Fabricio Werdum

By FCF Staff

Although Fabricio Werdum no longer has an opportunity to become the undisputed heavyweight champ tomorrow night at UFC 180, the fighter is confident he’ll be taking home the promotion’s interim belt on Sunday.

Due to a knee injury, which has sidelined champion Cain Velasquez until next year, Werdum will take on feared striker Mark Hunt. Since the latter took the bout on short notice, Hunt has not had the same amount of time Werdum has to prepare for the fight, and the elevation of Mexico City where it will be held.

While speaking about Saturday’s bout recently with UFC.com, here is some of what Werdum had to say:

“We are going to have a different plan than we had for Cain Velasquez because of Mark Hunt’s style of stand-up. I know he has a strong chin, but if I have an opportunity in the second or third round when he’s tired, I’ll submit him or knock him out. I will represent Latin America, Mexico, Brazil and my family. I will fight a good fight and be the new UFC champion.”

“The elevation in Mexico City is very high,” Werdum said. “I did my training at almost 12,000 ft. We knew that coming here early would make a difference. We came out two months before the fight so I could get adjusted to the elevation.”

Werdum (18-5-1) is coming off victories over Roy Nelson, Mike Russow, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and most recently, Travis Browne, since he returned to the UFC in 2012.

Hunt (10-8-1), meanwhile, KO’d Roy Nelson in his last outing, after he battled Antonion Silva to a draw last December. The only man to defeat Hunt in his last 5 fights is former champ, Junior dos Santos.

UFC 180 will take place at the Mexico City Arena and will be broadcast via pay-per-view.