<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Prior to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s victory over Tim Sylvia earlier this month, UFC President Dana White said that Fabricio Werdum would likely get the next shot at the title. However, it now appears he’ll first have to get by Brandon Vera (8-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC). Werdum and Vera are slated to battle at UFC 85, an event that takes place June 14 at the O2 Arena in London, according to a report from The Fight Network. According to the report, bout agreements have not been signed. Werdum, a former PRIDE Fighting Championships fighter, signed with the UFC last year. He was considered an instant heavyweight contender (fresh off a first-round submission victory over Aleksander Emelianenko), but after a lackluster loss to Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70, Werdum seemingly fell off the UFC’s radar. After an eight-month layoff, though, he finally returned at UFC 80 in January and scored a stunning second-round TKO of UFC heavyweight contender Gabriel Gonzaga. Vera, meanwhile, began his UFC career with three straight victories before he earned a bout with Frank Mir. Although questions marks still surrounded the brash youngster, Vera defeated the former UFC heavyweight with a first-round TKO at UFC 65. The November 2006 fight would be his last for nearly a year, though, as he worked out issues with his former management. Vera was supposed to fight then-champ Tim Sylvia at UFC 68 nearly a year ago, but with the issues still unresolved, Randy Couture got the fight instead. Vera last competed at UFC 77 this past October, where he suffered a unanimous-decision loss to Sylvia. After the fight, Vera stated that he had suffered a broken hand early in the fight.</div> only question is, who's ahead of Werdum for a title shot? Chieck Kongo? what if he losses vs Heath hearing?
My guess is this fight is to validate Werdum as the top contender. The problem is that Vera could very well knock him out. Werdum's stand-up looked pretty weak against Arlovski, and I think Vera can keep the fight standing. Maybe Big Nog is taking a long layoff? Maybe they are still thinking about Couture? Who knows.
with all the lawsuits, I don't forsee Randy fighting for the UFC anytime soon. If he had half a brain he'd get his 2 fights in and move on.. guess he figures he doesn't have much left in the tank and doesn't want to train for 3 fights total to get to Fedor...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Celtic Fan @ Feb 21 2008, 03:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>with all the lawsuits, I don't forsee Randy fighting for the UFC anytime soon. If he had half a brain he'd get his 2 fights in and move on.. guess he figures he doesn't have much left in the tank and doesn't want to train for 3 fights total to get to Fedor...</div> Realistically, Randy is pretty crazy wanting to fight Fedor so bad. I think Fedor will crush him and ruin his legacy. People will suddenly remember that Randy is a 16-8 fighter who's lost five of his last eleven fights.
Randy's legacy is set in stone. It wont be crushed win or lose. Everyone thought Randy returning to fight Silva was ridiculous and look at the outcome. He became the heavyweight champ. His record doesn't say anything. Everyone is too into records. Real MMA fans know the deal. Randy has proven himself to be one of the greatest of all time in the world of mixed martial arts. He fought the best and won and lost against the best. There is no shame in that at all. That wont change. Win or Lose, Randy's legacy will stay. He's proven himself time and time again. Fedor is the man (i'm a huge PRIDE FAN), and there is not shame in losing to a fighter of that caliber. I expect Randy however, to give it everything he has. Hell, at his age, he has balls. thats all I have to say. It takes guts to fight in the cage, WIN OR LOSE. I respect all who are willing to step into the ring. Randy set the bar for the current and future MMA stars. His legacy will live on.
oh his fight legacy is pretty solid, but the way he's handling this leaving the UFC to fight Fedor has tarnished his image as a person IMO.
Honestly, there are a few problems I have with Randy that led me to say what I said. Where is his interest in fight Josh Barnett again? Babyface took his title in 2002 and we never got a rematch. What about Ricco Suave? Ricco won the title in 2002 and we've never had even rumblings of a rematch. A true champion wants to avenge his defeats. He's only done it once, against Vitor Belfort. Randy wants to be considered the best of all time but he has some real loose ends to tie up first. A win over Fedor wouldn't do it alone. Instead of wasting a year chasing after Fedor, he could've stayed in the UFC and fought Big Nog, Andrei Arlovski and/or Cro Cop, then left when his contract was over and went straight into a fight with Emelianenko. He didn't do that because his comeback isn't what it was made out to be. He couldn't come back into the light heavyweight division because Liddell was still at the top. So instead he is immediately granted a title shot in a weight division he hadn't competed in since submitting to Rodriguez and Barnett. So he takes down Sylvia and lays on him for five rounds--doesn't finish him like Big Nog just did--and suddenly he's the best in the world again. Then he beats Big Nose whose top career accomplishment, up until his surprise win over Cro Cop, was beating Fabiano Scherner. Gonzaga just got beaten for a second time by Werdum. So when Fedor beats Randy, if the fight ever transpires, what is Couture's legacy, other than being an old champion? I'm not trying to take away from impressive wins over Randleman, Liddell, and Ortiz, but Couture has done as much damage to his reputation in the last year or two as possible. Getting retired by Fedor isn't going to be the swan song he wants.
Randy is similar to Tyson in boxing. I agree, he is really making himself look bad with his latest antics, but you can't take away from his accomplishments. The man won the UFC championship in his 40's! Who else has done it???
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Trench @ Feb 23 2008, 05:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Randy is similar to Tyson in boxing. I agree, he is really making himself look bad with his latest antics, but you can't take away from his accomplishments. The man won the UFC championship in his 40's! Who else has done it???</div> Chuck Liddell is 38 and will be getting a rematch with Rampage eventually, so he could conceivably be the next guy. Don't get me wrong, I like Randy. I mean, I think the fact that 15 of his 24 career bouts have been title fights is unforgettable.
