Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum has given strong hints that his MMA career might be over at 44-years-of-age.
Werdum had picked up a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in the final fight of his UFC run back in 2020 and had then gone on to sign for the PFL promotion.
However, his first fight there against Renan Ferreira ended in controversial fashion when his opponent appeared to tap to an arm triangle submission, only for the referee not to spot it. Werdum had eased his grip however, enabling Ferreira to get free and TKO him to claim the victory, although the result was later amended to a no-contest.
Werdum hasn’t fought since and was notable by his absence when PFL announced the roster for their 2022 season, and the veteran has now spoken out to confirm that he may have fought in the cage for the last time.
“It’s a bit complicated to say that to a fighter after 24 years of fighting,” Werdum told ag.fight. “Even my wife keeps telling me to say I’m retired, that I’m done. I tell her I won’t say it. … But talking about MMA, I think it’s hard for me to come back because it’s more dedication, staying two, three months in the United States, and I’m living in Brazil for a year and three months now. If there’s a boxing match, I’d do it. … To sum it up: boxing, yes. MMA, no. It would need to be an out-of-this-world offer to make me stop doing what I’ve been doing right now.”
If his MMA career is over then Werdum would walk away with an overall 24-9-1 (+1nc) record, with his crowning achievement being first winning the UFC’s interim heavyweight title with a TKO finish of Mark Hunt back in 2014, followed by unifying the belt with a submission win over Cain Velasquez.
