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Fabricio Werdum Does Not Plan To Renew UFC Contract After Gustafsson Fight

Former UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum has shared that he does not plan to renew his UFC contract once it is completed after his fight with Alexander Gustafsson on July 25. Speaking in an interview with AG Fight, the former champion expressed that while he was thankful to the UFC he would like to take his […]

Former UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum has shared that he does not plan to renew his UFC contract once it is completed after his fight with Alexander Gustafsson on July 25.

Speaking in an interview with AG Fight, the former champion expressed that while he was thankful to the UFC he would like to take his career in a different direction going forward.

“You don’t have the possibility (to renew with the UFC). All these years with the UFC have been very good. We had a good relationship, sometimes there were some controversies, disagreements, things that happen in a normal relationship. I am very grateful to the UFC for all these years, I made my career practically in the UFC. I always wanted to enter the UFC and they gave me that opportunity twice.” Said Werdum.

“I was already fired and came back because I was pissed off (laughs). But the cycle is over, the cycle has been good so far. Now I want to pursue my career a little more, and I want to do it my way. Suddenly fighting in other events, I have fought in many events and I want to be able to have other possibilities.”

Werdum continued to elaborate on some of the highlights during his UFC run including his victories over Mark Hunt and Cain Velasquez and also his time commentating for the organisation on their Spanish broadcast.

The former champion’s final bout will be against former light heavyweight title contender Alexander Gustafsson as he returns from retirement to join the ever-growing heavyweight division. Werdum is coming into this matchup on a decision loss to Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 249 earlier this year.

Werdum has not stated exactly where he plans to take his career after this bout, only stating that it will be done his way.

Fabricio Werdum Not Focused On Retirement Ahead Of UFC Fight Island Bout With Alexander Gustafsson

Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum doesn’t want to think of retirement ahead of his showdown with Alexander Gustafsson. Werdum and Gustafsson are set to collide on July 25. The bout will serve as the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 14. …

The post Fabricio Werdum Not Focused On Retirement Ahead Of UFC Fight Island Bout With Alexander Gustafsson appeared first on MMA News.

Alexander Gustafsson Says Retirement Was Because He Was Heartbroken, Is ‘Here To Stay’

A number of emotions led to Alexander Gustafsson’s premature retirement last year. Gustafsson returns to action at UFC Fight Island 3 this weekend when he makes his heavyweight debut against Fabricio Werdum. It will be his first taste of action since getting submitted by Anthony Smith in the UFC Stockholm headliner in June last year. […]

A number of emotions led to Alexander Gustafsson’s premature retirement last year.

Gustafsson returns to action at UFC Fight Island 3 this weekend when he makes his heavyweight debut against Fabricio Werdum.

It will be his first taste of action since getting submitted by Anthony Smith in the UFC Stockholm headliner in June last year. Following the loss — his second in a row — the “Mauler” would shockingly announce his retirement in the post-fight interview.

Of course, he would have a change of heart a couple of months later before revealing that a comeback was in the works. So what led to the retirement in the first place?

“It was an emotional moment. Nothing else,” Gustafsson told MMA Fighting on media day. “I was just heartbroken. It was a tough fight. It was in Stockholm. It was against a guy I know I’ve got the tools to beat but I didn’t obviously.

“It was a tough night and my emotions and thoughts were just chaos in my head.”

Gustafsson Taking Fights One At A Time

Things are much better now for Gustafsson who will be looking for a change in fortune at heavyweight.

It’s a move he felt the timing was right for and he believes a win over a former champion in Werdum is the perfect way to truly announce his return.

“I’ll challenge myself and see how it goes,” Gustafsson said. “I will win of course but let’s see how I feel about it.

“He’s a legend of the sport. He’s a former champion. It’s a perfect way to come back. I’ll beat Werdum on Saturday and then we’ll take the next one.”

If Gustafsson performs well and gets a win, it wouldn’t be surprising if he soon started targeting the heavyweight title. After all, he notably failed to win the light heavyweight title on three occasions.

However, he is taking things one fight at a time.

