5 Things We Learned From UFC 203

This was an important fight for Fabricio Werdum. The former UFC heavyweight champion was facing Travis Browne in his first appearance since losing his title via knockout to Stipe Miocic. Prior to the shocking loss, the BJJ wizard had been on an absolute tear, dating all the way back to his time in Strikeforce where he handed legendary fighter Fedor Emelianenko the first real loss of his outstanding career.

Werdum had always been one of the most dangerous and respected submission artists in the sport, but once he developed a vicious striking game, working in a variety of boxing, kicks and muy thai knees he became a multi-dimensional threat. Big wins over Mark Hunt, Roy Nelson and fellow jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera put him in position to fight for the UFC championship, where he submitted the long-reigning but often-injured Cain Velasquez for his first taste of MMA gold.

The Brazilian needed to come out and make a statement against Browne, a man he had already defeated in his run-up to becoming champion, and from the opening seconds of the fight it looked like he was about to do just that. When the bout began Fabricio raced across the cage and landed a flying kick directly to Browne's face which looked like something out of a Jackie Chan movie. It was such a rare sight to see someone that size even attempt a move like that, much less land it perfectly. The fact that Travis didn't crumble is a credit to his toughness.

There was a bizarre moment in the fight where Browne injured his finger and basically called time out, and since only the referee has the ability to stop the fight in such situations, Werdum continued attacking, causing the ref to step in and halt the action. A doctor took a look at the finger and the fight was restarted, but any momentum that Werdum had ground to a screeching halt from that point forward. He was never in any danger of losing the fight, but it seemed to suck all the drive out of him and he coasted for the remainder of the contest.

Still, the win definitely puts him right back in contention for a shot at redemption vs. Miocic, but that's assuming that the current champ will get through his next challenger, which by all indications will likely be Cain Velasquez. A more emphatic win would have possibly allowed Werdum to move ahead of Cain in the discussion, but unfortunately for him that didn't happen.