Well, they say it’s the sport where anything can happen. Just one day after the main event of UFC 196 was changed, plans have once again been scuppered as today it was announced that UFC Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is out injured.
Yesterday, Dana White announced on Twitter that Velasquez had pulled out of the scheduled bout with a back injury, and in his place 33 year old Stipe Miocic would be taking his spot to challenge Werdum for the UFC Heavyweight championship. Twenty-four hours later, Werdum scuppered those plans by himself withdrawing.
“I already had an injury,” Werdum told MMAJunkie reporters on Monday. “I have a cracked toe on my right foot. I haven’t trained in two weeks. Actually, I was training but couldn’t kick. Regardless, I was still going to face Cain Velasquez. The last time around, I had a contusion on my head and ended up not sparring for 40 days. I fought, regardless.
“Now, this past Friday, I hurt my back. I suffered a hard sprain. I ended up getting massages, going to the doctor, and everything else. But I felt it a lot while training today. I sparred today but couldn’t train as I should. So I decided not to fight since I’m not 100 percent. I’m not 100 percent, as I should be.”
Interestingly, Werdum stated that the change of opponent was a key factor in his decision. With Velasquez pulling out of the event, Werdum felt that stepping in against Miocic on short notice wouldn’t be worth the risk.
“If Cain was going to fight, I was still going to face him,” Werdum said.
“What weighed a lot was that, in my career, it took a long time to get here, to get the belt, to be the champion, I can’t throw it all out the window if I’m not 100 percent confident. I always say one needs to have balance between mind and body. Now, things are unstable. I don’t know if it’s the body or the mind. It’s a bit confusing. Now I have to think about everything at once. I can’t think about things the same way as when I was 20.
“It’s not like that anymore. Everything has changed. I’m 38 now. I’m the champion. I’m feeling great in this moment of my life. But I can’t risk a 20-year career due to my pride. I can’t.”
The decision has surprised many fans and members of the media, and speculation on how the UFC brass will react has begun. With UFC 196 being a fairly weak card, it’s not hard to imagine the loss of a UFC title fight will severely hurt the events revenue.
In response to Werdum’s status, Miocic’s manager Greg Kalikas spoke with MMAJunkie and aired his frustrations, calling for the champion to be stripped of the title.
“If you’re the champion and you’re healthy enough to fight, and you refuse to fight because you don’t like the matchup against any specific opponent, you should be stripped,” Kalikas said.
“I understand if you’re legitimately injured any you can’t fight against Cain, that’s one thing, but if you’re healthy enough to fight one guy, but refuse to fight another guy on two weeks’ notice, then to me you’re not the real champion. You should take on all comers, and the UFC should strip him if that’s the case.
“I don’t know what the facts are – I’m going by what I’ve heard so far. But it’s embarrassing if that’s really the situation.”
What happens to UFC 196 now is uncertain. If the UFC decide to announce an interim title bout, then they’ll need to find Miocic an opponent, and it just so happens a man is interested.
Former UFC Heavyweight champion Josh Barnett was hosting a media lunch today, originally arranged to discuss his upcoming bout with #7 ranked Ben Rothwell. While being interviewed, the news of Werdum came through, and Barnett wasn’t shy to put forth his name.
“If they page me 911, if they send me the number, I will absolutely take the fight,” Barnett said to members of the MMA media. “If they want a heavyweight championship main event, I’m your man. I’ll go in. I’ll take care of business and I’ll give them what they want. I’ll give them what they need, which is a healthy, motivated championship fighter. That’s what they’ll get.
“Interim title, It’s set up for a title match. Let’s keep it going. That’s what they need on Super Bowl weekend. They need a title fight. They need a heavyweight title fight. That’s what we can provide. Former champ and a No. 1 contender. That’s what people want to see. They want to see championship level fights. They want to see the top guys go at it. We can do it.”
With the event being only a couple of weeks away, the UFC will no doubt be looking for a solution to the problem as fast as they can.
