Fabricio Werdum is clearly martial arts royalty, having spent the last 20 years competing at the highest level of both MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
But at 43, the former UFC heavyweight champion knows the end is near, and it’s one reason he’s so excited to be competing for the PFL in his final run. With the promotion’s season format, he knows the schedule in 2021 is going to be a busy one.
“It’s very exciting because I fought for UFC for a long time, … I fought in Strikeforce, in PRIDE, different events in Brazil, too – Jungle Fight – and the PFL I like because, you know, I have different events to go, but I like the PFL because the season is amazing,” Werdum said. “I’m 43 years old and, uh, maybe one more year, maybe two. I don’t know yet, you know, but I like that when the guys say, ‘this season.’
“You have to fight, win, again win, win to be a champion, you
know, and they have the bonus – you win $1 million. This is amazing, you know? This for sure is good, too, but just because I want to fight more, you know? I want to fight like maybe four times in a very short time. This is my my big goal now because I did everything. I fought in the UFC, the champion. The jiu-jitsu champion, ADCC champion. My next goal now is to be a PFL champion.”
Werdum (24-9-1) kicks off his PFL run on May 6, when he faces Renan Ferreira (6-2) at PFL 2021, Week 3. The contest airs on ESPN2 from Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. If all goes to plan for Werdum, it will kick off a run to a championship that will wrap up later this year.
At that point, he’d have to decide whether his body could take the pressure of another regular-season run in 2022. He’s not sure yet whether or not that will happen, but he knows the end is coming sooner rather later, one way or another.
His wife won’t have it any other way.
“It’s so hard man, to us like a fighter, to stop the fight,” Werdum said. “Because every time I say to my wife – four years ago I said, ‘No, I’ve stopped. This is the last one, last one, last one,’ every time, and I never stop, and it’s so hard to stop doing (the thing) you like. This is my my life. I love to fight, you know? Why do I have to stop? i stand now because i’m 43, almost – yeah I think that I want to be a champion like at 44.
“I’m very excited for the the very quick fights and the end, like one more belt, you know? This is amazing. One more belt for my career.”
To hear the full interview with Werdum, check out the video above.
With ‘one more year, maybe two’ left, Fabricio Werdum looks to pack in fights with PFL
