Even though he has achieved much in the sport, ex-Ultimate Fighting Championship champ Fabricio
Werdum still holds one former foe in much higher regard than
himself.
Werdum stands as the only man on the planet to ever submit Fedor
Emelianenko in MMA competition, doing so atop a Strikeforce card in 2010 to shock the world. Following
the news that Brazilian channel Combate will carry events through
Bellator MMA and Professional Fighters League even though its
UFC arrangement has ended, Werdum has drawn the assignment as a
color commentator for
Bellator 290. Speaking to Sherdog on Wednesday about the event,
Werdum spoke at length about his former foe, his plans for the
future and much more.
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“Nobody ever did what [Emelianenko] did in heavyweight division,”
Werdum explained. “Ten years undefeated, no doubt he must be
considered the GOAT. The other four, I would put [Mirko
Filipovic] ‘Cro Cop,’ [Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira] ‘Minotauro,’ Cain
Velasquez and myself.”
Of those other competitors he listed above himself, “Vai Cavalo”
has submitted three of those. Werdum landed the historic triangle
armbar on Emelianenko in 2010, then tapped Nogueira with an armbar
in 2013 and went on to submit Velasquez with a guillotine choke in
2015 to claim the UFC heavyweight throne. Knowing that the urge to
keep competing is nearly impossible to ignore – after all, at 45,
Werdum is still planning to fight again – the Brazilian expects
that Emelianenko’s rematch with Ryan Bader
will not be his final fight.
“I have no doubt he will return,” Werdum said without missing a
beat. “And I can tell, because I’m living exactly the same feeling.
Fedor is still performing at a good level and the Russian market
pays very well. Being the biggest Russian idol of the sport, I have
no doubt that soon he will get an excellent proposal to fight for
his fans, and he will return. By the way, I’ll be available for our
[rematch] whenever he wants.”
For his own return to action, Werdum plans on fighting in 2023. He
has not set foot in a cage since an unfortunate no contest with
Renan
Ferreira in PFL in 2021, where he elicited an unseen tap only
to get punched out by Ferreira.
“I got an excellent proposal to fight in Eagle [FC on] March 11 [in
2022],” he admitted. “There was no way to refuse, but the event was
over. I was already returning to a heavy training routine, and I
have to admit, when it happened, I lost a little bit of my
motivation, [which explains] why I have so much business stuff
going on right now. To return, I must have a 100% sure proposal.
Now I have another proposal for April 29, and PFL also wanted me in
[the] heavyweight [grand prix] starting April 1, but I [am] not in
the mood to fight three fights in a [row]. But for sure, a
superfight in PFL or a boxing match, I’ll do this year. I’m just
living one day after another.”
As several other aging greats have done, the elite grappler has
taken a hard look at boxing. Fellow heavyweight Francis
Ngannou recently left the confines of the UFC to potentially
box, and Werdum wanted to weigh in on Ngannou’s decision, as well
as how MMA fighters should approach these negotiations.
“Ngannou is not crazy,” Werdum stated. “If he said no to an
eight-million-dollar proposal, it is because he had a clear
possibility to get 15, possibly in that partnership with [Tyson]
Fury. But personally, I don’t like those deals [where all of the
fights are held under] boxing rules. MMA fighters must start to
negotiate at least hybrid rules, or one round in MMA and one round
in boxing.”
Now that Ngannou is no longer under a UFC contract, the vacant
title will be between Jon Jones and
Ciryl
Gane. Werdum expected that Jones would eventually fight at
heavyweight, and he has a great deal of confidence in the former
light heavyweight king.
“Jon
Jones always walked [at] 100 kg (220 pounds) to reach 93 (205
pounds). Of course, he always trained with heavyweights. Now, he is
working out for two years to reach heavyweight division. I have no
doubt he must be totally adapted. With or without Ngannou, I
believe he will be the future UFC heavyweight champion,” Werdum
concluded.