Ex-UFC Champ Fabricio Werdum Helps Rescue Drowning Teen at Southern California Beach

Fabricio Werdum was enjoying a leisurely day at the beach with his family near his Torrance, Calif., home when his heroic instincts took over.

When the local fire department arrived to rescue two drowning teens, one male and one female, in the area, the former UFC heavyweight champion noticed there was only one lifeguard prepared to dive. Werdum quickly realized that the circumstances were dire and rushed out to sea to help.

“When we saw the fireman’s car, the car stopped in front of us. I said I was going to help, and Karine (his wife) wasn’t sure, because it was dangerous,” Werdum told Brazilian outlet AGFight.com (translation via MMAjunkie.com). “But when I looked, there were two tiny heads at sea yelling ‘help.’ They were very far, about 70 meters away. When the lifeguard grabbed the board by himself, I took off my coat and ran. I took the orange floater, threw it across my chest, and I arrived with him, a little further ahead even. I told him to get the girl, who was screaming a lot, and I got the boy, who was already limp. I was able to get him, and we swam toward the beach. …“Then, at shore, an old man helped me. The waves were big. The girl sank about three times.”

While the situation appeared to end well, in the moment Werdum claimed that it was more harrowing than any mixed martial arts bout.

“Wow, my heart was beating a million,” he said. “It’s an extreme situation. The heart goes to a million. It’s worse than a fight. It’s not even close.”

Werdum’s wife captured “Vai Cavalo” in a brief video walking with the boy on shore after the rescue. The video can be viewed above.

The 41-year-old Werdum is currently serving a two-year USADA suspension for a failed drug test and has requested his release from the UFC. He last competed at UFC Fight Night 127 this past March, when he suffered a fourth-round knockout loss to Alexander Volkov.