An injury to Ben Rothwell has taken him out of a fight with Fabricio Werdum next month at UFC 203, and Travis Browne has now stepped in to replace him, according to a report from MMAJunkie.com.
It’s a rematch of the main event from UFC on Fox 11 in April of 2014, which saw Werdum pick up a one-sided decision win in a five round bout. The Brazilian would then go on to defeat late replacement Mark Hunt for an Interim Heavyweight Championship in the fall, unifying it when he defeated Cain Velasquez last June.
He’s entering UFC 203 after losing that title to Stipe Miocic, who headlines the Sept. 10 event from Cleveland against Alistair Overeem. Meanwhile, Browne steps up on a months notice after a first round loss to the aforementioned Velasquez at UFC 200, his second loss in four fights since the first matchup with Werdum.
Penick’s Analysis: It’s a sensible enough fight with Rothwell out of action. Browne’s far off from the fighter he was when he got the first fight with Werdum, but the Brazilian former champion may be a bit vulnerable with how devastating the loss to Miocic was in May. Browne’s still got knockout power, and he did take everything Werdum could offer in that first matchup despite losing the fight. We’ll find out if he can do anything different with a short notice matchup, and this booking keeps a solid heavyweight fight on the undercard in Cleveland.
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