| Fabricio Werdum | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 30, 1977 Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| Other names | Vai Cavalo ("Go Horse") |
| Nationality | Brazilian |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 246 lb (111.6 kg; 17.6 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Reach | 78 in (198 cm) |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Judo |
| Fighting out of | Porto Alegre, Brazil |
| Team | Kings MMA |
| Rank | 2nd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu[1] Black belt in Judo[2] Black belt in Muay Thai[3] |
| Years active | 2002–present (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 20 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 4 |
| By submission | 8 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By decision | 4 |
| Draws | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Notable students | Mirko Filipović |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Fabricio Werdum (Portuguese pronunciation: [faˈbɾisju veʁˈdũ]; born July 30, 1977) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist, a two-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, a two-time ADCC world heavyweight champion and European Jiu-Jitsu champion. He holds black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,[1] Judo,[2] and Muay Thai.[3] Werdum has competed in Pride Fighting Championships, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and made his Strikeforce debut on August 15, 2009.[4] He is currently ranked the #4 heavyweight in the world by Sherdog[5] and the #6 heavyweight fighter in the world by MMAWeekly.[6] He is the first fighter to decisively defeat Fedor Emelianenko in mixed martial arts competition.[7][8][9]
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Born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Werdum started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after a recommendation from his ex-girlfriend. He trained with Marcio Corleta at the Porto Alegre Academy, Winner Behring. After success in competitive BJJ and submission wrestling, he started his career in MMA.
He arrived in Spain to join his mother, who had moved to the city of Madrid some years before. At the age of 17, soon after his arrival in Spain, when he was just a purple belt, he started teaching the art of BJJ in Madrid and other cities of Spain. Despite only training with white and blue belts, he became BJJ World Champion, being promoted to the rank of black belt by Master Sylvio Behring 3 years later.[10]
Werdum's early fights were with the promotions Jungle Fight, Millennium Brawl, and World Absolute Fight. He boasted a 4–0–1 record, including a win against BJJ specialist Gabriel Gonzaga. He was Mirko Filipović’s sparring partner at that time and the Croat was the main reason for his debut in Pride.
In 2005, Werdum made his Pride debut against Tom Erikson, winning by submission. Later that year he faced Roman Zentsov in Pride Final Conflict 2005, he was able to defeat Zentsov by a Triangle choke in 6:01 of the first round. Werdum then had the first loss in his MMA career, when he lost to Sergei Kharitonov via split decision in Pride 30. Then in early 2006, Werdum defeated Jon Olav Einemo by unanimous decision in Pride 31.
He accumulated a record of 3–1 in Pride before entering the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix. His first match of the tournament was against Dutch fighter Alistair Overeem, and he won via kimura in the second round. He then faced former Pride FC heavyweight champion, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira in the quarter finals, losing via decision.
Fabricio then had a short stint in 2 Hot 2 Handle, facing Alexander Emelianenko in a Heavyweight bout, and beating the Russian by submission via arm triangle choke.
Fabricio Werdum debuted in the UFC on 21 April 2007 at UFC 70: Nations Collide. He faced former UFC Heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, losing a unanimous decision. He began to train in Brazil at Chute Boxe and he is now more aggressive, showing improvement in striking, particularly his Muay Thai. At UFC 80 on January 19, 2008, Werdum met Gabriel Gonzaga in a rematch. Werdum won the bout by TKO. He weathered an early striking onslaught only to secure the Muay Thai clinch and connect with several knee strikes before taking Gonzaga to the ground and finishing him with punches. Werdum's next fight was against Brandon Vera at UFC 85. He defeated Vera by TKO in the 1st round. Werdum achieved full mount with less than 30 seconds to go in the round and connected with a number of unanswered punches. The decision to stop the bout was booed due to the small amount of time remaining in the round, although the official time of stoppage was 4:40.
In his next fight at UFC 90, Werdum was heavily favored to win but was KO'ed in 1:20 of the first round via uppercut by Junior dos Santos. After the loss Werdum's contract was terminated by the UFC.[11] Since Werdum was not contacted directly about the termination he had no idea he had been cut and initially denied the news of him no longer being in the UFC as just a rumor.[12]
Werdum is currently signed with Strikeforce.[4] He made his debut at Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg on August 15, 2009, against fellow UFC veteran Mike "MAK" Kyle. He won by submission in 1:24 of the first round. Werdum followed that up with a unanimous decision victory over Antonio Silva at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers.
Werdum faced former Pride FC heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko on June 26, 2010, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum. In an enormous upset victory, Werdum forced Fedor to tap via triangle/armbar 1:09 into the first round.[13][14] The victory ended Emelianenko's 28-fight unbeaten streak[13][15] while propelling Werdum's status up the Heavyweight rankings. He was ranked as the third best Heavyweight in MMA by Sherdog.[16] The victory over Fedor also gave him the distinction of being the only man to hold victories over both of the Emelianenko brothers.
