Well, that sure does suck. Just a day or so after Cain Velasquez had to pull out of the UFC 196 main event, so too does Fabricio Werdum. Poor Stipe Miocic. Werdum has a hurt toe and sore back. He probably realized his back would be even worse off if he had to carry a PPV on his own. What’s really funny is he flat out admitted that he wouldn’t have pulled out if Cain was still in the fight. Said Werdum to Brazilian media:
“If Cain (remained in the) fight, I (would) fight because we have a history, and he had cancelled that fight twice previously.”
I mean, I know we all know it’s true, but you don’t necessarily admit that in public. Who knows what this means for UFC 196 now. They’ve got less than two weeks to find a real main-event or else Johny Hendricks vs WONDERBOY is going to be the headlining fight. Just, wow. Maybe Cerrone is willing to fight on this card too. At heavyweight.
I have to feel for Stipe Miocic in all of this. He must have went from elated to devastated in a matter of hours. Not only will he not get a shot on the Superbowl show, he might never get one because the UFC loves Cain and will give it to him if possible. Miocic’s manager wasn’t happy, going so far as to say that Werdum should be stripped of the belt:
“If you’re the champion and you’re healthy enough to fight, and you refuse to fight because you don’t like the matchup against any specific opponent, you should be stripped.
…
“I understand if you’re legitimately injured any you can’t fight against Cain – that’s one thing,” he said. “But if you’re healthy enough to fight one guy, but refuse to fight another guy on two weeks’ notice, then to me you’re not the real champion. You should take on all comers, and the UFC should strip him if that’s the case.
…
“I don’t know what the facts are – I’m going by what I’ve heard so far. But it’s embarrassing if that’s really the situation.”
This is technically the PPV card as of right now:
- Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
- Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt
- Rafael Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky
- Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
- Damian Grabowski vs. Derrick Lewis
- Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson
- Mickey Gall vs. Mike Jackson
- Artem Lobov vs. Alex White
- Ray Borg vs. Justin Scoggins
- Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
That sound you hear is Dana White sobbing.
Werdum has a hurt toe and sore back. He probably realized his back would be even worse off if he had to carry a PPV on his own. Where such information?