F. Werdum wins belt at UFC 180. Photo: Reproduction
Last Saturday (15), when knocking Mark Hunt and win the fifth interim belt in heavyweight history, Fabricio Werdum got closer to the linear title of the category, but at the same time created a great taboo to be broken in the unification of the belts against Cain Velazquez, scheduled for 2015. This is because, never in the history of the under-120 kg division, has an interim champion beaten a lineal champion in the Octagon and only one of the five later managed to win the definitive title.
The feat was precisely the first holder of an interim heavyweight belt, Andrei Arlovski. In 2005, during the absence of the champion Frank mir, Arlovski overcame Tim Sylvia and won the provisional title. Months later, the Belarusian was promoted to the status of definitive champion even without facing Mir, after the North American suffered a motorcycle accident and extended his period of inactivity.
The next UFC interim champion was the Brazilian Rodrigo Minotauro, who also beat Tim Sylvia to take the title. Minotauro, however, lost the provisional title to Frank mir before he could even try to unify him against Randy Couture or, later, Brock Lesnar. At the historic UFC 100, in 2009, Mir ended up being knocked out by Lesnar in the main fight of the night.
The last holder of a provisional heavyweight belt before Fabricio Werdum was known in 2010, when the previously undefeated Shane carwin derrotou Frank mir and earned the right to challenge Brock Lesnar. Once again, Lesnar thwarted the plans of an interim champion and defeated Carwin via submission at UFC 116.
On the other hand, if coincidences are avoided in duels valid for the unification of the heavyweight belt, Fabricio Werdum has in its favor a possible repetition of the scenario involving Andrei Arlovski e Frank mir in 2005. That's because the champion Cain Velazquez He has already been warned by president Dana White that he will lose his title if he suffers a new serious injury that makes it impossible for him to face Werdum next year, probably in Mexico.
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