UFC planerar att hålla en match om tungviktstiteln mellan Stipe Miocic och Junior dos Santos på UFC 211. Något som är orättvist, om man frågar den forne mästaren Fabricio Werdum:
”The ranking is there for a reason”, säger ”Vai Cavalo”.
Nyligen har uppgifter gjort gällande att UFC planerar en returmatch mellan Junior dos Santos (18-4) och tungviktsmästaren Stipe Miocic (16-2) för UFC 211. Om matchen blir av skulle det blir Miocics andra titelförsvar.
Men om man frågar en annan tidigare mästare, Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1), är det inte alls särskilt rättvist att låta ”JDS” utmana om titeln. Detta eftersom Werdum är högre rankad än dos Santos:
“I don’t really think (Miocic vs. Dos Santos) is fair,” berättar Werdum för MMAjunkie. “Because I’m the last champ. Going by logic, there’s a (UFC) ranking, it’s there for a reason, and I’m the No. 1. Obviously it’s not a tournament, but I imagined the fight with Velasquez that didn’t happen as a semifinal. It was between Cain and I, and whoever won would fight for the belt. That was practically a given. That’s what everybody saw.”
“But then the fight was canceled, which was a shame, so I thought, ‘Well, Cain is injured, so I’m next,’” fortsätterWerdum. “I heard that Miocic was having contract issues, that he’s asking for more money – and I’m not criticizing him, I think it’s only right. That also happened to me.”
“I think every fighter has the right to demand a little, what they deserve after becoming champ. But Miocic will only fight in June or July, and I’d wait. For the belt, I’d wait for sure.”
”Var inte beredd att möta dos Santos”
Werdum erkänner att han inte har något annat val än att acceptera UFC:s beslut om matchen mellan dos Santos och Miocic blir av. Däremot påpekar han att han aldrig flytt från ”Cigano” som dos Santos tidigare uppgett.
“I wasn’t apt to fight him at that moment because as soon as they canceled the (Cain) Velasquez scrap (at UFC 207). I stopped training entirely,” förklarar Werdum. “I really stopped. I traveled with my family, I did what I always do after I fight – I travel, do seminars, go on vacations. In my head, it was like I’d fought, because I’d prepared for that moment.
“I didn’t want what happened when I fought Alistair Overeem in Strikeforce, when I went past my point and went into overtraining, to happen again. So I stopped training, to get some rest. The body needs that. They speculated this fight with ‘Cigano’ – they never offered it to me officially, but they talked about me fighting him in February. But it wasn’t the time. When they schedule the fight with ‘Cigano,’ it won’t be right away. I’ll prepare for it.”
Håller ni med ”Vai Cavalo”?
Omslagsbild: Jason Silva
