Fabricio Werdum is looking pretty good on the outside.
On the inside, however, things are not going so well. The former UFC heavyweight champion recently issued his declaration in the UFC antitrust lawsuit and revealed his ongoing battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
The Brazilian has been knocked out three times in his UFC career.
“While fighting for UFC, I suffered many concussions,” Werdum wrote. “I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including irritability, anger, anxiety, insomnia and memory loss. I have many lesions and scarring in my brain, and I have a cyst that is located centrally within my brain making surgery thus far impossible. I monitor this cyst with biannual exams to determine if it is growing. To date, no treatment for CTE has been found.”
Probably because so many people believe it’s “fake.”
Werdum (24-10-1, 1 NC) has not competed since his Junior dos Santos rematch for Gamebred BareKnuckle MMA last fall. “Vai Cavalo” turned 47 back in July and is unlikely to make his return to combat sports after brain swelling forced him from PFL.
The UFC antitrust case reached a settlement just last month.