Fabricio Werdum is best known as a dangerous ground fighter, but tonight he showed off his striking skills as he finished Mike Russow inside of a round at UFC 147 in front of his home fans.
From the very early stand-up exchanges Werdum looked to be the better striker and was connecting with his strikes while just missing out on his attempts to lock up the clinch in order to fire off knee strikes.
Russow, who’s face was already showing signs of damage, tried to pin him up against the cage, but Werdum suprisingly easily shrugged him off and went back to throwing heavy leather.
Then came the beginning of the end for Russow as Werdum followed up a kick with a big uppercut which dropped his opponent to the mat.
Russow tried to turtle up on his knees and Werdum began to rain down strikes on him. The referee warned Russow to do something or he’d stop the fight, but he wasn’t able to and so the fight came to an end with just 2.28mins on the clock.
Good stuff from Werdum who’s definitely improved his striking a lot since his first spell in the UFC a few years ago and is now looking like someone who could mount a serious title challenge in the future.
