In his first match since losing the heavyweight title, Fabricio Werdum got back in the win column by defeating Travis Browne via unanimous decision at UFC 203 in Cleveland.
According to Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole, the fight was scored 29-28, 29-27, 30-27 in favor of the Brazilian after Browne suffered an apparent broken or dislocated finger midway through the first round.
MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani noted the crowd at Quicken Loans Arena was not pleased with Werdum's victory:
Werdum was a dominant force in the UFC heavyweight division for more than three years. He posted a perfect 6-0 record from February 2012 through June 2015, including handing Cain Velasquez the first-ever submission loss in his career to capture the title at UFC 188.
In his first title defense at UFC 198, Werdum fell victim to Stipe Miocic's powerful punches in a first-round knockout loss to end his undefeated streak and send the Brazilian star back to the drawing board.
UFC actually did Werdum a favor by putting him in a match with Browne. These two previously met on a Fox event in April 2014, with Werdum dominating the heavy striker to earn a unanimous decision victory.
Being fair, Browne was at a disadvantage in this fight because he took it on short notice after he was destroyed by Velasquez at UFC 200 in July. Ben Rothwell was Werdum's original opponent before suffering a knee injury while training in August.
It's probably not an accident that UFC put Werdum on the same card in which Miocic is making his first title defense in the main event against Alistair Overeem.
Per UFC.com's official fighter rankings before this event, Werdum was ranked as the No. 1 heavyweight, with Miocic being the only person ahead of him as a result of having the championship.
This win likely sets up Werdum for the next championship match, regardless of who wins the main event. It's also plausible UFC could opt to put him in a match against Velasquez, who is ranked No. 2 in the division, with the winner getting a title shot.
Regardless of how things end up playing out, Werdum's win absolutely puts him on the short list of challengers for the title.
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