“I’m here to win my fights,” Gustafsson added. “Just take it from there. Where I’m in a situation where I can touch the belt, then we’ll go for the belt.

“Right now, it’s just one fight at a time. I’m fighting Werdum, I’ll beat Werdum on Saturday then we’ll take the next one. I’m here to stay.”

Do you think Gustafsson can become a future heavyweight champion?

Alexander Gustafsson Says ‘Emotional Moment’ Caused Premature Retirement

Alexander Gustafsson says his decision to retire was more so spur of the moment and he’s happy to be back. Gustafsson is set to return to action on July 25. He’ll take on Fabricio Werdum in a heavyweight fight. “The Mauler” was …

The post Alexander Gustafsson Says ‘Emotional Moment’ Caused Premature Retirement appeared first on MMA News.

Alexander Gustafsson Says He’s ‘Here to Stay’ After ‘Emotional’ UFC Retirement

Alexander Gustafsson opened up about his abrupt retirement following his defeat to Anthony Smith in June 2019. ” It was an emotional moment. Nothing else,” Gustafsson said of the decision, per MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin …

Fabricio Werdum Recounts Heated Sparring Session With Alexander Gustafsson

There may be some bad blood going into the Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight on July 25. Gustafsson makes his heavyweight debut against Werdum in the final Fight Island event taking place this month. It won’t be the first time they have locked horns either, as Gustafsson recently revealed they had an intense sparring […]

There may be some bad blood going into the Fabricio Werdum vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight on July 25.

Gustafsson makes his heavyweight debut against Werdum in the final Fight Island event taking place this month.

It won’t be the first time they have locked horns either, as Gustafsson recently revealed they had an intense sparring session back in the day which the Swede claimed to have won. “The Mauler” added it was intense as Werdum came with knees to the head but claimed he enjoyed it looking back.

While Werdum confirmed he used his knees on Gustafsson, by his account, the latter was not pleased at all.

“It happened around eight years ago when I went to train wrestling at Mark Munoz’s academy,” Werdum told Sherdog. “When I arrived there, Travis Browne and Gustafsson were doing an MMA sparring session coordinated by his trainer, who invited me to join them. I imagined the trainer would do some kind of rotation sparring, but he put me in the middle with both coming in sequence.

“Of course it was not fair. First I did it with Browne, later with Gustafsson and again with Browne and again with Gustafsson. In that second sparring session, Gustafsson opened a cut on my nose, then I grabbed his neck in a Thai clinch and hit a knee in his face, which opened a big cut. I imagine he got around five stitches in there. Of course, Gustafsson and his trainer got angry with me, said a couple of bad words and the sparring didn’t finish in a good atmosphere.

“I don’t have a problem talking about tactics. Gustafsson knows I want to take him down and that’s no secret. And I’ll take him down and submit him. I live on the same street as Lyoto Machida, and he is helping me a lot concerning approach and distance for this fight.”

Expect A New Werdum

As Gustafsson looks to kick off his heavyweight career with a bang, Werdum is looking to return to the win column again.

The Brazilian is on a two-fight losing streak, having most recently lost a split verdict to Aleksei Oleinik at UFC 249 in May in what was his first outing since March 2018.

The long layoff certainly contributed, but so did his training methods going into the Oleinik fight. Things, however, will be different for this fight.

“Last fight I not only felt my absence of two years away from the UFC Octagon, but also I made a totally wrong choice in training,” Werdum explained. “I went up to Big Bear Mountain, where I stayed for two months without sparring and just training via video. Definitely there is no way to train via the internet, and I felt that in my return.

“So this time I changed everything. I made a real camp with physical training, a lot of jiu-jitsu with master Rubens Cobrinha Charles, MMA with master Rafael Cordeiro, who also had me do a lot of sparring at Kings MMA. Also this time I worked my mind with Eric Faro, who was recommended by Cris Cyborg. The guy is doing a wonderful job with me concerning my focus. You will see a totally different Werdum on July 25. My self confidence is really high.”

How do you see Werdum vs. Gustafsson going?