Fabricio Werdum decided to move his training camp to Mexico in preparation for a heavyweight championship fight with Cain Velasquez on Nov. 15, but a bad choice almost ended his life.
Werdum moved to Nevado de Toluca with Rafael Cordeiro, Felipe Werdum, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and eight other coaches and sparring partners, and their first day of training almost became their last, as they were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a gasoline generator.
“It was terrible,” Werdum told MMAFighting.com. “We came to Nevado de Toluca to train, and we didn’t see the house before renting it. There was no power, nothing, and it was really cold there. I was there with 12 other guys from my team, and they got us a gasoline generator to get power. They usually left the generator outside the house, but put this one inside the house.
“We were training inside the house, had dinner and went to bed. They didn’t tell us to turn that thing off before sleeping. I woke us in the middle of the night with a huge headache, nausea, and couldn’t get out of bed. Everyone was dizzy. My brother got out of his bed and managed to turn that thing off. We almost died from poisoning.
“We went to the hospital, everybody throwing up and with diarrhea. The doctor said that we would have died in two hours if nobody had turned that thing off.”
Werdum and his team moved to another house in Jiquipilco, 60 miles away from Nevado de Toluca, and the Brazilian heavyweight now laughs at the dangerous situation he’s been through.
“What doesn’t kill make you stronger. That made me stronger,” Werdum said with a laugh. “We’re fine now. That was a huge scare. We almost died. Imagine the headlines: ‘Werdum moves his camp to Mexico and dies with his whole team.’ We were searching for a breath of fresh air and almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning [laughs].”
Werdum, who coached the Latin American version of The Ultimate Fighter reality show in opposite to heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, headlines UFC 180 in Arena Ciudad de Mexico on Nov. 15.
Fabricio Werdum decided to move his training camp to Mexico in preparation for a heavyweight championship fight with Cain Velasquez on Nov. 15, but a bad choice almost ended his life.
Werdum moved to Nevado de Toluca with Rafael Cordeiro, Felipe Werdum, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and eight other coaches and sparring partners, and their first day of training almost became their last, as they were poisoned by carbon monoxide from a gasoline generator.
“It was terrible,” Werdum told MMAFighting.com. “We came to Nevado de Toluca to train, and we didn’t see the house before renting it. There was no power, nothing, and it was really cold there. I was there with 12 other guys from my team, and they got us a gasoline generator to get power. They usually left the generator outside the house, but put this one inside the house.
“We were training inside the house, had dinner and went to bed. They didn’t tell us to turn that thing off before sleeping. I woke us in the middle of the night with a huge headache, nausea, and couldn’t get out of bed. Everyone was dizzy. My brother got out of his bed and managed to turn that thing off. We almost died from poisoning.
“We went to the hospital, everybody throwing up and with diarrhea. The doctor said that we would have died in two hours if nobody had turned that thing off.”
Werdum and his team moved to another house in Jiquipilco, 60 miles away from Nevado de Toluca, and the Brazilian heavyweight now laughs at the dangerous situation he’s been through.
“What doesn’t kill make you stronger. That made me stronger,” Werdum said with a laugh. “We’re fine now. That was a huge scare. We almost died. Imagine the headlines: ‘Werdum moves his camp to Mexico and dies with his whole team.’ We were searching for a breath of fresh air and almost died from carbon monoxide poisoning [laughs].”
Werdum, who coached the Latin American version of The Ultimate Fighter reality show in opposite to heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, headlines UFC 180 in Arena Ciudad de Mexico on Nov. 15.
Three mixed martial artists are part of the new Scorpion King movie. Scheduled to be released on DVD early next year, “The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power” features UFC heavyweights Roy Nelson and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and MMA legend Royc…
Three mixed martial artists are part of the new Scorpion King movie. Scheduled to be released on DVD early next year, “The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power” features UFC heavyweights Roy Nelson and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and MMA legend Royce Gracie. Watch the MMA stars join Victor Webster in the new Scorpion King trailer.
The first female strawweight fighters to win the inside the Octagon will collide in December.
Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who scored unanimous decision victories in their first appearances inside under the UFC banner, are set to battle at the UFC on FOX 13 card in Phoenix on Dec. 13. MMAFighting.com confirmed the match-up with sources close to the situation following a report from polish website MMA News.
Unbeaten in MMA, Gadelha improved to 12-0 with a win over Tina Lähdemäki at UFC Fight Night 45 in July. Jedrzejczyk, who is also undefeated in MMA with a 7-0 professional record, scored a unanimous decision victory over Juliana Lima in her first bout inside the Octagon at UFC on FOX 12. The winner could earn a shot at the UFC gold next.
A week later, Tim Means will make a trip to Brazil to battle The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 finalist Marcio Alexandre Jr., who will cut down from middleweight to welterweight, at UFC Fight Night 58, the promotion announced Friday.
Means (21-6-1) enters the bout coming off a win over former Shooto welterweight champion Hernani Perpetuo in July. “Lyoto” (12-1) suffered the first loss of his professional career at TUF: Brazil 3 middleweight final, tapping to Warlley Alves in a middleweight bout.
UFC Fight Night 58 takes place in Barueri, Brazil, on Dec. 20, and is headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. C.B. Dollaway.
UFC also announced a new match-up for UFC 183. Brazilian middleweight Thiago Santos will take on Andy Enz in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 13.
Santos (9-3) looks to get back on track following a decision loss to Uriah Hall, while Enz (7-2) tries to secure his first win under the UFC banner after back-to-back losses to Clint Hester and Marcelo Guimaraes.
The first female strawweight fighters to win the inside the Octagon will collide in December.
Claudia Gadelha and Joanna Jedrzejczyk, who scored unanimous decision victories in their first appearances inside under the UFC banner, are set to battle at the UFC on FOX 13 card in Phoenix on Dec. 13. MMAFighting.com confirmed the match-up with sources close to the situation following a report from polish website MMA News.
Unbeaten in MMA, Gadelha improved to 12-0 with a win over Tina Lähdemäki at UFC Fight Night 45 in July. Jedrzejczyk, who is also undefeated in MMA with a 7-0 professional record, scored a unanimous decision victory over Juliana Lima in her first bout inside the Octagon at UFC on FOX 12. The winner could earn a shot at the UFC gold next.
A week later, Tim Means will make a trip to Brazil to battle The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 finalist Marcio Alexandre Jr., who will cut down from middleweight to welterweight, at UFC Fight Night 58, the promotion announced Friday.
Means (21-6-1) enters the bout coming off a win over former Shooto welterweight champion Hernani Perpetuo in July. “Lyoto” (12-1) suffered the first loss of his professional career at TUF: Brazil 3 middleweight final, tapping to Warlley Alves in a middleweight bout.
UFC Fight Night 58 takes place in Barueri, Brazil, on Dec. 20, and is headlined by Lyoto Machida vs. C.B. Dollaway.
UFC also announced a new match-up for UFC 183. Brazilian middleweight Thiago Santos will take on Andy Enz in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 13.
Santos (9-3) looks to get back on track following a decision loss to Uriah Hall, while Enz (7-2) tries to secure his first win under the UFC banner after back-to-back losses to Clint Hester and Marcelo Guimaraes.
Ready for his Bellator debut on Friday night, on the main card of Bellator 129 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Andre Santos wants a fast track to a title shot.
Entering the promotion after the end of the tournament system, “Chatuba” is confident that an impressive win over Strikeforce veteran James Terry will be huge for his plans in the promotion.
“That’s what I want: win my fights and go to the top of the division,” Santos told MMAFighting.com. “Mr. Scott Coker and Mr. Rich Chou, I’m here to stay.”
The Brazilian veteran, who tapped 15 opponents with anaconda chokes in his 36-9 run in MMA, welcomes Terry’s takedown attempts at Bellator 129.
“I think he’s tough, but I don’t see him as that dangerous,” Santos said. “His best weapon is his takedown, but if we go to the ground, even on the bottom, I’m at home. I believe I can submit him, but I won’t be desperate to go to the ground with him. I have worked on my striking a lot recently, my boxing and muay thai, and I feel ready to stand and fight anyone. This is one of the best moments of my career.”
