Fabricio Werdum News

Josh Evanoff - May 25, 2022

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has announced his intentions to get into boxing. The Brazilian was last seen in action at PFL 3 in May 2021. That bout being a no-contest against Renan Ferreira that was originally labeled a knockout loss for Werdum. The bout was overturned after it was discovered his foe had tapped during a previous armbar attempt.

Susan Cox - April 26, 2022

Fabricio Werdum is not done with mixed martial arts after all and is eyeing a PFL super fight this summer. The former UFC heavyweight champion withdrew from the PFL 2022 season earlier this year and claimed he was retired from cage fighting, but not boxing. The Brazilian (24-9 MMA) had suffered a brain injury which had him opt out of the Professional Fighters League.

Harry Kettle - April 19, 2022

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has done a U-turn on his retirement and plans to compete for PFL this summer. Just a matter of weeks ago, Fabricio Werdum noted in an interview that there was a good chance he would be retiring from competitive mixed martial arts. He was initially scheduled to compete in PFL’s heavyweight tournament this season but after pulling out, the veteran admitted that his days in the sport may well be coming to an end.

Josh Evanoff - March 29, 2022

One of the heavyweight greats might be hanging up the gloves. PFL’s Fabricio Werdum has announced he’s likely retired. The former UFC heavyweight champion headed over to PFL in 2020. He wound up only having one bout in the promotion’s 2021 season due to injury. That sole fight was a no-contest with Renan Ferreria, originally a loss that was overturned due to a missed tap.

Harry Kettle - November 29, 2021

UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum has given his thoughts on what will go down between Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou at UFC 270. In January, we’ll finally see Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou collide with the undisputed UFC heavyweight title on the line. Ngannou is the reigning champion, but many believe Gane will pose a significant threat to his reign as the king of the division.

Adam Martin - July 4, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum called for the Fedor Emelianenko rematch, suggesting that “Fedor was never the GOAT.” It was just over 11 years ago in Strikeforce that Werdum and Emelianenko met inside the cage and the Brazilian pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time when he tapped the Russian out with a triangle-armbar. Fans have always wanted to see a rematch between these two rivals, but it has never happened. With Emelianenko set to return to the Bellator cage later this year in Russia, Bellator president Scott Coker has admitted that a number of big names have been in touch with his company to fight Emelianenko, naming fighters such as Josh Barnett, Junior dos Santos, and Alistair Overeem among the possibilities.

Adam D Martin - June 3, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has been forced to withdraw from his upcoming slated PFL 6 fight with Brandon Sayles. MMAFighting.com first reported that Werdum has been forced out of the tournament, though details of his withdrawal are scarce at the moment. According to the report, it is unknown at this time if Werdum will remain part of the PFL heavyweight tournament. There has also not been a replacement opponent given to Sayles yet for his upcoming fight.

Adam Martin - June 1, 2021

Heavyweight Renan Ferreira called the matchmaking in PFL “very shady” and claims the promotion favors rival Fabricio Werdum. Ferreira picked up the biggest win of his career when he finished Werdum with strikes in a big upset at PFL 3 last month, but the result of the contest was overturned to a No Contest. The New Jersey Athletic Control Board ruled that Ferreira had tapped out to a submission attempt from Werdum moments before the finish happened. Ferreira remains adamant that he never tapped, but video evidence appeared to be inconclusive either way. Regardless, the result of the fight was overturned, which means Ferreira gets one point instead of six in the PFL heavyweight bracket. Werdum also gets one point due to the overturned result.

Adam D Martin - May 7, 2021

PFL heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum talked about the phantom tap by Renan Ferreira, saying he didn’t want to pull a Rousimar Palhares. Werdum lost via a first-round TKO after Ferreira landed a number of hammer fists on him from top position and finished him with ground and pound. However, replays after the fight showed that a triangle choke that Werdum had locked in moments earlier had caused Ferreira to tap out. The referee didn’t see the tapout and the fight continued, with Werdum losing by knockout. Considering what it means to win and lose in the tournament for the $1 million dollars, this is a big loss for Werdum and he is filing an appeal with the commission.

