5 possible opponents for Stipe Miocic

#2 Fabricio Werdum

UFC 213: Nunes vs Shevchenko — Fabricio Werdum lost his title to Miocic and has been looking for a rematch since

A rematch with the former champion – the man who Miocic knocked out to take the Heavyweight title in May 2016 – wouldn’t exactly be the biggest money fight, and that’s why the UFC may not choose to go in that direction. But if they want to go by merit, then Fabricio Werdum should probably be next in line. Since the Miocic loss, he’s fought four times and won three, with the lone loss being a controversial decision against Alistair Overeem.

Werdum’s strength of competition hasn’t been the greatest, admittedly – Travis Browne, Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura aren’t genuine title contenders right now – but with everyone else either on the shelf, coming off losses, or already booked in fights, then the Brazilian grappling master might be the best option to take the next title shot.

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How would a rematch go? Realistically, it’s anyone’s guess. Werdum hasn’t gotten any worse since their first meeting, and in a lot of respects, he made it easy for Miocic by charging at him with little regard for defence. Surely he wouldn’t make that mistake twice? The UFC could surely sell that angle, but Werdum’s lower profile with casual fans might put them off making the fight.

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Edited by anirudh.b