Looks like a bad news for currently injured Junior dos Santos as the UFC is not willing to wait for him to recover for first dibs at Fabricio Werdum's UFC Heavyweight Championship title.
UFC boss Dana White made some notable announcements on an array of newsworthy topics on Thursday, June 18.
White revealed some predictions for upcoming mega-fights via Twitter's "Periscope" service, further noting who according to him would be the first challenger of UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.
According to White, UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum's first challenger will either be Andrei Arlovski or Stipe Miocic. However, he noted that he has not yet officially made up his mind yet.
Junior Dos Santos should have received the first crack at Werdum's title, but he is out dealing with an injury, according to records on MMA News.
Rumors swirling around the freshly minted heavyweight champion's new opponent suggested that the UFC had already handed the spot to Arlovski. White, however, debunked the rumors during a Q&A chat on Periscope saying, "I know there's reports out there that Arlovski has it but that's not true," he added, "It's either going to be Stipe or Arlovksi."
The 36-year-old Arlovski has made an unbelievable career turnaround, rattling off five straight victories, with three of those coming through some sort of knockout, 5th Round noted.
Miocic, on the other hand has won four of his last five fights. His loss during his current run came in a questionable unanimous decision to dos Santos.
Junior dos Santos has been prepping hard for his first shot at Werdum's title as the currently third-ranked heavyweight, who should be Werdum's first test, is currently sidelined with an undisclosed injury.
"Dos Santos should get that fight, I agree," White noted, "Dos Santos should get that fight, but he's hurt and he can't take it."
Dana White did not say anything about when the UFC would reveal who or when Werdum would make his first defense against, however considering that they are not willing to wait for dos Santos, it looks like it will come sooner than later.
