Fabrício Werdum

At 47 years old, Fabrício Werdum has this physical status:

Fabrcio Werdum (Portuguese pronunciation: [fab'sju ved]; born 30 July 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and former UFC Heavyweight champion who competes in the Heavyweight division. He is also a 4-time Brazilian Jiujitsu world champion, a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Heavyweight Champion and European jiujitsu champion. He has a black belt in Brazilian jitsu, Judo, and Muay Thai. Werdum has competed in PRIDE, the UFC, Strikeforce, and Jungle Fight. Werdum ranked #14 in the UFC heavyweight rankings at the time of his release from the UFC.

Early life and education

Werdum, a born in Porto Alegre, began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu after being choked unconscious by his ex-boyfriend's neck choke. Winner Behring of Marcio Corleta at the Porto Alegre Academy. After a success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling, he began training in MMA. He came from Spain to help his mother, who had been living in Madrid. He began teaching Brazilian jitsu in Madrid and other Spanish cities as a purple belt. Despite only training with white and blue belts, he became a BJ World Champion after being promoted to the rank of black belt by Master Sylvio Behring three years later.

Personal life

Werdum and his partner Karine have two children. Werdum has been living in Spain for ten years, and his mother is of Spanish descent, and he speaks fluently in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Werdum was a Spanish-language commentator for the United FC for years, and he and the Brazilian flag are often seen at the octagon as well as the Brazilian one.

Werdum lived and trained in Zagreb, Croatia, from 2004 to 2006.

Werdum and a lifeguard saved drowned teenagers at a beach near his house in Torrance, California, in January 2019.

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Mixed martial arts career

Werdum's early fights were with the names Jungle Fight, Millennium Brawl, and World Absolute Fight. He held a 4–0-1 record, including a win over BJJ legend Gabriel Gonzaga. He was Mirko Filipovis sparring partner at the time, and the Croat was the primary reason for his debut in PRIDE.

Werdum made his PRIDE debut against Tom Erikson in 2005, winning by submission. In the first round of the PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, he met Roman Zentsov by a triangle choke in 6:01 of the first round. Werdum suffered his first defeat in his MMA career when he lost to Sergei Kharitonov via split decision in PRIDE 30. Werdum defeated Jon Olav Einstein by a majority decision in PRIDE 31 in early 2006.

Before entering the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, he had a record of 3–1. Alistair Overeem, a Dutch fighter, was defeated by kimura in the second round of the tournament, his first match of the tournament. He then met former PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo No. 1 in the quarter-finals, losing by decision.

Werdum appeared in 2 Hot 2 Handle for a brief period before defeating the Russians by triangle choke armbar combo in a Heavyweight match.

Fabro Werdum made his UFC debut in April 2007 at UFC 70: Nations Collide. Andrei Arlovski, the former UFC Heavyweight champion, was defeated by unanimous vote after losing by unanimous decision. He began to train in Brazil at Chute Boxe Academy, becoming more agile and showing improvement in his striking, especially in Muay Thai attacks.

Werdum defeated Gabriel Gonzaga in a rematch at UFC 80 on January 19, 2008. Werdum defeated TKO in the TKO fight. He survived an early strike with only to help the Muay Thai clinch and connect with several knee strikes before rushing Gonzaga to the ground and finishing him with punches.

Werdum's next fight was against Brandon Vera at UFC 85. In the 1st round, he defeated Vera by TKO. Werdum had a full mount with fewer than 30 seconds to go in the round and had a string of unanswered punches. Despite the fact that the official time of the stoppage was 4:40, the decision to suspend the match was booed due to the little amount of time remaining in the round.

Werdum was expected to win in his next fight at UFC 90, but by debuting junior dos Santos, he was disqualified in 1:20 of the first round. Werdum's deal was terminated by the NFL after the loss, and the UFC suspended him. Werdum was not consulted directly about his dismissal, and initially denied the news that he was fired from the NFL was not a rumor.

Strikeforce was the result of his release from UFC Werdum after leaving the team. On August 15, 2009, he made his UFC debut at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg, defeating fellow UFC veteran Mike "MAK" Kyle. In 1:24 of the first round, he was deemed by submission. Werdum won by a narrow margin over Antônio "Bigfoot" Silva at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, who put on a unified decision.

At Strikeforce: Fedor Emelianenko, the former Pride Heavyweight Champion, met Werdum on June 26, 2010. Werdum won by a huge surprise in the first round, causing Fedor to tap via triangle/armbar 1:09. Emelianenko's 28-fight win streak came to an end, boosting Werdum's ranking to the Top of the Heavyweight rankings. Sherdog ranked him as the third best Heavyweight in MMA. He gained the honor of being the first man to win over both of Emelianenko brothers in the process.

On June 18, 2011, a match between Alistair Overeem and Strikeforce: Dallas took place as part of an eight-man Heavyweight Tournament. Werdum lost by majority decision (30–27, 30–27, and 29–28). He has been chastised for "pleading" Overeem in order to be in a situation favorable to him due to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu experience.

Werdum returned to the United Football through contract-signing on October 8, 2011. It was speculated that his return fight would be against Brendan Schaub, a war in which he expressed an interest. The war, on the other hand, didn't materialize.

Werdum did not face Roy Nelson at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012, but for his return match, he lost to him. He won the contest by a majority vote (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27). The back-and-forth confrontation was given Fight of the Night awards.

