Travis Browne a free agent, heavyweight title eliminator hinges on new contract

The UFC is reportedly planning a heavyweight title eliminator for this spring, but before that happens, one of the contenders has to sign a new contract.

Travis Browne (15-1-1 MMA, 6-1-1 UFC), who beat Josh Barnett to earn a No. 1 contender bout, is currently negotiating a new deal with the promotion so he can fight Fabricio Werdum (17-5-1 MMA, 5-2 UFC), his manager today told MMAjunkie.

“There’s no deal done between the UFC and Travis Browne right now, but all the talks that have been had up to this point indicate that we will be getting something done in the very near future, and they’ve always been fair with Travis,” said John Fosco of VFD Marketing, who’s represented the fighter since 2010.

Browne knocked out Barnett with vicious elbows at this past month’s UFC 168 event. Prior to the bout, the UFC confirmed that the winner would fight Werdum, who previously was designated the No. 1 contender before champion Cain Velasquez (13-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) was benched with a shoulder injury.

Werdum today told MMAFighting.com that the title eliminator would be a five-round headliner and is targeted for March, so time is of the essence for the Browne camp.

“The UFC would like the deal done yesterday,” said Fosco, who added Browne “wants to be a UFC champion” when asked whether he was free to entertain offers from other promotions.

Werdum said he has trained with Browne and implied the knockout artist would struggle if they hit the ground.

Most MMA observers believed Barnett would attempt to smother Browne against the cage and use his grappling skills to gain an advantage at UFC 168. As soon as Barnett lined up for a takedown, however, he took a knee and elbows from Browne that rendered him unconscious.

Afterward, Browne took to the mic to warn those who thought he was a one-dimensional fighter. The Barnett victory was his third straight via knockout, and according to Fosco, served as a statement to the UFC that he is worth bigger dollars at the negotiating table.

Following Browne’s knockout of ex-champ Alistair Overeem at this past August’s UFC Fight Night 26 event, UFC officials were still apparently skeptical.

“We were talking about extending an agreement, and the UFC made it very clear that they like Travis and they think he’s a great fighter,” Fosco said. “But based on his resume of opponents, he hadn’t proven that he could beat the cream of the crop in that division, and that was something we agreed with. Overeem was a great win, but it’s not like it was the second or third time in a row he beat a top 10, let alone a top 5, opponent.

“So we were in agreement, and we were willing to take less money for the Barnett fight to prove and put our money where our mouth is that Travis is that guy, and he is that good. The UFC even said they believe it, but they run a business, and he hasn’t done it yet. Because of that, we decided to [not sign a new deal] because they let us.”

Fosco expressed confidence that the numbers will line up this time around.

“We have no reason to think they won’t,” he said. “From the indications thus far, every indicator points to our interests being aligned, and both sides will be satisfied.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.