Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is coming back from retirement, but has no interest in a rematch with his last opponent.
After facing fellow Brazilian Renan Ferreira back in May 2021 through PFL (Professional Fighter’s League) and originally losing by TKO, ‘Vai Cavalo’ got the win overturned when footage showed ‘Problema’ tapping out to a triangle choke early in the fight. For that reason, Werdum prefers not to take on a fighter he now considers to be ishonest.
In an interview with Ag Fight, Werdum explained he does not wish to find himself in a situation similar to the first one again. In fact, if the 2022 tournament forces him to face Renan in a rematch, Fabricio says he would break the rules on purpose just to get back on Ferreira.
“I wouldn’t fight a guy I consider dishonest. What if happened again, in a similar situation? I’d rather fight a real fighter, who owns his mistakes. He was dishonest then. Had he admitted what he did, I’d talk to him, it wouldn’t be a problem. Everybody is a little bad in the fight world, but what he did was pure evil. He was sleazy. Had it been me, I’d admit to being wrong. I’d say I had tapped out, but I regret it.”
“If I have to (face Ferreira again).” Werdum continued. “I won’t miss the opportunity to stomp his head. If he gets to be evil, so do we. So if that’s where we’re headed, he can’t make mistakes. I might be disqualified, but I’d stomp his head.”
Before the Ferreira outing, Werdum (24-9-1-1 NC) scored a submission win over Alexander Gustafsson, back in July 2020. The win snapped a two-fight skid for the 44-year-old, who had lost to Alexey Oleynik and Alexander Volkov, respectively in May 2020 and March 2018.
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