Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum was all set to take on another former UFC Heavyweight Champion in Cain Velasquez in a rematch at UFC 207, but then the Nevada Athletic Commission said Velazquez was medically suspended and the fight was called off. Werdum, rather than wait for another fight against another contender to come about, believes he should be next in line for a title shot against Stipe Miocic, who defeated Werdum for the belt at UFC 198.
"That would be fair,” Werdum told MMA Fighting. "Cain Velasquez didn’t show up for the title eliminator bout, and he won’t be able to fight in a while, so I’d rather wait and fight for the belt next. I’m the No. 1 contender, that’s the logical choice. Cain Velasquez won’t fight for a long time, so it’s fair to make me against Stipe Miocic in 2017. I think I deserved an immediate rematch, and they didn’t make it, but now I think it’s time to make this fight. Whenever he comes back, I’ll be ready for him. My focus was always the belt."
Werdum now says that he is afraid to call his local fire department, because he may run into Miocic on the streets and a fight would break out, as Miocic is a fireman in Cleveland (Ohio) when he isn’t competing in the UFC.
"My cat is stuck in the tree and my wife asked me to call a firefighter to rescue him,” Werdum said, "but I said ‘no, don’t call the firefighter because Stipe Miocic might show up here and we end up fighting now. We have to wait for the UFC’s announcement, and after I win the rematch, Miocic can come and rescue my cat.’"
Werdum, ever the persistent heavyweight, put this on his Instagram page a short time ago:
