Fabricio Werdum releases statement following controversial loss at PFL 3: “When your opponent gives up we have to respect”

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.

After video surfaced showing that Ferreira appeared to indeed tap, Werdum released a statement about the controversial finish and how he feels about the ending of the fight.

I've been fighting for 23 years and one of the first things we learn when your opponent gives up we have to respect

— Fabricio Werdum (@FabricioWerdum) May 7, 2021

I’ve been fighting for 23 years and one of the first things we learn when your opponent gives up we have to respect

For Werdum, it’s an unfortunate way for him to lose his PFL debut as the video does appear to show that Ferreira at least attempted to tap out from the triangle choke. At the same time, everyone knows that the fight isn’t over until the referee stops it, so if Werdum did let Ferreira off the hook thinking he tapped, it was partly his mistake for not seeing the submission through. As for Ferreira, it’s unfortunate for him as well as his biggest career victory is now marred in controversy. It’s possible that the win could be overturned by the athletic commission given that the video seems to indicate that he did indeed tap out.

Do you think the Fabricio Werdum loss will be overturned to a No Contest?