Heavyweight contender Travis Browne draws Brendan Schaub at UFC 181

Before dropping a decision to Fabricio Werdum at UFC on FOX 11 in April, Travis Browne appeared to be on his way to a heavyweight title fight.

Instead, it's Werdum who has the next shot at Cain Velasquez, and it was assumed Browne would stay near the title picture with a chance for a rebound. He's probably not thrilled, then, to draw a fighter with a big name but without much cache in the division in Brendan Schaub.

Browne and Schaub will square off at UFC 181 on Dec. 6, according to ESPN. 

That would mean that Browne, ranked as the No. 4 heavyweight by the UFC, is drawing an opponent miles away from title consideration. Schaub (10-4, 6-4 in UFC) is coming off a split decision loss to Andrei Arlovski, his third defeat in five fights.

There are perhaps two ways to view this decision: either Browne (16-2-1, 7-2-1 in UFC) has been bumped down the title pecking order appreciably and needs a fight or two to rebuild his momentum, or the UFC sees him as a potential contender after Werdum and is protecting him to a degree. Not that Schaub is a pushover - he has seven wins by knockout overall and has only needed the judges for a UFC win twice - but it seems at first blush a disappointing draw for Browne.