By any metric, Fabricio Werdum is one of the most accomplished heavyweights in mixed martial arts history. A multiple-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, Werdum excelled in Pride, Strikeforce, and then the UFC, where he won the world heavyweight title in 2015.
Still, calling him the MMA heavyweight GOAT is a bit of a stretch. That honor undoubtedly belongs to either Fedor Emelianenko – whom Werdum shocked the world by beating in 2010 – or Stipe Miocic, who took the UFC title from Werdum in 2016. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what the Professional Fighters League billed Werdum as on Monday, when the organization announced that it had signed the former world champion for its 2021 season.
The announcement seemed to come somewhat out of left field. Werdum’s UFC contract expired after his submission win over Alexander Gustafsson in July, and while it was known he would likely find a new home, it seemed like most people assumed he would head to Bellator, which has made a habit of swiping former UFC stars who had chosen not to re-sign. Instead, he’s chosen the PFL, an organization that has been dormant since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s easy to see what’s attracting Werdum to the PFL. At 43 years old, Werdum knows he’s approaching the end of his fighting career – he said as much in an interview with ESPN this week – and he wants to get the most possible out of what years his body has left. The PFL’s mainstream sports-type structure, which consists of a brief two-fight “regular season” and then an eight-man playoff bracket, ensures that he’ll get to fight as many as five times in a year.
Werdum obviously wants to stay busy in his twilight years, and if that’s his main goal, the PFL is the perfect choice. He could either stay in the UFC as a fringe top-15 guy and fight twice a year, or fight five times in 2021 for the PFL as the prohibitive favorite to win the $1 million prize as their heavyweight season champion.
He’s certainly not going there for top-flight competition. The PFL’s official website only lists three heavyweights: UFC washout Justin “Big Pretty” Willis, who lost every ounce of his credibility when Curtis Blaydes beat his ass and then gave him the immortal nickname “Big Titty”; prospect Mohammed Usman, brother of UFC champ Kamaru, inexperienced and incredibly raw; and defending champion Ali Isayev, a 36-year-old former Olympic wrestler from Dagestan who has seemed quite frustrated with the PFL as of late.
A healthy, focused Werdum would be a major favorite to win a PFL title. Always one of the premier grapplers in mixed martial arts, Werdum had a stunning career renaissance in his late 30s, emerging as a confident and dangerous striker to go along with his brilliant BJJ skills. It was enough to make him a champion. But Werdum had fallen on some rougher times in the last couple years: Alexander Volkov knocked him out in March 2018, and after an ensuing PED suspension, Werdum looked out of shape and unmotivated in a split decision loss to Alexey Oleinik.
He looked great against a faded Gustafsson, but Werdum has quite obviously lost a step since five years ago, when he was on top of the world. However, his excellent BJJ chops remain, and they’ll lend a bit more credibility to the PFL’s heavyweight division.
In a larger sense, it’s incredibly good news that the PFL can even splash the cash to bring someone like Werdum in. The PFL canceled its 2020 season after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s been the only major MMA promotion in the world to not run any shows at all this year. Several of its stars, like women’s lightweight champion Kayla Harrison, having been taking fights elsewhere. For quite a while, whether or not the PFL would actually return for a 2021 season seemed murky.
The signing of Werdum indicates, quite clearly, that the PFL is going to be around. You don’t figure that a star like Werdum would commit himself if A) they had the cash to match his price, which probably isn’t cheap, and B) he had certainty that a season would be held.
We’ll see if the cost produces a reward for the PFL – at this point in time, I don’t see Werdum really moving business that much, but he, alongside former UFC contender and Bellator champion Rory MacDonald, are relatively big names within the sport who could add some eyes to the product.
But with the financials of the deal not known, it seems to make sense. PFL gets a name to headline its heavyweight division. Fabricio Werdum gets the chance to stay busy and earn some cash in his final years. Now, we wait to see if and when he actually fights for the PFL.
The Big Fight 