The main event of tonight's (Sat., April 19, 2014) UFC on Fox 11: "Werdum vs. Browne" fight card on network television, broadcast from the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, featured Fabricio Werdum taking on Travis Browne to determine the next challenger to Cain Velasquez and the UFC heavyweight championship title.
Viva Brazil!
This one was fun right from the get go.
Werdum opened aggressive, perhaps because he wanted to show that, well, Browne wasn't going to simply come in here and throw bombs without being made to pay for it. That's what happened, too, as the Brazilian landed hard and clean, and often.
Then he earned a takedown, then another, and by the time they got to round three it looked like "Hapa" was in trouble.
By the end of round three, it was clear he was just about finished. Werdum fired off combination after combination and landed with shocking accuracy. Browne offered little to no resistance as "Vai Cavalo" unloaded with punches, kicks, and knees.
It was brutal.
The action slowed down considerably in the fourth round. In fact, it almost seemed like Werdum knew he had won the first three and thought he could coast to the scorecards, securing his title shot against Velasquez. Browne, for his part, couldn't capitalize on his opponent deliberately slowing down.
The fifth and final round played out largely the same. Browne dug deep to unload that one shot that would end the fight in his favor while Werdum used the energy he conserved throughout the previous 20 minutes to duck in and out while peppering away with jabs and the occasional combination.
By the time the final horn sounded, the only question was whether or not Werdum had won every round on every judges card.
Judge's decision: 49-46, 50-45, and 50-45
Nope. Still, he absolutely earned a title shot against Cain Velasquez. Anyone think he's got a chance at dethroning the king of the heavyweight division?
For more on "Werdum vs. Browne" click here, and for complete UFC on Fox 11 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.