Fabricio Werdum Youtube Videos
Fabricio Werdum Bio
Fabrício 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, Judo, and Muay Thai. Werdum has competed in Pride Fighting Championships, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and made his Strikeforce debut on August 15, 2009. He was the first fighter to decisively defeat Fedor Emelianenko in a mixed martial arts fight. Werdum is currently ranked the #3 heavyweight in the world by Sherdog.
Early life[edit]
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.
Mixed martial arts career[edit]
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.
Pride Fighting Championships[edit]
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.
Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]
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. 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.
Strikeforce[edit]
After leaving the UFC Werdum then signed with Strikeforce. 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. The victory ended Emelianenko's 28-fight unbeaten streak while propelling Werdum's status up the Heavyweight rankings. He was ranked as the third best Heavyweight in MMA by Sherdog. 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.
Ultimate Fighting Championship return[edit]
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. The bout, however, did not materialize.
Instead, for his return match, Werdum faced Roy Nelson at UFC 143 on February 4, 2012. He won the fight via unanimous decision. The back and forth action earned Fight of the Night honors.
Werdum next faced Mike Russow on June 23, 2012 at UFC 147. Werdum won the match against Russow in the first round via TKO.
Werdum coached opposite Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil. The two met in a rematch at the conclusion of the season, on June 8, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV 10. He won the fight via verbal submission due to an armbar in the second round. The victory also gives him the distinction of being the only fighter to hold submission victories over both Fedor Emelianenko and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira both whom were former PRIDE FC Heavyweight champions.
Schools and instruction[edit]
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 partners, Lucas Pires, at Werdum Combat Team.
Championships and Accomplishments[edit]
Mixed martial arts[edit]
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- Strikeforce
- 2010 Submission of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- 2010 Upset of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- World MMA Awards
- 2010 Submission of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- Sherdog
- 2010 Submission of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- 2010 Upset of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- Bleacher Report
- 2010 Submission of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- 2010 Upset of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- MMAFighting
- 2010 Submission of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- FIGHT! Magazine
- 2010 Upset of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
- FightMatrix
- 2010 Upset of the Year vs. Fedor Emelianenko on June 26
Submission grappling[edit]
- International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation
- 2004 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Black Belt Gold Medalist
- 2003 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Black Belt Absolute Bronze Medalist
- 2003 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Black Belt Gold Medalist
- 2003 Pan American Championships Black Belt Absolute Silver Medalist
- 2003 Pan American Championships Black Belt Bronze Medalist
- 2002 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Brown Belt Bronze Medalist
- 2002 Pan American Championships Brown Belt Gold Medalist
- 2001 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Purple Belt Silver Medalist
- 2001 Pan American Championships Purple Belt Absolute Gold Medalist
- 2001 Pan American Championships Purple Belt Gold Medalist
- 2000 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Blue Belt Absolute Gold Medalist
- 2000 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championships Blue Belt Gold Medalist
- 2000 Pan American Championships Blue Belt Gold Medalist
- Abu Dhabi Combat Club
- 2011 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Silver Medalist
- 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Gold Medalist
- 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Gold Medalist
- 2005 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Bronze Medalist
- 2003 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Absolute Bronze Medalist
- 2003 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships Silver Medalist
Personal life[edit]
Fabricio has one daughter with his wife Karine.
Mixed martial arts record[edit]
See also[edit]
- List of current UFC fighters
- List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Fabricio Werdum BJJ Heroes
- Professional MMA record for Fabrício Werdum from Sherdog
- PRIDE profile
MMA Shirts