Santos, who wasn’t selected to compete at the second edition of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil in 2012, makes his first appearance under the Bellator banner after racking up a five-fight finishing streak in 2013, including a couple second-round finishes in a 22-day span in Russia.
“When my manager Stefano Sartori brought me the offer from Bellator, we made the right choice,” Santos said. “I want to make a name for myself in Bellator. We have great athletes in Bellator, and I want to do my part to help this promotion grow even more.”
Ready for his Bellator debut on Friday night, on the main card of Bellator 129 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Andre Santos wants a fast track to a title shot.
Entering the promotion after the end of the tournament system, “Chatuba” is confident that an impressive win over Strikeforce veteran James Terry will be huge for his plans in the promotion.
“That’s what I want: win my fights and go to the top of the division,” Santos told MMAFighting.com. “Mr. Scott Coker and Mr. Rich Chou, I’m here to stay.”
The Brazilian veteran, who tapped 15 opponents with anaconda chokes in his 36-9 run in MMA, welcomes Terry’s takedown attempts at Bellator 129.
“I think he’s tough, but I don’t see him as that dangerous,” Santos said. “His best weapon is his takedown, but if we go to the ground, even on the bottom, I’m at home. I believe I can submit him, but I won’t be desperate to go to the ground with him. I have worked on my striking a lot recently, my boxing and muay thai, and I feel ready to stand and fight anyone. This is one of the best moments of my career.”
Santos, who wasn’t selected to compete at the second edition of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil in 2012, makes his first appearance under the Bellator banner after racking up a five-fight finishing streak in 2013, including a couple second-round finishes in a 22-day span in Russia.
“When my manager Stefano Sartori brought me the offer from Bellator, we made the right choice,” Santos said. “I want to make a name for myself in Bellator. We have great athletes in Bellator, and I want to do my part to help this promotion grow even more.”
RIO DE JANEIRO — Two years ago today, Brazil had four of the eight UFC titles. Two years have passed, and Jose Aldo is the only Brazilian left at the top.
Anderson Silva, who dominated the middleweight division inside the Octagon from 2006 to 2013, believes that one of the reasons why fighters like Renan Barao, Junior dos Santos and himself lost the UFC gold is because they stopped evolving.
“It’s natural. Brazilians forgot some things to focus more on other things. We forgot the evolution,” Silva said in a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. “It’s important. I speak for myself. In my last two fights, I should have evolved more, but I didn’t follow this evolution.”
Silva suffered his only losses under the UFC banner to current middleweight champion Chris Weidman in 2013, and he decided to change a few things in his training camp for his upcoming bout against Nick Diaz, scheduled for UFC 183 on Jan. 31.
“That’s why I brought in (Ricardo) De La Riva, (Luiz Carlos) Dorea, (that’s why) Rogerio Camoes is always seeking evolution, (Josuel) Distak and the whole X-Gym team, to see how we can evolve,” he said.
Silva says Aldo will successfully defend his title against Chad Mendes on Oct. 25.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Two years ago today, Brazil had four of the eight UFC titles. Two years have passed, and Jose Aldo is the only Brazilian left at the top.
Anderson Silva, who dominated the middleweight division inside the Octagon from 2006 to 2013, believes that one of the reasons why fighters like Renan Barao, Junior dos Santos and himself lost the UFC gold is because they stopped evolving.
“It’s natural. Brazilians forgot some things to focus more on other things. We forgot the evolution,” Silva said in a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. “It’s important. I speak for myself. In my last two fights, I should have evolved more, but I didn’t follow this evolution.”
Silva suffered his only losses under the UFC banner to current middleweight champion Chris Weidman in 2013, and he decided to change a few things in his training camp for his upcoming bout against Nick Diaz, scheduled for UFC 183 on Jan. 31.
“That’s why I brought in (Ricardo) De La Riva, (Luiz Carlos) Dorea, (that’s why) Rogerio Camoes is always seeking evolution, (Josuel) Distak and the whole X-Gym team, to see how we can evolve,” he said.
Royce Gracie was the latest member of the UFC Hall of Fame to join Bellator, and he’s excited to help the promotion.
