UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt

Fabricio Werdum (18-5-1) vs. Mark Hunt (10-8)

The heavyweight title bout is on the line on Saturday night as Fabricio Werdum takes on Mark Hunt at UFC 179 in Mexico City.

Werdum was supposed to fight Cain Velasquez for the title on Saturday night, but with Velasquez still sidelined by a knee injury, Werdum has a different opponent. Werdum earned this title fight opportunity in his last match against a very good fighter in Travis Browne. It was competitive the entire way, with Werdum doing just enough to get the victory. For Werdum, this is the opportunity of his career, but he has defeated some very good fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Roy Nelson and Antonio Silva. He is a great athlete who can win in any style of match. His opponent, Mark Hunt, is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC. In his last fight against Roy Nelson, Hunt was able to record a dominating victory by delivering a vicious punch with two minutes remaining in the second round. Hunt is going to come out and look to turn the matchup into a brawl, and will give Werdum a tremendous challenge. In the end, WERDUM is too focused and ready for the moment to lose, so look for him to dominate early to get the win.

Of Werdum’s 18 career victories, nine have come by way of submission. He also has another five wins by knockout and four wins by decision. While he has shown the ability to win by knockouts, this may be a fight he looks to use his speed and quickness. He has a takedown average of 1.9, while Hunt only averages 0.8. While Hunt does a great job of defending against the takedown (72 percent takedown defense), he has not faced a guy in this class with the speed and quickness. Another thing that could play a huge role in this fight is the cardio. Werdum will have a big advantage in this regard, and will look to tire Hunt out throughout the fight. The longer this bout goes, the better chance Werdum has to win. However, if Hunt is able to get rolling early, he could score a championship upset win.

Hunt has 10 victories in his career, with seven of those coming by ways of knockouts. He also has three wins by submission in his career. When he enters the octagon, he has one thing on his mind; throwing punches. He has an average of 3.55 strikes landed per minute, compared to 3.05 for Werdum. Hunt has vicious power in his strikes, but he also does a nice job of not getting sporadic with his strikes. For Hunt to walk out of the octagon as a champion, he will have to come out and set the tone early in this bout.