The Professional Fighters League heavyweight division just got a
lot more interesting.
The organization announced on Monday that it has signed former UFC
champion Fabricio
Werdum, who will make his debut during the 2021 season. The
43-year-old Brazilian has competed for the UFC, Strikeforce and
Pride Fighting Championships over the course of a 34-bout
professional tenure that began in 2002.
Werdum joins a PFL heavyweight division that includes 2019 champion
Ali
Isaev, Denis
Goltsov, Justin
Willis and Mohammed
Usman, to name a few.
“I am excited to announce Fabricio
Werdum, the Tom Brady of MMA, has signed with the Professional
Fighters League,” PFL CEO Peter Murray said in a release. “Fabricio
is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time and knows when he
steps into the PFL cage this coming season, it is more than a
fight. The PFL sport season format provides an opportunity to
control his destiny, like all PFL fighters, with a transparent shot
to earn another major global title and the PFL million-dollar
champions belt.”
A two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club world heavyweight champion, Werdum
is coming off a first-round armbar of Alexander
Gustafsson at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25. The Kings MMA product
owns a 24-9-1 mark that includes wins over a laundry list of
notable names such as Cain
Velasquez, Fedor
Emelianenko, Mark Hunt,
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira and Alistair
Overeem, among others.
The PFL 2021 Season begins April 23 on ESPN2, with other events set
for April 29, May 6, June 10, June 17 and June 25.