Werdum defeats Browne again in UFC 203 co-main event

A heated rematch between Fabricio Werdum was followed by an even more intense post-fight clash.

After Werdum was rewarded with a unanimous decision win over Travis Browne in the co-main event of UFC 203 in Cleveland on Saturday, Browne's coach Edmond Tarverdyan took offense to Werdum seemingly taunting his fighter afterwards.

Tarverdyan approached Werdum and was met by a swift kick to the chest.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the violence did not escalate any further.

Despite the controversial post-fight happenings, Werdum can be satisfied with a bounce-back performance after losing his UFC championship to Stipe Miocic in his last outing. He is now 7-1 since returning to the Octagon in February 2012, including a win over Browne in their first meeting two years ago.

The bad blood between Werdum and Browne was evident as "Vai Cavalho" came soaring out of his corner with a flying kick.

Unlike in their previous fight where Werdum made use of his rapidly improving kickboxing skills to soundly outpoint Browne, the Brazilian star fought much more wildly this time around. He alternated between throwing spinning techniques and falling on his back to invite Browne to grapple, almost as if he didn't believe Browne could challenge him in any aspect of MMA.

For the most part, Werdum was right. It didn't help that Browne suffered a hand injury in Round 1, leading to a bizarre scene where Browne appeared to call for a timeout in the middle of the fight. The request was acknowledged by both the referee and the ringside physician, an odd decision as any sort of injury in the cage normally results in a match being stopped

The outcome was the same regardless. Werdum's advantage was only more pronounced with Browne limited to one hand, and Werdum cruised to the decision win.

Browne loses for the second straight time after being TKO'd by Cain Velasquez at UFC 200 this past July. He has now lost three of his last four bouts.