Werdum responds to ‘chicken’ Rockhold call out
Fabricio Werdum: “I’m one step away from the belt. Why would I fight a chicken?”
UFC middleweight Luke Rockhold dropped out of a fight with Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza in November due to injury. He is since recovered. Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was scheduled to fight Ben Rothwell, but the American was removed over a potential USADA violation. Although Werdum weighs in at 240 to Rockhold’s 186, the two have a beef dating back to their days in Strikeforce, so the good littler man recently called out the good big man.
Werdum was not impressed.
“I only fight people, I don’t fight chickens, said Werdum to Guilherme Cruz for MMA Fighting. “He’s just promoting himself because he knows nobody is talking about him. I’m one step away from the belt. Why would I fight a chicken?”
A glance at the UFC top 10 shows that Werdum could in fact well be as he said just one fight from a title shot.
Champion: Stipe Miocic
1. Fabricio Werdum
2. Cain Velasquez
3. Alistair Overeem
4. Junior Dos Santos
5. Francis N’Gannou
Werdum put together a six-fight win streak in the notoriously streak-free division, which was capped by winning the interim belt, and then unifying it. He lost the title to current champion Stipe Miocic at UFC 198 on May 14, 2016. He then bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Travis Browne at UFC 203 on September 10, 2016.
A rematch with Cain Velasquez at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016 was canceled when the Nevada State Athletic Commission declined to license Velasquez due to injuries. And then Werdum lost the fight vs. Rothwell. Still, one more fight with a top-10 fighter and Werdum could get a title shot, and middleweight Luke Rockhold is not a top-10 heavy, so the fight is likely to remain in the bickering stage forever.