Werdum then met Mike Russow at UFC 147 on June 23, 2012. Werdum won the match against Russow in the first round by TKO.

On the second season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil, Werdum coached Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. On June 8, 2013, the two teams faced off in a rematch at the end of the season: No. 4th vs. Werdum. In the second round, he won the fight by verbal submission due to an armbar. In addition, his victory gives him the distinction of being the only fighter to win submissions over both Fedor Emelianenko and Antônio Rodrigo Nogales, both of whom were former PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champions.

In a Heavyweight title eliminator bout, Werdum faced Travis Browne at UFC on Fox 11. Despite being a betting underdog and at a disadvantage in terms of striking, Werdum dominated the fight for nearly all five rounds. He was able to win the war by unanimous decision (49–46, 51–45, and 50–45).

Werdum and heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez had been selected as coaches for the inaugural edition of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, with the two teams set to meet each other on November 15, 2014 at UFC 180.

Velasquez pulled out of the match due to a knee injury, which was confirmed on October 21, 2014. Werdum was defeated by Mark Hunt in the interim UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 180. Despite being knocked early on, he won the second round by TKO, becoming the new UFC interim Heavyweight Champion. Werdum also received his first Performance of the Night bonus award as a result of his win.

On June 13, 2015, a rescheduled brawl with Velasquez took place in Mexico City's UFC 188. Werdum won the third round by guillotine choke submission in a back-and-forth match. Werdum earned his second straight Performance of the Night bonus award, thanks to his victory. Werdum unveiled the UFC's heavyweight titles, transforming the undisputed champion and becoming the undisputed champion. Werdum also signed a new, eight-fight deal with the United FC later this year.

Velasquez's rematch was scheduled to take place on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82. However, Velasquez was forced to miss the match due to a back injury on January 23rd and was replaced by Stipe Miocic. Werdum revealed on the following day that he would not be attending the tournament due to a personal injury as well as a sporting illness. The match with Miocic was postponed and took place on May 14th, 2016, at UFC 198. Werdum lost the first round by a knockout after rushing in with an attempted flurry of punches and being struck with a counter right hook, his first defeat since June 2011.

Werdum was supposed to face Ben Rothwell at UFC 203 on September 10, 2016. Rothwell pleaded out of the match on August 11th citing a knee injury and being replaced by former competitor Travis Browne. Werdum won the fight by a unanimous decision. Travis' coach Edmond Tarverdyan yelled Werdum, who shoved the coach in the chest and raised his hands to protect himself after the match. Both combat teams were required to get involved to separate the two guys, which culminated in both fighter corners being compelled to get involved to distinguish the two guys. Werdum was not disciplined for the occurrence.

Werdum was supposed to face Cain Velasquez in a rematch at UFC 207 on December 30, 2016. However, the Nevada State Athletic Commission refused to allow Velasquez to fight, finding that after physical examinations and interviews that he was unfit to compete.

Ben Rothwell's match was postponed and is scheduled to take place at UFC 211 on May 13th. The match was called off due to Rothwell's failure of a drug test.

Alistair Overeem's third match took place at UFC 2103 on July 8, 2017. Despite being close to finishing Overeem in the third round, Werdum was disqualified by a somewhat contentious majority decision.

Werdum was scheduled to face Derrick Lewis on October 7, 2017 at UFC 216. However, Lewis was unable to participate due to back problems on the day of the tournament. Werdum has decided to face Walt Harris, the last-minute replacement. Werdum returned to an armbar after winning a single leg takedown just over a minute into the game.

Werdum defeated Marcin Tybura on November 19, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura. He dominated the majority of the action and won the game by unanimous vote.

At UFC Fight Night 127, Werdum confronted Alexander Volkov on March 17, 2018. He lost the fourth round of the back-and-forth war due to a knockout.

Werdum was supposed to face Alexey Oleynik on September 15, 2018 at UFC Fight Night 136. However, Fabrcio Werdum was warned on May 22nd for a possible USADA doping offence. The drug in question, trenbolone, was discovered in September 2018, and as a result, he was banned from participation for two years. He was able to return in May 2020. Werdum, who has two fights remaining in his contract, has announced that he has asked for a release from the UFC. Werdum's 2-year suspension was reduced to ten months after a lengthy absence.

Werdum was expected to face Alexey Oleynik on May 9, 2020 at UFC 250. However, Dana White, UFC's president, announced on April 9, that this event had been postponed, and that the match would take place on May 9, 2020 at UFC 249. Werdum lost the match by a split decision.

On Saturday, Werdum met Alexander Gustafsson, the latter making his debut at heavyweight. In round one, he was able to win the game by an armbar submission. This win earned him the Award for Best Performance of the Night. Werdum did not want to re-sign with the UFC after the fight, so he did not re-sign.

Werdum announced on November 16, 2020 that he had signed a multi-fight deal with the Professional Fighters League promotion and would play in the 2021 PFL heavyweight tournament. Renan Ferreira, a Brazilian player, made his promotional debut against him on May 6, 2021 at PFL 3. In the first round, he lost due to a technical foul play. Ferreira was tapped out in replays, but Werdum had him locked into a triangle choke right before Ferreira finished Werdum. Ferreira's TKO victory over Werdum was overturned to a no contest due to the controversy surrounding the stoppage, according to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's.

Werdum was supposed to meet Brandon Sayles at PFL 6. Werdum had to withdraw due to the injuries suffered in his last fight, but it was later revealed.

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