It was a short stint in the Professional Fighters League for
Fabricio
Werdum.
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The former UFC heavyweight champion announced during an interview
with Canal
Encarada that he has fulfilled the terms of his contract with
the organization and is free to pursue other offers.
“My contract with PFL is over,” Werdum said (translation via
MMAFighting.com). “I did that fight and had all that problem,
and stayed out for two years. Not because of that [loss], but I’ve
been doing this for 25 years. I needed this time off, and the
contract ended.”
The 45-year-old Brazilian competed just once under the PFL banner.
It was a controversial bout, as “Vai Cavalo” initially suffered a
first-round technical knockout loss to Renan
Ferreira on May 6, 2021, but the result was
overturned to a no contest because Ferreira appeared to tap to
a triangle choke from Werdum moments earlier. Referee Keith
Peterson did not see the initial tap, however.
Werdum later
withdrew from the 2021 PFL season as a result of damage
suffered in that bout, and he has not competed for the league since
then. Werdum said that he is not retired from MMA, but would only
compete if he received the right offer.
Werdum has compiled a 24-9-1 career mark while fighting for
organizations such as the UFC, Strikeforce and Pride Fighting
Championships. His resume includes victories against the likes of
Cain
Velasquez, Mark Hunt,
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira, Fedor
Emelianenko and Alistair
Overeem, among others.