Fabricio Werdum has had a pathetic year, and it is not an overstatement to say that he is desperate to turn things around. Well, come UFC 216 on October 7th, he will get the chance to do exactly that! Werdum is not getting younger, the 40 year old has almost a decade and a half of experience under his belt, and so it is especially disappointing that he is nowhere close to being one of the UFC heavyweight title contenders.
Until his fight in July against Alistair Overeem, Werdum was actually in the running. However, his Alistair got the better of Werdum and buried Werdum’s title hopes for good. Sadly, affairs outside of the octagon haven’t exactly been positive for Werdum either. Dana White has been on his case for his lack of dominance and his advocate Ramzan Kadyrov’s alleged gay purge in Chechnya has also brought negative attention to the Werdum camp.
If Werdum does not get his act together, then things can go from bad to worse for him very quickly indeed. He is going to be up against Derrick Lewis. While Lewis might not be as experienced a fighter, his sheer strength and physicality makes him a force to be reckoned with. If Werdum fails to overcome Lewis, he can pretty much kiss his career goodbye.While there is little to salvage for Werdum, a loss could be disastrous. In a way, this is a high risk low reward fight which he just has to win. If there is one thing he has going for him, the bookkeepers and their odds seem to back him up as favorite to win this fight.
Werdum’s greatest strength is his grappling abilities. He will be looking to get the fight to the mat as soon as possible. His opponent Lewis is not exactly known for his grappling abilities.
For our prediction, we will stick with a Werdum victory via submission.
Author : Rory McGregor
