The Heavyweight Title Picture Will Begin To Clear Up At UFC 188

By Adam Martin

For nearly two years, the heavyweight division has been in flux. That’s about how long UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez has been out with injury. The champ has not fought since UFC 166, way back in October 2013. He defeated Junior dos Santos that night in what was his most destructive performance ever, but the trilogy fight with dos Santos was the last time fans have seen him in the cage, as he’s been out for 20 months healing various war wounds.

But finally, after so long away, the champion returns this Saturday night at UFC 188, when he takes on UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum, who has reeled off five-straight wins, in the main event.. Fans have been waiting for this fight for a long time. Werdum won the title shot against Velasquez back in April 2014 at UFC on FOX 11, when he defeated Travis Browne via decision in an upset win.

The two heavyweights coached TUF Latin America against each other and were supposed to meet at UFC 180, but when Velasquez pulled out with an injury, Werdum instead fought Mark Hunt for the interim strap, and took it with a devastating second-round flying knee knockout win.

This weekend, fans will finally get to see who the “real” champ is. It’s a fight that Velasquez is supposed to win, as oddsmakers have him pegged as a 5-to-1 favorite, but Werdum cannot be counted out, considering the massive improvements he has made training at Kings MMA under vaunted Muay Thai coach Rafael Cordeiro. Under Cordeiro, Werdum has transformed himself into a complete mixed martial artist. And he’s by far the best opponent for Velasquez at the moment.

If Velasquez wins like expected, and does so in destructive fashion, it will be interesting to see who he fights next. He’s already defeated JDS twice, so he’s out. Stipe Miocic just smashed Hunt at UFC Fight Night 65, and he wants to fight Velasquez, but he lost to JDS in the fight just before that. Andrei Arlovski is a big name and is coming off of a UFC 187 win against Browne, but he probably needs another win before he gets a title shot. Ditto Ben Rothwell, who just beat Matt Mitrione, and Alistair Overeem, who recently beat Roy Nelson. So if Velasquez wins against Werdum like expected, Miocic might very well be the next guy in line, even despite that recent loss to JDS.

But if Werdum wins, that’s where things get interesting. If it’s a close fight, the UFC could match him up in a rematch with Velasquez, but if he gets the upset win in devastating fashion, there are a number of fresh, compelling matchups for Werdum, including a rematch with JDS, who defeated Werdum via KO at UFC 90. Werdum vs. Miocic, Rothwell, Arlovski, and even a trilogy fight with Overeem are fights that could happen. But if Werdum does leave the Octagon with the belt this weekend, I would bet JDS would get the shot at him. That’s a rematch all fight fans would love, considering what happened between those two in the past.

Regardless of who wins, it will just be nice to finally have the heavyweight championship situation cleared up this weekend. We’ll finally find out who the true #1 guy is, and we’ll finally get to see if Velasquez is the same fighter after the long layoff, or if he’s regressed or even somehow improved. Same with Werdum – we’ll find out a lot about him as well. Ultimately, it will be nice to have these answers cleared up this weekend after nearly two years of uncertainty, and looking ahead, it will be interesting to see what the UFC does with the rest of the top contenders in the division.