UFC on FUEL TV 10's Fabricio Werdum doesn't expect to be fan favorite in Brazil

Saturday’s UFC on FUEL TV 10 headliner is an all-Brazilian affair that will take place in front of Brazilian fans. But come fight night, Fabricio Werdum thinks fellow heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be the clear crowd favorite.

“For sure, the fans will be divided since we’re both Brazilian, though without a doubt, ‘Minotauro’ has many more fans in Brazil due to his storied career,” Werdum told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “He started well before me and had many excellent victories while representing Brazil.”

Werdum, who headlines Saturday’s FUEL TV-televised event at Paulo Sarasate Arena in the city of Fortaleza, specifically points to Nogueira’s time in PRIDE. Like fellow Brazilian Wanderlei Silva, the since-shuttered Japanese promotion made an international star out of Nogueira. Werdum also competed for the promotion, but he didn’t gain that type of notoriety until his following stints in the UFC and Strikeforce.

Additionally, Nogueira (34-7-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC), who recently coached opposite Werdum (16-5-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) on “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2,” recently picked up two big wins in Brazil over Brendan Schaub (in a “Knockout of the Night” performance) and Dave Herman (“Submission of the Night”). He expects that to carry over to UFC on FUEL TV 10.

Still, Werdum thinks he’ll have enough supporters of his own. During a recent UFC 147 win over Mike Russow in Belo Horizonte, he experienced the effect they can have.

“The entire place was chanting (my nickname) ‘Vai Cavalo,’ and that additional energy motivated me even more,” he said. “In other places fans have rooted for me, but in Brazil it’s something very different. I will never forget that fight. It was very special because of the crowd support. It gives you strength.”

When Werdum, who’s ranked No. 5 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie.com MMA heavyweight rankings, takes on No. 11-ranked Nogueira, he expects a title shot to be on the line. Following recent wins over Roy Nelson and Russow, as well as Strikeforce victories over Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Silva, he’s on a 5-1 run and aiming for Cain Velasquez‘s UFC title.

Sure, he’d still like a rematch with Junior dos Santos, who defeated him way back at UFC 90. Werdum especially wanted the rematch when dos Santos was champ.

But he’s not counting out the possibility of it happening in the future.

“Dana White said that if I beat Nogueira, which I know will not be easy, I will have the opportunity to fight for the belt,” he said. “And I imagine that during this coming year, anything can happen. Who knows. Maybe Junior will challenge me if I hold the belt one day.”

For the latest on UFC on FUEL TV 10, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.