UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will be taking on a familiar face for his first title defence.
https://twitter.com/UFCTonight/status/631623312867639296
UFC president Dana White confirmed to UFC Tonight on Wednesday that Velasquez/Werdum II is officially booked, but a time and place has yet to be announced.
Werdum (20-5-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Velasquez (13-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) are no strangers to being matched up against each other.
The two warriors were originally scheduled to headline UFC 180, but Velasquez pulled out with an injury. Mark Hunt stepped in to be brutally knocked out by Werdum in the main event which earned the Brazilian the interim strap. Werdum finally got his crack at Velasquez;s belt at UFC 188 usurped his throne with a guillotine choke in the third round.
Werdum goes into his first defence riding a six-fight winning streak, leaving him with a perfect record in the promotion since making his return from Strikeforce in 2012.
The rematch means that Velasquez will have fought just three opponents over the past five years after facing Junior Dos Santos three times, Antonio Silva twice and now Werdum for a second time.
Such was Werdum's dominance in the first encounter that the fight announcement has received some backlash from fans on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/MMAdamMartin/status/631630253627207680
https://twitter.com/IanBainMMA/status/631591342389465088
https://twitter.com/mma_ruudboy/status/631712749345763328
https://twitter.com/jkhobb/status/631726219642437632
https://twitter.com/Homeless_Infant/status/631722785400754177
https://twitter.com/guicruzzz/status/631625758981648384
https://twitter.com/DaveConvery/status/631715625656672258
https://twitter.com/KevMeds/status/631682869648211968
