In the main event of UFC on FOX 11, eminating from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday, April 19, Fabricio Werdum beat Travis Browne via unanimous decision.
Werdum swept two of the three judges’ scorecards, and thoroughly outclassed Browne for nearly the entire fight. Widely considered the best jiu-jitsu practitioner in the UFC’s heavyweight division, “Vai Cavalo” showed his growth under coach Rafael Cordeiro as he battered Browne on the feet for all five rounds. Werdum also took down Browne, who came into the fight with a 100% takedown defense rate, multiple times.
While Browne started fading after the first round, Werdum showed impressive cardio, especially for a heavyweight. He even managed to kip up in the third after daring Browne to engage him in his guard; a challenge “Hapa” wisely declined.
The fight was about as good a five-round, non-title heavyweight fight as one could hope for, bolstered by the unexpected animosity the two men brought out of each other. Both men taunted each other constantly throughout the bout.
From here, Werdum has been promised a coaching stint on “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” opposite Cain Velasquez, which culminates in a title shot against Velasquez in Mexico City.
While Browne has lost before, he’s never been dominated like this. He’s still relatively young in the sport and a bout against a fighter ranked in the latter half of the top ten makes sense next.
This was one of the most stacked UFC cards in recent memory, and in my opinion the most enjoyable from top-to-bottom of the year. Undercard highlights included Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone’s remarkable comeback victory over Edson Barboza, Miesha “Cupcake” Tate getting her first win in the UFC, and Dagestani destroyer Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov extending his undefeated record to 22-0.
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