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Former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is eager to fight again after two years away from the Octagon.
It seems former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is happy he will not have to until much longer to return to the Octagon, after being away for over two years due to a failed USADA test and a suspension.
Originally scheduled to meet Alexey Oleynik at UFC 250’s co-main event, on May 9, ‘Vai Cavalo’ will still perform on the same day, at least according to the UFC’s official announcements, but on UFC 249’s preliminary card, after the April 18 card was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, while UFC 250 ended up moving to a later date.
In an interview with Combate, Werdum explains he is happy he won’t have to wait at all to fight again, because he wants to make up for the time spent away and at the age of 42, Fabricio believes he has no more time to waste.
“I was going to fight at UFC 250, in Brazil. I know lots of people were looking at that date because UFC 249 got cancelled, but now it’s back on. They chose me and I was very happy. Although I’m on the prelims, I don’t really care about that. I’d like to be on the main card, but being able to fight again after two years because a contamination I was unable to prove, it just makes me want to fight. It doesn’t matter where. If it’s the first of the night, I’m happy, because I’ll fight and then leave. I’m happy to be on the card, it’s pretty important, there will only be great fights. I know that if I were in Brazil, I’d be on the main card, but being able to fight is the most important thing. I have two fights left in the UFC, I want to be done with that soon so I can make up for the years I’ve been away. I want to be more active so I have to fight for five more years. I think I’ll fight for one or two years more, but you never really know.”.
Currently self-isolating in Big Bear, Colorado, with his familiy, Werdum explains he does not plan to spend any more extra time than necessary in Florida while the coronavirus pandemic is still no under control. In order to avoid catching the virus, Fabricio points out he will only spend three days in Jacksonville before heading back to Colorado.
“It’s all set. We’re leaving on May 7, we don’t even have to be there a week before because there’ll be no media. I arrive on the 7th and leave on the 10th. I’ll go back to Big Bear, where I’ll be with my family. It was the best decision because I was able to train at an altitude, which makes a big difference. I run up the mountains, I train online with Rafael Cordeiro, Cobrinha and Renato Babalu has been helping, too. It reminds me of Mexico, when I fought Cain Velasquez and Mark Hunt with altitude. I feel like I’m phisically and mentally prepared because of the experience I have. Everything will turn out fine.”
In his last outing, back in March 2018, Fabricio Werdum (23-8) lost to Alexander Volkov via knockout. Before that, the 42-year-old was on a two-fight winning streak, with wins over Walt Harris and Marcin Tybura.
Now, Werdum is expected to take on Alexey Oleynik at UFC 249, in Jacksosville, Florida, on May 9. The card is scheduled to be headlined by an interim lightweight title fight between Tony Ferguson and Justin Gaethje.