Analysis: UFC’s redemption streak could continue with Fabricio Werdum

By Case Keefer (contact)

Thursday, June 11, 2015 | 2 a.m.

In the middle of the supposed prime of his career, Fabricio Werdum got unceremoniously bulldozed out of the UFC seven years ago.

Based on the recent trend in the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion, that means Werdum is poised to beat Cain Velasquez and win the UFC heavyweight championship in the main event of UFC 188 Saturday in Mexico City. The 37-year-old Werdum can augment what’s quickly turning into an era of redemption in the UFC.

The three newest UFC champions all came from the realm of improbability. Daniel Cormier, a 36-year-old light heavyweight, became the increasingly rare fighter to claim a belt off a loss last month at UFC 187 following the Jon Jones saga.

Cormier closed as the underdog to Anthony Johnson, but a small one compared to lightweight Rafael dos Anjos and welterweight Robbie Lawler before their coups. Dos Anjos and Lawler were widely perceived as middling veterans before concluding their transformations into impeccable warriors with victories over Anthony Pettis and Johny Hendricks, respectively.

But Werdum could personify the comeback narrative better than anyone if he reigns in combat sports’ glamour division after this weekend’s pay-per-view. The UFC brass once thought so lowly of “Vai Cavalo” that they reportedly failed to notify him of his terminated contract after an 80-second knockout loss to a rookie Junior dos Santos in October 2008.

Dos Santos turned out as more than a one-hit wonder, eventually winning the UFC title and still standing as the only man to defeat Velasquez, but Werdum endured a long path to the top.

Werdum went to Strikeforce, where he overcame an early knockdown against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva to win a tedious unanimous decision in his second fight outside of the UFC. That set him up for fodder for Fedor Emelianenko, who was considered the world’s greatest fighter at the time, in his next assignment.

Werdum pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history in that June 2010 bout, roping Emelianenko into his guard after taking a big punch and converting on a first-round triangle choke. The victory should have been the turning point of Werdum’s career.

But if the Emelianenko fight was his most brilliant, then Werdum’s next bout for the Strikeforce heavyweight championship was his most bizarre. Werdum more than held on his own on the feet against Alistair Overeem, but insisted on trying to re-create the Emelianenko situation by luring the Dutch kickboxer to the ground.

Overeem refused to oblige, which repeatedly left Werdum alone with his back on the canvas motioning for action. The stalling led to a preventable unanimous-decision loss.

It wasn’t until Werdum rejoined the UFC in February 2012 that he showed the confidence to mix his much-improved striking with his always-formidable jiu-jitsu game. He’s barely encountered any adversity since, winning all five bouts in the octagon to earn the shot at Velasquez.

Werdum is technically already a champion, albeit one who no one really honors after Velasquez’s near two-year injury absence resulted in the creation of an interim title. He’s a 4-to-1 underdog at UFC 188 with the odds implying less than a 20 percent chance of a new champion emerging.

Neither betting lines nor widespread praise has mattered much in the newest age of the UFC, though. Fighters like Werdum have experienced a renaissance.

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.