UFC President Dana White confirmed yesterday that heavyweight standout Fabricio Werdum is interested in a fight with fellow top contender Daniel Cormier. MMA Junkie has the quote:
"Werdum was in my office two days ago," White said on Thursday. "That's probably where the rumor came from. That's who he wants to fight, but we'll see what happens."
White said nothing is set, though he didn't close the door on the possibility of the matchup.
Werdum (17-5-1) is 3-0 since his UFC return in 2012, scoring wins over Roy Nelson, Mike Russow, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Fabricio hasn't fought Cain Velasquez, but he did face Junior dos Santos in 2008, losing by KO in just 95 seconds at UFC 90.
Cormier (12-0) won the Strikeforce Grand Prix last year and beat Frank Mir at UFC on Fox 7 in San Jose in April. He's long talked about moving to LHW, especially since his friend and training partner Cain Velasquez rules the division.
On the surface it sounds like an excellent fight. If Werdum wins he's more than earned his title shot -- he's arguably done enough as of now. A victory for Cormier should put him in a position where he could reserve a spot as the next title challenger at either heavyweight or light heavyweight. If dos Santos beats Cain, then Cormier/JDS would be ideal, otherwise Cormier could simply drop to 205 and immediately get a title shot vs. the Jon Jones/Alexander Gustafsson winner.
What do you think? Is Werdum/Cormier a good fight and should the UFC try and book it later this year?
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