, you guessed it, Dos Santos.
“Cigano” also has a fight of his own lined up, as he’s set to meet surging contender Ben Rothwell in the main event of UFC Fight Night 86 next month.
As for his future, Dos Santos feels as if the state of the heavyweight divisional is beneficial to the fighters, admitting that his only goal is to regain the throne:
“I think it’s great that I already beat the two guys in the next title fight,” he said. “I think it’s great that the division is stacked. When you have someone holding the belt for so long… It’s positive in a way, yes, but the division is in a good moment.
“I don’t care that much about rankings, and that doesn’t matter that much in the UFC too,” he continued. “What really matters is which fight sells more at the moment. I want to move forward and get to my goals. My main goal is to become world champion again, and I know I’m capable of doing that, but I need to earn a title shot first, and I might need two or three fights. But I’m capable of doing that.”
Do you ever see “Cigano” climbing back up the mountain?
