Fabricio Werdum has garnered the reputation as one of the most dangerous heavyweight mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters in the entire sport, once the fight hits the ground.
His first-round submission win over longtime great Fedor Emelianenko in 2010 under the Strikeforce banner, as well as his armbar victory over jiu-jitsu great Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC on Fuel TV 10 last year, certainly solidified that reputation.
But, according to famed trainer Greg Jackson, "Vai Cavalo" doesn't necessarily posses the most dangerous ground game in the heavyweight division. That's because division champion Cain Velasquez can be just as lethal, if not more, with his ground-and-pound.
His words to Sherdog Radio Network's "Beatdown" show:
"No, I wouldn't say that. Certainly he's one of the most dangerous. There's people with amazing ground-and-pound -- Cain [Velasquez], among others -- that are very dangerous if they get on top of you. Certainly [Werdum's] got one of the best guards in all of MMA and certainly the heavyweights, so we have to be very cautious of that and the things that he goes after and that he likes to do. But Travis' grappling is pretty good as well, and hopefully we'll be able to fight our fight."
While Cain has yet to record a submission victory in his combat sports career, he has won the majority of his fights thanks to his vicious striking once the bout hits the mat.
See some of his handy work here and here.
While it's easy to side with Jackson on this topic given Cain's success, there will likely be a few jiu-jitsu experts out there who would kindly disagree. Greg is currently preparing Travis Browne for his upcoming 265-pound No. 1 contenders bout against Werdum, which is set to headline UFC on Fox 11 on April 19, 2014 in Orlando, Florida.
For Werdum, a title fight against Velasquez will give him the chance to disprove Jackson's theory that Cain's ground-and-pound is more dangerous than his jiu-jitsu.
What say you, Maniacs, what's more dangerous, having Werdum pull guard and trying to snap your limbs? Or having Cain rain down bombs from top position?