Adam D Martin - May 7, 2021

Fabricio Werdum released a statement following his controversial loss at PFL 3, saying that “when your opponent gives up we have to respect.” Werdum took on Renan Ferreira in the main event of Thursday’s PFL 3 event. In the first round of the fight, Werdum was able to get a takedown and get the fight to the floor. He began searching for submissions and appeared to have a triangle choke locked in. On replay, it appeared as though Ferreira tapped, and Werdum slightly loosened the grip, but the referee did not see any tap and the fight continued on. A few seconds later and Werdum was being stopped with strikes as Ferreira smashed him with hammerfists from the top as he picked up a massive upset win in the PFL 3 heavyweight regular season.

Christopher Taylor - May 6, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has already filed an appeal following his controversial loss to Renan Ferreira at PFL 3. Werdum (24-10-1 MMA) was making his PFL debut in tonight’s event headliner against a fellow Brazilian in Ferreira (7-2 MMA).

Christopher Taylor - May 6, 2021

Pros react after tonight’s PFL 3 headliner between heavyweight fighters Fabricio Werdum and Renan Ferreira ends in controversial fashion. Werdum (24-10-1 MMA), a former UFC heavyweight champion, was returning to action this evening for the first time since July of 2020, where he had scored a first round victory over Alexander Gustafsson.

Adam Martin - March 9, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and women’s champion Kayla Harrison are among those set to compete at the upcoming PFL 3 card. Werdum takes on Renan Ferreira in a heavyweight tournament bout that mark’s the former UFC champion’s PFL debut. Werdum is coming off of a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in his last fight inside the Octagon, and he takes on Ferreira here, another PFL newcomer. A Team Nogueira member, Ferreira is coming off of a submission win over current UFC heavyweight Jared Vanderaa in LFA. You’d have to imagine that Werdum will be a big favorite to win the fight, but perhaps there’s more to Ferreira than meets the eye.

Adam Martin - February 9, 2021

Fabricio Werdum and Kayla Harrison are among the fighters in the upcoming PFL season three men’s heavyweight and women’s lightweight brackets. PFL’s third season kicks off in April and the promotion has been busy in the last week releasing the rosters for its light heavyweight, welterweight, lightweight, and featherweight rosters. On Tuesday, PFL released the rosters for heavyweight and women’s lightweight. Among the participants in these tournaments are former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and women’s star Kayla Harrison.

Adam Martin - February 3, 2021

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum says he would submit Jon Jones on the ground in a potential cross-promotional superfight. Werdum, who will take part in PFL’s upcoming third season, was the former UFC heavyweight champion, a title that Jones is hoping to soon win. In Werdum’s final fight in the UFC, he picked up a big upset win when he tapped out Jones’ former rival Alexander Gustafsson. Werdum then signed with PFL, where he hopes to win the $1-mllion dollar grand prize. While winning the PFL title is his current goal, he still has Jones on his mind for a future fight someday between the PFL and UFC champions.

Adam Martin - December 1, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum explained the secret to fighting into his 40s and still performing at a high level in MMA. Werdum is now 43 years old but he is still winning fights against elite opposition who are younger than him. In his last outing on Fight Island back in July, Werdum picked up a huge upset win when he submitted Alexander Gustafsson. After being left for dead following a decision loss to Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 249 this past May, Werdum showed that he still has plenty of gas left in the tank when he beat Gustafsson.

Tom Taylor - November 13, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is now eyeing a spot on the PFL roster after negotiations with Bellator MMA fizzled out. Werdum, who parted ways with the UFC earlier this year, has recently been linked to a rematch with fellow heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko after the Bellator MMA banner.

Adam Martin - October 23, 2020

UFC superstar Conor McGregor and free agent heavyweight Fabricio Werdum traded shots on Twitter over the drug testing in Bellator. McGregor took to social media this week to criticize Bellator for its drug testing procedures. Unlike the UFC which has USADA in addition to the testing from athletic commissions, Bellator relies on the commissions of the jurisdictions where it holds events to provide its drug testing. McGregor believes that Bellator should step up its game and get to the UFC’s level when it comes to bringing in a third-party such as USADA to test.