Werdum tipped the scales at 232.5 pounds in advance of his five-round title eliminator with Browne (245.5) in the UFC on Fox 11 main event on Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Women’s bantamweight co-headliners Miesha Tate (135.5) and Liz Carmouche (135) also met their mandatory weight requirements without issue at Friday’s official weigh-in.
Browne will enter the cage on the strength of three consecutive first-round knockouts. The Jackson-Wink MMA representative last appeared at UFC 168 in December, when he wiped out former UFC champion Josh Barnett with a series of violent elbow strikes from the clinch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas; the encounter took all of 60 seconds. Browne has delivered 14 of his 16 career victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. The 6-foot-8 Hawaiian has compiled a 7-1-1 record since arriving in the UFC in June 2010.
Werdum has not competed since UFC on Fuel TV 10 in June, when he submitted Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with a second-round armbar at Paulo Sarasate Gymnasium in Fortaleza, Brazil. A two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist, he has secured more than half (nine) of his 17 professional victories by submission. The 36-year-old Brazilian has won eight of his past 10 bouts, losing only to Alistair Overeem and Junior dos Santos. Werdum owns a 5-2 mark inside the Octagon.
UFC on Fox 11 “Werdum vs. Browne” -- which airs live on Fox at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT -- will also feature a lightweight clash pitting Jackson-Wink MMA mainstay Donald Cerrone (155.5) against former Ring of Combat champion Edson Barboza (156) and a middleweight clash pairing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 11 semifinalist Brad Tavares (185) with American Top Team’s Yoel Romero Palacio (185.5).
Three hours prior, Fox Sports 1 will carry six preliminary bouts: Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov (155.5), Thiago Alves (170.5) vs. Seth Baczynski (170.5), Jorge Masvidal (155.5) vs. Pat Healy (156), Estevan Payan (146) vs. Alex White (146), Caio Magalhaes (185.5) vs. Luke Zachrich (185.5) and Jordan Mein (170.5) vs. Hernani Perpetuo (170.5). The three remaining undercard matches will stream to UFC Fight Pass at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT, as Dustin Ortiz (125.5) meets Ray Borg (125.5), Mirsad Bektic (146) battles Chas Skelly (145) and Derrick Lewis (256) faces Jack May (252.5).