Penn and Stevenson Vie for Vacant Title
Werdum vs. Gonzaga
Jan 17, 2008
Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (Pictures)
And now for something completely different, a relevant matchup involving two legitimate heavyweights!
No, my friends, the tea is not tainted with peyote. We will indeed
get to see a rematch between Brazilians Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) and Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga.
These two first met four years ago in the Jungle Fight promotion, and it was Werdum (9-3-1) who was able to survive an early storm from Gonzaga en route to a TKO in the third round.
Such talk has proven to be immature at best, as Werdum has consistently saved his worst performances for the biggest of moments. Whether it be his butt-scoot extravaganza against Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) or the modified catfight striking style he used against Andrei Arlovski (Pictures), Werdum has proven he has a lot in common with the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s.
While the MMA illuminati took considerably longer to warm up to Gonzaga (9-2) and his overactive follicles, "Napao" has entrenched himself in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division thanks to his instant classic knockout of the Croatian Jack Bauer, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
A heavyweight title shot against Randy Couture (Pictures) soon followed, and Gonzaga appeared set to take over the division. Unfortunately, the only thing Gonzaga left the Octagon with that evening was a shattered nose and a bruised ego.
Coming off his first loss since Werdum taught him the importance of conditioning, Gonzaga has a chance to come full circle and avenge a loss that he brought upon himself while rebuilding his status as a title contender.
That title contender status is something Werdum is starving for. Having already lost his UFC debut, another loss here would mean his chances of tasting UFC gold would be about the same as his chances of becoming the next Octagon girl.
The style clash is quite different from what it once was. Gonzaga has proven dangerous on the feet while Werdum's open-hand slaps remain the most intimidating part of his striking game.
Given Gonzaga's considerable size advantage, we could see any hopes of a jiu-jitsu showdown fall by the wayside as Werdum struggles for takedowns while Gonzaga unloads standing -- a familiar outcome for Werdum, whose mediocre wrestling has been his own undoing on more than one occasion.
Flopping about in search of takedowns against an opponent who knocked out Cro Bauer is never a good idea. While Werdum has been lucky enough to take gun-shy strikers to decisions in the past, he'll have no such luck against Gonzaga.
After a few minutes of Gonzaga getting his maul on, Werdum will be ripe for the picking and end up on the receiving end of a TKO late in the second round. Make sure to hide the women and children when "Napao" does his usual post-fight up-close camera mugging. Someone needs to tell the man that the camera does not love him back.
And now for something completely different, a relevant matchup involving two legitimate heavyweights!
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These two first met four years ago in the Jungle Fight promotion, and it was Werdum (9-3-1) who was able to survive an early storm from Gonzaga en route to a TKO in the third round.
The hype machine quickly went into overdrive for Werdum, and he
soon found himself fighting under the PRIDE FC banner. A pair of
quick submission wins over Roman Zentsov (Pictures) and Tom Erikson (Pictures) had some wondering if they were
looking at the next "Minotauro" Nogueira.
Such talk has proven to be immature at best, as Werdum has consistently saved his worst performances for the biggest of moments. Whether it be his butt-scoot extravaganza against Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) or the modified catfight striking style he used against Andrei Arlovski (Pictures), Werdum has proven he has a lot in common with the Buffalo Bills of the early 90s.
While the MMA illuminati took considerably longer to warm up to Gonzaga (9-2) and his overactive follicles, "Napao" has entrenched himself in the upper echelon of the heavyweight division thanks to his instant classic knockout of the Croatian Jack Bauer, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
A heavyweight title shot against Randy Couture (Pictures) soon followed, and Gonzaga appeared set to take over the division. Unfortunately, the only thing Gonzaga left the Octagon with that evening was a shattered nose and a bruised ego.
Coming off his first loss since Werdum taught him the importance of conditioning, Gonzaga has a chance to come full circle and avenge a loss that he brought upon himself while rebuilding his status as a title contender.
That title contender status is something Werdum is starving for. Having already lost his UFC debut, another loss here would mean his chances of tasting UFC gold would be about the same as his chances of becoming the next Octagon girl.
The style clash is quite different from what it once was. Gonzaga has proven dangerous on the feet while Werdum's open-hand slaps remain the most intimidating part of his striking game.
Given Gonzaga's considerable size advantage, we could see any hopes of a jiu-jitsu showdown fall by the wayside as Werdum struggles for takedowns while Gonzaga unloads standing -- a familiar outcome for Werdum, whose mediocre wrestling has been his own undoing on more than one occasion.
Flopping about in search of takedowns against an opponent who knocked out Cro Bauer is never a good idea. While Werdum has been lucky enough to take gun-shy strikers to decisions in the past, he'll have no such luck against Gonzaga.
After a few minutes of Gonzaga getting his maul on, Werdum will be ripe for the picking and end up on the receiving end of a TKO late in the second round. Make sure to hide the women and children when "Napao" does his usual post-fight up-close camera mugging. Someone needs to tell the man that the camera does not love him back.
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