Werdum decisions Browne, kicks Tarverdyan

From a high-flying beginning, to an abrupt stoppage, a near finish, two slow rounds and then a near melee after, UFC 203’s co-main event between Travis Browne and Fabricio Werdum was bizarre to say the least.

And unfortunately for the Glendale Fighting Club’s Browne, it all equated to him losing via unanimous decision to Werdum on Saturday night at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

Werdum (21-6-1, 9-3 in UFC), the No. 1-ranked contender in the UFC heavyweight rankings, used an array of strikes to keep No. 6 Browne (18-5-2, 9-5-1 in UFC) off balance throughout and rode the momentum of a first round in which he knocked down Browne with a right hand and then took his back, unleashing punches and going for a rear-naked choke.

The final scorecards were 29-28, 29-27, 30-27 with two judges giving Browne the third round and one judge giving Werdum a 10-8 first round. The Glendale News-Press scored it 30-26 for Werdum.

“He’s a warrior. … I respect Travis Browne, this is the second time I beat him,” Werdum told Joe Rogan in the postfight in-cage interview. “It’s a good fight, I think it’s a good fight.”

While Werdum defeated Browne for a second time following a five-round decision victory in April of 2014, the outcome was hardly the topic that drew the most buzz when all was said and done.

That likely was the scuffle following the bout as Glendale Fighting Club trainer Edmond Tarverdyan could be seen yelling at Werdum, who was seemingly mocking the booing crowd.

Werdum yelled back as he walked toward Tarverdyan before delivering a front kick to Tarverdyan’s mid-section. For an instant, it appeared both fighters’ camps were about to engage in a brawl before being separated with even ring announcer Bruce Buffer policing the situation.

Both camps were then kicked out of the cage for the reading of the official decision. As soon as it was read, Browne walked straight out of the cage.

Another topic was a first-round stop in action in which replays showed Werdum throwing a right hand that connected with Browne’s right hand, injuring at least one of his fingers. Browne motioned to referee Gary Copeland, showing him his hand. Werdum then ran in and punched Browne. Copeland then separated them and called a timeout to the fight.

“There are no timeouts in fighting. He can’t just do that. It’s part of the game,” said Marc Ratner, UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and former Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, on the broadcast.

Aside from the controversy and the action in the first round, the fight was relatively lackluster and brought about a chorus of boos.

It started, however, in surprising fashion as the 240-plus pound Werdum flew across the cage.

Werdum came out like a shot across the octagon with a flying sidekick to the face of the 6-foot-7 Browne. Werdum kept on bringing the fight, shooting meekly with Browne easily defending it, but then marching forward with punches as Browne was slow to get off. Werdum’s unorthodox offense continued with a Rolling Thunder Kick that partially connected.

Browne then showed his hand to the referee and had his head turned away when Werdum came in with a punch. After a brief discussion, the fight continued despite the hand injury.

Werdum landed a good punch that led to a spinning Browne being clinched up against the cage. From there, Werdum landed a handful of good right hands before Browne separated.

Browne defended another shot and a spinning back kick. Browne landed a pair of solid left hooks a few seconds apart and then came in with a heavy right cross that was partially blocked. Browne would later catch a high kick and swept Werdum’s leg from under him.

He let Werdum stand up and not long after was on the wrong end of a one-two, with the right cross dropping him. Werdum followed Browne to the ground and worked to his back, going for a rear-naked choke as the clock wound down.

After a loud talking-to from Tarverdyan between rounds, Browne took the center of the cage. After an exchange of punches, Werdum shot in and, as Browne defended, he favored his hand again. The fight began to lull as neither fighter threw. As both fighters hesitated, the Cleveland fans began to boo. The round picked up a little with Werdum as the more effective and taking the stanza.

Between rounds, Tarverdyan, his voice almost gone, implored his fighter to “believe in yourself.”

But the third stanza began much like the second played out with little aggression and the little Werdum was doing still more than Browne. With half of the round gone, the boos rang out.

Werdum landed a couple of good punches around a muay Thai clinch as the action picked up a bit. With 80 seconds left, Browne bounced a bit on his feet and landed a good single right hand and began throwing more. Werdum then went for a rarely seen sliding foot sweep and the action slowed again outside of a good one-two from Werdum.

Following the bout, Werdum looked to salute the crowd, clapping his hands to them, but was greeted with jeers. He then began rubbing his eyes in a mock-crying gesture and then threw his right hand up in the air.

He then turned to see Tarverdyan shouting at him. Werdum then delivered a left kick to Tarverdyan. Copeland got in between the two and pushed Tarverdyan back.

Werdum put his hands up and Browne squared up, as well. Werdum was pulled back by one his cornermen, who he then seemed to take umbrage with. Werdum then went to one of the cage doors as one of his training partners, Renato Sobral, a former UFC fighter was trying to join the fracas. All the cornermen were forced to exit the cage as the boos grew louder and Browne shook his head. As soon as the official decision was read, Browne walked out of the cage.

It was Browne’s second straight loss after a first-round technical knockout defeat against Cain Velasquez in July. Browne, who took the fight on short notice and replaced an injured Ben Rothwell, has now lost three of his last four bouts and is 2-3 since joining the Glendale Fighting Club in the summer of 2014 following the first Werdum loss.

Consequently, Browne has lost four of his last six fights, but they’ve all come against former UFC champions.