Outside Source
After a rough UFC stint, Robelis Despaigne may have found new life in MMA this past Saturday. | Getty/UFC
Netflix’s MMA debut, with a number of big stars, stole a good portion of the UFC‘s audience last Saturday.
Retired ex-UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was rooting for former foe Junior dos Santos against Robelis Despaigne at Most Valuable Promotions “Rousey vs. Carano,” but he believed the Cuban striker deserved to be favored. Despaigne defeated dos Santos via first-round KO on Saturday’s main card.
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“I had a great rivalry with ‘Cigano,’ but after our last fight we became friends. When I saw the Cuban’s fights in Karate Combat, I commented in the WhatsApp group where Rafael Cordeiro, Lyoto and Wanderlei are. All the support is for daddy ‘Cigano,’ but I don’t think it’s going to happen,” said Werdum, who after having his expectation confirmed made a point of calling his friend at the end of the fight.
“I sent him a message and he replied right away. I was happy that he took it in stride and didn’t make excuses.”
Werdum was surprised by the salary figures released from the event, which revealed that dos Santos earned $80,000 for his fight.
“I thought they started with great purses. The only one that didn’t make any sense to me was ‘Cigano’s.’ I think they got a zero wrong,” Werdum said. “Two years ago he fought me for $800,000 or $1 million at Gamebred Fighting Championship. It doesn’t make sense for a former UFC heavyweight champion to fight for $80,000. There’s definitely an error there.”
Predicting KO Losses for Ngannou, Hokit
In the opinion of the former UFC heavyweight champion, Netflix should indeed pair Robelis Despaigne and Ngannou in a future edition.
“This Cuban is a terrible matchup for Francis Ngannou,” Werdum said. “He has a lot of reach, speed, and precision. I’m 99% sure he’ll beat Ngannou by knockout.”
Mentioned by Joe Rogan as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of the sport, with finishes over Fedor Emelianenko, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Cain Velasquez, Werdum also commented on the current state of his division in the UFC.
“I didn’t know this Hokit, in fact I’ve never seen him fight and I don’t understand why they put him in the White House. This guy doesn’t represent MMA. Our sport has nothing to do with WWE. [Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen] — those guys are smart, that’s trash talk. What this guy does is ridiculous, it’s embarrassing. I’m sure Lewis will knock him out.”
Asked about the confrontation between his compatriot Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, “Vai Cavalo” believes that the Frenchman’s heart will be a tipping point in favor of the Brazilian.
“Ciryl is very good but he doesn’t have heart. I realized that in his fight with Jon Jones,” Werdum said. “He accepted defeat, stood still and didn’t even attempt a defense when the guillotine choke wasn’t even locked in. ‘Poatan’ is a natural heavyweight; I don’t even see him moving up a division. I think he’ll win and make history by being the first fighter to win three belts, and in the White House no less.”
Return to Grappling?
Werdum also revealed that after getting involved in backstage riot in the fight between Wanderlei Silva and Popó Freitas, broadcast live by Rede Globo last September, he was no longer invited to be an MMA commentator on the Combate channel. But on the other hand, his podcast and lectures are going pretty well. Werdum has done more than 300 interviews on his podcast and did 48 lectures for big Brazilian companies. Werdum also revealed that he got a proposal to return in a grappling match. He speculated that Ryan Bader or Frank Mir may be among the potential opponents, but he did not give more details about which event and when it would happen.
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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