Fabricio Werdum News

Josh Evanoff - March 22, 2023

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is now a free agent. ‘Vai Cavalo’ has been out of action since his clash with Renan Ferreira at PFL 3 in May 2021. In that outing, the latter initially scored a first-round knockout win over the former champion after a submission attempt. Months later, the fight was overturned to a no-contest after Ferreira was seen tapping in a triangle attempt from Werdum.

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.

Harry Kettle - March 4, 2022

Colby Covington has hit back at Tai Tuivasa’s claim that he called the cops on Fabricio Werdum after their boomerang incident. In the immediate aftermath of his win over Demian Maia down in Brazil, all the way back in 2017, Colby Covington thought it’d be a good idea to get on the mic and call the nation “a dump”. The Brazilians in attendance, understandably, didn’t take too kindly to those remarks, and haven’t let go of that grudge since.

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.

Cole Shelton - May 10, 2021

The New Jersey Athletic Control Board has overturned Renan Ferreira’s controversial win over Fabricio Werdum at PFL 3. Werdum headlined the card and just seconds into the fight, he got the fight to the ground. He then threatened a triangle choke and it looked like it was tight, but Ferreira landed ground and pound and got the first-round KO win over Werdum.

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

A heavyweight bout between Fabricio Werdum and Renan Ferreira headlined tonight’s PFL 3 event from Atlantic City, New Jersey. Werdum (24-9-1 MMA), a former UFC heavyweight champion, was returning to action for the first time since July of 2020 where he had scored a first round victory over Alexander Gustafsson. That win had snapped a two-fight losing skid for Frabricio, as ‘Vai Cavalo’ had previously suffered losses to Alexander Volkov and Alexei Oleinik respectively.

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 - November 16, 2020

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has decided to take his talents to the Professional Fighters League as he’s signed with PFL. Werdum recently became a free agent after his UFC contract expired following a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson on Fight Island. Despite being 43 years old, Werdum received plenty of interest in free agency and it looked like he was bound to sign with Bellator rematch Fedor Emelianenko. However, Werdum on Monday announced that he has decided to sign with PFL and compete in its 2021 heavyweight tournament. The Brazilian hinted last week that he could sign with PFL, and now it’s official.

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.