News broke that former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will get an immediate title shot against the man than ran through him like a hot knife through butter earlier this year. UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will have to defend his title against the man he took it from according to a report by Ariel Helwani on FOX Sports 1.
Werdum, a heavy underdog, submitted Velasquez in the third round at UFC 188 in Mexico on June 13. It appears the two will do battle again.
The question is why so quickly?
The first fight wasn’t close and it was a clear cut win for Werdum. It’s true that Velasquez was coming off a long layoff after suffering injuries in training, and the fight was at very high altitude in Mexico. However, Werdum had to fight in those same conditions and performed admirably.
What about fighters like Stipe Miocic or Junior dos Santos(who already holds a KO win over Werdum)?
It’s not like Velasquez was a popular champion PPV wise. In fact, he has only fought five times in the last three years because he couldn’t stay healthy in between fights.
This fight doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things unless Miocic or dos Santos are injured. However, it appears Miocic will be fighting Ben Rothwell later this year in a fight that makes little sense.
I think Cain Velasquez is arguably one of the best heavyweights of his era, but I don’t think he had done enough as champion to warrant an immediate rematch considering how Werdum defeated him.