Werdum wants Velasquez or Overeem in July, will be on standby for UFC 211
Now that his date with Ben Rothwell has fallen through, opportunities abound for Fabricio Werdum.
The 39-year-old was set to face "Big Ben" at UFC 211 in May, only for Rothwell to be flagged for a potential USADA violation and provisionally suspended earlier this month. The ill-fated booking marked Werdum's second straight, the first a December rematch with Cain Velasquez that was scrapped when Velasquez was ruled medically unfit to compete just a few days prior.
The rematch was expected to determine the next challenger to Stipe Miocic's heavyweight strap, and in a Monday appearance on Ariel Helwani's "The MMA Hour," the top-ranked Werdum revealed he hadn't given up on another title eliminator opposite Velasquez. "Vai Cavalo" has set his sights on a summer date, and expressed interest in a trilogy bout with Alistair Overeem as well.
"I think maybe the next one is Overeem or Cain Velasquez in July," Werdum said.
Werdum further revealed he intended to put himself on standby for UFC 211, where Miocic will defend the title against Junior dos Santos. The Brazilian has scores to settle with both men, as Miocic put him to sleep in his native Brazil to win the belt at UFC 198, while "Cigano" disposed of him in 80 seconds over eight years ago at UFC 90. Should injury befall either of them, Werdum will be in Dallas, ready and able to step in.
"I don't want injury to happen to Stipe Miocic or 'Cigano.' I don't want this, for sure not. But it happens with a lot of hard training. I'll be waiting for the fight. I wanna go there to watch this fight and maybe the (UFC) calls me. I'm waiting for this fight."
If the dominoes don't fall in his favor, the former champ will happily settle for a title eliminator, and then intends to fight for the title before the year is out.
But before he gets his hopes up, Werdum aims to patch things up with president Dana White, who treated him to some of his ire after reportedly refusing to fight dos Santos on short notice when Velasquez pulled out of UFC 207.
A harsh critic of the promotion's apparel deal with Reebok, the Brazilian was also relieved of his broadcasting duties a few months prior after protesting the agreement, and told Helwani he'll visit soon visit the UFC boss in Las Vegas in an effort to bury the hatchet.