A rematch with Alistair Overeem took place on June 18, 2011, at Strikeforce: Dallas as part of an eight-man heavyweight tournament. Werdum lost to Overeem by unanimous decision. He has received some criticism for "pleading" Overeem to fight him on the ground in order to get into a position favourable to him due to his Brazilian Jiu Jitsu background.[17] The loss lowered his ranking only one spot to #4 in the world according to sherdog's official rankings
On November 8, 2011, Werdum made his return to the UFC via contract-signing. It was speculated that his return fight might be against Brendan Schaub, a fight he expressed an interest in.[18] The bout, however, did not materialize.
Instead, for his return match, Werdum is expected to face Roy Nelson at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012.[19]
Until November 2006, Werdum was the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach to Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic and is associated with Team Werdum BJJ Academy, located in Zagreb, Croatia [1]. Also until 2008 Fabricio Werdum was a BJJ head coach in Madrid, Spain for the Barcelo Boxing Gym. Werdum is currently training with the Chute Boxes MMA team.[2]
Werdum currently teaches in Venice, CA at his new school with his long-time training partner, Lucas Pires, at Werdum Combat Team.[20]
Fabricio has one daughter with his wife Karine.[21]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 20 matches | 14 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By submission | 8 | 0 |
| By decision | 2 | 4 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 14–5–1 | Alistair Overeem | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Overeem vs. Werdum | June 18, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Dallas, Texas, United States | Quarterfinal of Strikeforce HW Tournament. |
| Win | 14–4–1 | Fedor Emelianenko | Submission (triangle armbar) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum | June 26, 2010 | 1 | 1:09 | San Jose, California, United States | Sherdog 2010 Upset of the Year; MMA Awards 2010 Submission of the Year |
| Win | 13–4–1 | Antonio Silva | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers | November 7, 2009 | 3 | 5:00 | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 12–4–1 | Mike Kyle | Submission (guillotine choke) | Strikeforce: Carano vs. Cyborg | August 15, 2009 | 1 | 1:24 | San Jose, California, United States | |
| Loss | 11–4–1 | Junior dos Santos | KO (punches) | UFC 90 | October 25, 2008 | 1 | 1:21 | Rosemont, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 11–3–1 | Brandon Vera | TKO (punches) | UFC 85 | June 7, 2008 | 1 | 4:40 | London, England | |
| Win | 10–3–1 | Gabriel Gonzaga | TKO (punches) | UFC 80 | January 19, 2008 | 2 | 4:34 | Newcastle upon Tyne, England | |
| Loss | 9–3–1 | Andrei Arlovski | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 70 | April 21, 2007 | 3 | 5:00 | Manchester, England | |
| Win | 9–2–1 | Alexander Emelianenko | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 2H2H: Pride & Honor | November 12, 2006 | 1 | 3:24 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | |
| Loss | 8–2–1 | Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira | Decision (unanimous) | Pride Critical Countdown Absolute | July 1, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal |
| Win | 8–1–1 | Alistair Overeem | Submission (kimura) | Pride Total Elimination Absolute | May 5, 2006 | 2 | 3:43 | Osaka, Osaka, Japan | Pride 2006 Openweight Grand Prix Opening Round |
| Win | 7–1–1 | John-Olav Einemo | Decision (unanimous) | Pride 31 | February 26, 2006 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Loss | 6–1–1 | Sergei Kharitonov | Decision (split) | Pride 30 | October 23, 2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 6–0–1 | Roman Zentsov | Submission (triangle armbar) | Pride Final Conflict 2005 | August 28, 2005 | 1 | 6:01 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 5–0–1 | Tom Erikson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Pride 29 | February 20, 2005 | 1 | 5:11 | Saitama, Saitama, Japan | |
| Win | 4–0–1 | Ebenezer Fontes Braga | KO (punch) | Jungle Fight 2 | May 15, 2004 | 2 | 1:28 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 3–0–1 | Gabriel Gonzaga | TKO (punches) | Jungle Fight 1 | September 13, 2003 | 3 | 2:11 | Manaus, Brazil | |
| Win | 2–0–1 | Kristof Midoux | Submission (triangle armbar) | WAFF 2: World Absolute Fight 2 | March 22, 2003 | 1 | 4:11 | Marrakech, Morocco | |
| Draw | 1–0–1 | James Zikic | Draw | Millennium Brawl 8 | September 22, 2002 | 3 | 5:00 | High Wycombe, England | |
| Win | 1–0 | Tengiz Tedoradze | Submission (triangle choke) | Millennium Brawl 7 | June 16, 2002 | 1 | N/A | High Wycombe, England |