Fabricio Werdum returns to the UFC at Saturday night’s UFC 143 for the first time since losing to Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 in October of 2008. Werdum will square off with Roy Nelson in the night’s co-main event in a fight that will elevate one man’s stock and put them closer to title contention.
Werdum spoke to Globo recently and spoke about his plans to take the fight to Nelson (translation by Orcus):
I can tell you that he’ll need to keep his hands up, because a knockout might happen. He’ll need to keep his hands way up, in high guard. I think I’ll hit his legs a lot. Roy Nelson is very tough and can endure a lot of beating, he showed that against [Junior dos Santos], but there’s always a weak spot. I’ll try to look for that flaw during the fight. I think I will win with agility and mobility. I am well mentally, as well as physically, much faster and this will be determinant in this fight, due to the fact that he’s slower, a fatty.
It will be a very strategic fight. It’s my return to the UFC, it will be very important to me. When I have the opportunity to KO or submit, I will do it. I don’t like to win by points, it happens sometimes, but my prevision is this: knockout or submission. The main thing is the victory. My mom always tells me that the important thing is to raise the arm in the end (laughs).
The “fatty” line was said in a joking way, to be clear. It wasn’t meant as a direct insult.
Nelson does leave some openings on the feet and we did see Werdum get some shots in on Alistair Overeem, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him want to turn this into a three round fight on the feet.
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