They might not be competing against one another at UFC 211 this May, but the verbal warfare between former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum is only likely to continue.
Dos Santos will challenge Stipe Miocic for the title from Dallas, while Werdum meets Ben Rothwell in a key contest in the division.
During an appearance on “The MMA Hour” recently, dos Santos explained why he is so confused over all the back-and-forth between himself and Werdum, who lost the title last year to Miocic.
“For the third time he said no. I cannot understand,” dos Santos said (thanks to MMA Fighting for the quotes). “I cannot understand how he says so many bad things. The worst thing is, after all the crazy things, he comes and said he would come to my gym to beat me up. What? What is this guy saying? He just denied to make money fighting against me in a real fight, a professional fight, and now he wants to come here fight for free? What’s happening with this guy? I don’t understand anything. I think he’s confused, he’s completely lost on everything that he’s saying. But I think the right thing is happening right now.
“If you guys don’t know, there in Brazil, when I fought Ben Rothwell, he said ‘Junior doesn’t deserve to fight for the title because he beat Ben Rothwell. Who’s Ben Rothwell? That guy has no name, and that guy’s techniques are terrible.’ He said this in Brazil. Well, now he’s fighting Ben Rothwell, and if he wins he wants to fight for the title, so the rules are just for me, not for him.”
Werdum was given a chance to respond, which he did.
“My biggest goal is the belt, but I don’t know who will have it, Stipe Miocic or ‘Cigano,’” Werdum said. “I believe Stipe Miocic will win by decision. The last fight was close, ‘Cigano’ made the different in the last round, and it was tied going into that round. And I don’t think Stipe Miocic won that fight. The belt is my goal, and it would have a better taste if I took it away from ‘Cigano’. He talked a lot, talked a lot of crap these days before my fight with Cain Velasquez was booked. It was weird.”