Signed to be the new official brand ambassador for Bellator, the MMA legend will interact with fans during MMA shows, making promotional appearances and “be involved in a co-branded merchandise line that will debut in 2015,” Bellator announced on Oct. 8.
Gracie will make his debut as an ambassador at the Bellator Fan Fest on Oct. 21 in San Diego, Calif., and he’s looking forward to helping the promotion in its expansion.
“I’m a good friend of Scott Coker for five or seven years, he’s involved with martial arts for a long time, so he called me and made this offer,” Gracie told MMAFighting.com. “I’m here to help.”
Winner of three UFC tournaments between 1993 and 1994, Royce Gracie is the fifth member of the UFC Hall of Fame to join Bellator, after Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar, Ken Shamrock and Randy Couture left the UFC for the rival promotion.
“I don’t think they made this offer to somehow attack the UFC,” Gracie said. “They see my value, and invited me to be their ambassador.
“The UFC was my home and will always be my home,” he added. “I helped creating and building that home. Now, Bellator is a relatively new organization, and I’m here to help them grow even more.”
Gracie, who built a 14-2-3 MMA record in 24 years of professional fighting, believes that the competition between Bellator and UFC is great for the sport.
“It’s always good to have more promotions, give more fighters work,” he said. “You have tons of talents everywhere you go, so you can’t be stuck to only one promotion. I’m here to help Bellator grow.”
Bellator has 143 fighters on its roster, according to their official website, and Gracie’s favorites are Georgi Karakhanyan and Marcin Held.
Karakhanyan (23-4-1), a former WSOF featherweight champion, has recently re-signed with the promotion after going 9-1 since leaving Bellator in 2011. Held (20-3), winner of the last Bellator lightweight tournament, is expected to fight for the 155-pound title after racking up five straight victories.
“One fighter that I like, that is coming back to Bellator now, is Georgi. He will win the title,” Gracie said. “And I also like Marcin Held. He has a slick ground game, submits everyone with his leglocks. His jiu-jitsu is really good.”
Royce Gracie was the latest member of the UFC Hall of Fame to join Bellator, and he’s excited to help the promotion.
Signed to be the new official brand ambassador for Bellator, the MMA legend will interact with fans during MMA shows, making promotional appearances and “be involved in a co-branded merchandise line that will debut in 2015,” Bellator announced on Oct. 8.
Gracie will make his debut as an ambassador at the Bellator Fan Fest on Oct. 21 in San Diego, Calif., and he’s looking forward to helping the promotion in its expansion.
“I’m a good friend of Scott Coker for five or seven years, he’s involved with martial arts for a long time, so he called me and made this offer,” Gracie told MMAFighting.com. “I’m here to help.”
Winner of three UFC tournaments between 1993 and 1994, Royce Gracie is the fifth member of the UFC Hall of Fame to join Bellator, after Tito Ortiz, Stephan Bonnar, Ken Shamrock and Randy Couture left the UFC for the rival promotion.
“I don’t think they made this offer to somehow attack the UFC,” Gracie said. “They see my value, and invited me to be their ambassador.
“The UFC was my home and will always be my home,” he added. “I helped creating and building that home. Now, Bellator is a relatively new organization, and I’m here to help them grow even more.”
Gracie, who built a 14-2-3 MMA record in 24 years of professional fighting, believes that the competition between Bellator and UFC is great for the sport.
“It’s always good to have more promotions, give more fighters work,” he said. “You have tons of talents everywhere you go, so you can’t be stuck to only one promotion. I’m here to help Bellator grow.”
Bellator has 143 fighters on its roster, according to their official website, and Gracie’s favorites are Georgi Karakhanyan and Marcin Held.
Karakhanyan (23-4-1), a former WSOF featherweight champion, has recently re-signed with the promotion after going 9-1 since leaving Bellator in 2011. Held (20-3), winner of the last Bellator lightweight tournament, is expected to fight for the 155-pound title after racking up five straight victories.
“One fighter that I like, that is coming back to Bellator now, is Georgi. He will win the title,” Gracie said. “And I also like Marcin Held. He has a slick ground game, submits everyone with his leglocks. His jiu-jitsu is really good.”
