UFC on FOX 11 took place on Saturday night at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida and Fabricio Werdum made a statement as he defeated Travis Browne by decision to become the number one contender in the UFC heavyweight division.
Werdum would do something in the fight that not many people thought would happen which was beat Browne on the feet. Along with beating him on the feet, Werdum became the first fighter in the UFC to score a takedown against Browne.
Browne best moment in the fight came in the opening round as he rocked Werdum and attempted to finish the fight. Werdum would be able to survive and would end up getting back to his feet.
Once on his feet, he would score one of three takedowns and looked for a submission. Browne would defend the attempts and worked back to his feet. As the fight moved on, Browne showed visible signs of fatigue but kept coming forward. He would not be able to land a significant strike that could lead to the end of the fight and Werdum would cruise to a decision victory.
Werdum (18-5-1) has now won four fight in a row and he will be next for UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. While the date of that fight is unknown, UFC President Dana White said that fight is targeted to take place in Mexico.
Tate starts off slow, end ups winning by decision
The co-main event of the fight card was a women’s bantamweight bout between former title challengers as Miesha Tate scored a decision victory over Liz Carmouche.
Carmouche would get a fast start in the fight as she scored three takedowns in the opening round and controlled what was essentially a grappling fight in the opening five minutes. She would continue with that game plan in the second round as she scored another three takedowns. During the second round, the big moment would come when Tate went for a guillotine choke, but Carmouche would defend the submission.
As the third round opened, Tate would land a combination and took the fight to the ground. Once on the ground, she would use her strikes to set you a submission attempt as she worked for a rear-naked choke. She would eventually get the submission but Carmouche would not tap out and the fight would make it to the final bell.
All three judges scored the fight for Tate (14-5), who snaps a two fight losing streak with the win and this is her first win in 610 days. For Carmouche (9-5), she has now lost back to back fights and is 1-3 in the UFC.
Cerrone drops Barboza with jab, finishes fight with rear-naked choke
Donald Cerrone tied Nate Diaz for the most finishes in UFC/WEC lightweight history as he submitted Edson Barboza in the first round.
Barboza opened the fight by stunning Cerrone, but Cerrone was able to recover. Barboza would continue to control the fight with his hand speed but Cerrone would connect on a left jab that dropped Barboza. Instead of trying to finish the fight with strikes, Cerrone went straight for the submission and Barboza would tap out.
Cerrone (23-6) has now won three in a row and he is now tied with B.J. Penn, Nate Diaz, and Joe Lauzon for seventh most wins in lightweight history. His last two wins have come by first round stoppage and he is now 2-0 in 2014.
Romero wins 4th straight, wins decision against Tavares
The opening bout of the main card was a middleweight bout between top fifteen UFC middleweights as Yoel Romero won his fourth straight fight with a decision victory over Brad Tavares.
Romero got off to a fantastic start as he stunned Tavares early with a combination and the fight went to the ground. He would control the entire round and score four takedowns in the first round. He would continue to control the fight in the second round as he landed a short elbow that opened up a cut on Tavares forehead.
The final five minutes of the fight would see Romero score two takedowns and would landed 87% of his strikes in the round. The fight would go to the scorecards and all three judges had the fight 30-27 for Yomero. He is now 4-0 in the UFC and will likely face a top ten fighter in his next fight.
The complete UFC on FOX 11 results are below.
Main Card: (FOX)
Fabricio Werdum def. Travis Browne via unanimous decision (49-46, 50-45, 50-45)
Miesha Tate def. Liz Carmouche via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Donald Cerrone def. Edson Barboza via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:15
Yoel Romero def. Brad Tavares via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Thiago Alves def. Seth Baczynski via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jorge Masvidal def. Pat Healy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Alex White def. Estevan Payan via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:28
Caio Magalhaes def. Luke Zachrich via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :44
Jordan Mein def. Hernani Perpetuo via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Dustin Ortiz def. Ray Borg via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Mirsad Bektic def. Chas Skelly via majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28)
Derrick Lewis def. Jack May via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:23