Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum, will make his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts (MMA) after getting a shortened sentence from United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), following a 2018 suspension for trenbolone and its metabolite epitrenbolone.
“Vai Cavalo” has been slated to face off against fellow heavyweight submission specialist, Alexey Oleynik, at the upcoming UFC 250 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sat., May 9, 2020 inside Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
That’s according to a report from Combate.
Werdum (23-8-1) has not competed since his knockout loss to Alexander Volkov in the UFC London main event roughly two years back. The Brazilian, who turns 43 in July, is 3-2 since losing his 265-pound strap to Stipe Miocic in May 2016.
Safe to say this is the fight he was looking for.
Congratulations @oleynikufc all my respect for you BUT I think my JiuJitsu it’s better, let’s dance you can be my special guest for my return in the UFC
— Fabricio Werdum (@FabricioWerdum) January 19, 2020
Oleynik (58-13-1), also 42, recently snapped a two-fight losing streak by submitting heavyweight upstart, Maurice Greene, at the UFC 246 PPV just last month. “The Boa Constrictor” has a staggering 46 submissions in 58 wins, which has to be some kind of record.
UFC 250 is expected to feature the bantamweight title fight between Henry Cejudo (champion) and Jose Aldo (challenger), as well as the women’s 135-pound showdown pitting Bethe Correia against Pannie Kianzad.
Expect more UFC 250 fight card announcements in the coming weeks.