Interim heavyweight title real deal to Fabricio Werdum
For a man who essentially ended up in the same place he started, Fabricio Werdum had to do a lot to get there. In the process, he might have strengthened a case that didn't need much strengthening and turned a much-anticipated UFC heavyweight title fight into a must-see affair.
What he didn't do was win the right to call himself the UFC's true heavyweight champ.
After claiming the top contender spot with a win against Travis Browne in April, Werdum (19-5-1 mixed martial arts, 7-2 UFC) waited seven months for his crack at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez's belt. But when Velasquez (13-1, 11-1) was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury a few weeks before the bout, Werdum had to settle for last-minute replacement Mark Hunt (10-9-1, 5-3-1).
In an attempt to salvage interest in the UFC 180 pay-per-view event, the UFC created an interim heavyweight title for Werdum and Hunt to fight for.
By knocking out Hunt in the second round after a shaky first round, Werdum proved he has a striking game to go along with his jiujistu pedigree and claimed a belt that, at least from a distance, is indistinguishable from the one Velasquez owns. But in the immediate aftermath of the victory it was difficult to tell if that meant anything, even if Werdum certainly seemed to think so.
"Winning a belt like this one, it's a dream come true," he said before going on to refer to it as "the happiest day of my life" and ranking the victory even ahead of his shocking upset of heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko in a 2010 Strikeforce event.
While beating Hunt is no small accomplishment, the fact remains the 40-year-old heavyweight came into the bout with Werdum sporting one win in his last three outings. As nice as it might be to nab a UFC heavyweight championship belt, it's a symbol that only means as much as the man you took it from.
That's where Velasquez, the division's true champion since 2012, comes in. No one doubts his right to call himself the king of the heavyweights, but his ability to stay healthy enough to defend that title regularly is questioned.
His most recent fight came a little over a year ago, and he spent most of 2014 recovering from one surgery before heading into another. If he can't get healthy and stay that way long enough to defend his title within a reasonable time frame, UFC President Dana White said, the promotion might decide to wave its magic wand and turn Werdum's interim title into a permanent one.
Until Werdum beats Velasquez, he'll have a hard time persuading fans to regard him as the UFC's legitimate heavyweight champ. Velasquez said after the event that he was less concerned with calling himself the champ than knowing he deserved to.
"I don't really care about having that title (and) the name that comes with it," Velasquez said after Werdum's win. "I really don't care as long as I fight for the title and I earn it."
Ben Fowlkes writes for MMAjunkie.com, part of the Paste BN Sports Media Group.