Werdum gets love in Mexico before UFC 180 fight

MEXICO CITY -- A funny thing happened to Fabricio Werdum in the buildup to the Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view event he's headlining Saturday.

Werdum, a Brazilian submission specialist who expected to be fighting on hostile ground, became an adopted son to fans south of the border, where UFC 180: Werdum vs. Hunt takes place at Mexico City Arena (10 p.m. ET, pay per view). A crowd of 20,000 is expected.

"When I'm with the people, I feel good," Werdum told USA TODAY Sports. "The people are truly treating me so well. The love that they are giving me, I like it to be like this with the people.

"I'm a fighter that likes to be with his friends. I like to play. I like to joke around, and the Mexican people are like that, too. They like to joke around, and we all like to be happy."

Werdum (18-5-1 mixed martial arts, 6-2 UFC) originally was expected to face Cain Velasquez (13-1, 11-1), the current heavyweight champion, in the main event. But a knee injury forced Velasquez, an American fighter of Mexican descent, to withdraw. New Zealand's Mark Hunt (10-8-1, 5-2-1) stepped in to fight Werdum for a newly created interim title.

"Injuries happen," Werdum said. "Am I sad because this happened? No, because I'm happy to be fighting here, and it's going to be a very big event.

"We know that Mark is a great opponent, too, and of course in the future, after the fight, I know I want to fight against Cain Velazquez."

While UFC 180 marks the promotion's long-awaited debut in Mexico, Werdum, 37, is not a new face for the country's MMA fans. Fluent in Spanish, in addition to Portuguese and English, Werdum is part of the commentary team for the UFC's broadcasts in Mexico and recently was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, the first version of the reality series to focus on Spanish-speaking fighters.

So with Velasquez hurt, Werdum has become the home-crowd hero, at least for this event.

"I do feel like I represent Latin America when I'm working with the UFC," Werdum said. "I receive a lot of messages on Instagram, Facebook and everywhere. I see that the people have a lot of love for me."

Werdum's connection with fans was evident at an event Wednesday at the Interactive Museum of Economics, where "Vai Cavalo" led a few verses of traditional Mexican folk songs before going through a workout session.

"Werdum has done a lot of PR work in Mexico and Latin America," said Rodrigo Del Campo, editor-in-chief of Mexico's Indiscutido.com, which covers MMA. "He speaks great Spanish. ... He has a friendly style, so people have related toward him and drifted toward him. A lot of fans were even kind of mixed (before Velasquez's injury): 'We have to root for Cain, but we like Fabricio.'"

But Werdum's appearance is far from just a sentimental one. He's No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports MMA heavyweight rankings. As a Pride and Strikeforce veteran, he has consistently fought at the sport's highest level for more than a decade.

Now with most of the world's top big men fighting for the UFC, he can stake a claim as one of the best heavyweights in history by holding UFC gold.

Werdum, who has spent the last two months training outside Mexico City to help him adjust to the altitude, says his connection to the people will propel him to the interim belt — and a rebooked date with Velasquez.

"If I would have fought against Cain, I understand the people would have been with him," Werdum said. "But now I'm very happy to have all those fans with me, and surely that energy is going to help me a lot come (Saturday)."

Morgan writes for MMAJunkie. Follow him on twitter@MMAjunkiejohn