Advertisement

Close

There were times in his MMA career when Fabricio Werdum seemed destined to be remembered as a very good – but probably not great – heavyweight fighter. Then came UFC 188 in Mexico City.

Advertisement

Close

In what was clearly his finest moment in the Octagon, Werdum scored a third-round submission victory over UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, winning the belt and making a case that he belongs among the division’s all-time best fighters.

Werdum, a three-time Brazilian jiu jitsu world champion, now can claim victories over two of the sport’s greatest heavyweights: Velasquez and the great Russian champion Fedor Emelianenko.

In both of those bouts, Werdum was an underdog. In both, he won by submission.

His climb to the top of the MMA world has been relentless, if not always successful. He suffered disheartening losses to Andrei Arlovski in 2007, Junior Dos Santos in 2008 and Alistair Overeem in 2011 but has also scored wins over such notable fighters as Gabriel Gonzaga, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, Roy Nelson and Travis Browne. 

When and why did you start training for fighting? When? I started when I was 20. Why? All I can say is it involved a woman.

Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? 3x World Jiu Jitsu Champion (black belt) Jiu Jitsu European Champion, Jiu Jitsu Pan-American Champion (three times)

Specific accomplishments in pro competition? UFC heavyweight champion, Jiu Jitsu World Champion (black belt, three times), 2x (2007, 2009) ADCC World Champion, TUF Brazil 2 and TUF LATAM coach

Ranks in martial arts styles? Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Brown Belt in Judo. Black Belt Muay Thai

Do you have any heroes? My family

What is your favorite technique? kimura

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It's a recognition of my hard work and training. I've been waiting for this moment to truly test my skills among the best of the UFC again. I'm ready for challenge.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No

What was your job before you started fighting? BJJ teacher

Werdum was expected to face Velasquez for the heavyweight title at UFC 180, but a knee injury forced the champion to bow out. That opened the way for an interim title fight with Mark Hunt, which Werdum won by knockout in the second round after being knocked down twice.

He finally got his shot at Velasquez, who had lost just once in 14 career fights, in June 2015. Werdum spent more than a month training in Mexico’s high altitude to prepare for the title bout and was clearly the fresher of the two.

Werdum pounded Velasquez while standing, and when Velasquez tried to take the fight to the ground, he quickly applied a guillotine choke that forced his weary opponent to tap out.

Although Werdum has five losses on his record, two were close decisions (Sergei Kharitonov in 2005 and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2006). He brought a five-fight win streak into his title match with Velasquez and proved worthy of wearing the championship belt around his waist.

• Russow bout was first fight in Brazil since KO win over Ebenezer Fontes Braga on May 15, 2004