Jungle fight: vs. Gonzaga I
Amazing fight. Werdum was getting obliterated grappling, and was clearly down 2 round to zero going into the third and final round.
This was EXTREMELY early Werdum prior to developing his striking skills. (Hindsight is 20/20 of course). At that time, however, it appeared that Werdum didn't have a snowflakes chance in Hades, given that the first two round proved he was dealing with a vastly superior grappler that simply was not going to be submitted in MMA.
Not sure if you saw part 2 of this fight in the UFC. It is also worth a check if not. This was the only other Werdum MMA fight that I have seen where he DID NOT have a clear BJJ advantage over his opponent, and or simply could not come close to either controlling position, or executing a submission attempt that placed his opponent into potential danger. (Even his two fights with Big Nog showed that his BJJ was indeed superior to that of Nogiera). The major difference in their second fight in the UFC was that Werdum had by that time improved his striking to the point of competency, and KO'ing a BJJ based opponent that simply was never going to be submitted in MMA was not as hard to fathom as it was during their first fight.
Anyway, Werdum's grappling was elevated to GOD level submitting Fedor, and breaking Nogs arm. It is a long forgotten existence since then that most MMA fans that have begun following the sport in the last half dozen or so years simply do not realize. Werdum was indeed out grappled in MMA not once but twice by the same guy.
It is a damn shame that Gonzaga is inept at striking, and does not have a good chin, nor decent striking defense. That guy would be a killer if he had a standup game, and could take a half a punch!
