Fabricio Werdum confirms UFC departure; reveals plans of fighting Fedor Emelianenko
One of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners to ever step foot inside the Octagon, Fabricio Werdum believes his time at the UFC is over and is now looking forward to booking a high-profile rematch with fellow heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko under the Bellator banner.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum defeated three-time light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson by a first-round submission on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Island 3 event.
The fight against the Swede marked Fabricio Werdum's final obligation on his current contract with the UFC and he is clear in his head about the fact that he wants to move away from the UFC and continue his career elsewhere.
“There’s no possibility (of renewing my UFC contract),” Werdum said to AG Fight. “All those years with the UFC have been good. We had a good relationship. We disagreed sometimes, but those things happen in a normal relationship. I’m thankful to the UFC for all these years. It’s practically where I made my career. I’ve always wanted to join the UFC and they gave me that opportunity twice. I was fired and asked to come back because I kept bothering them about it. But the cycle is over. It was a good cycle so far. Now I want to move on with my career, I want to do it my way. Maybe I’ll fight for a different company, I’ve fought for many of them, I want to have choices.”
Fabricio Werdum gunning for a high-profile rematch against Fedor Emelianenko
Fabricio Werdum revealed that he’s keen to leave the promotion and get a rematch booked with the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, who the former defeated in an unbelievable upset in 2010.
“I want to fight with Fedor, 100 percent,” Werdum added. “I respect him a lot. I want to give this opportunity to him to fight with me again. This has history: Me vs. Fedor in 2010. Ten years later, everybody wants to see this fight. I don’t know where, but for sure I want to fight with Fedor because I respect him. In my mind, he is the best in the world.”