Fabricio Werdum Discusses GFL Opponent Change, Alex Pereira’s Defeat at UFC 313

After arriving in Curitiba, Brazil, to begin training for his Global Fight League debut, Fabricio Werdum learned that proposed opponent Frank Mir had recently undergone emergency spinal surgery.

Mir is unlikely to be able to recover in time for their fight in April, when his team (Los Angeles) is set to face Werdum's Team São Paulo in the inaugural GFL event.

“I heard about this news from you. Now I'm waiting for the event to confirm who my opponent will be, [Alexei] Oleynik or [Andrei] Arlovski,” Werdum told Sherdog.com. “Both would be rematches, but since they have opposing styles, it would be important to know right at the start of the camp. I've stopped all my projects, podcasts and lectures to focus entirely on the camp for this fight. This will be a wonderful opportunity to return to my roots, when I used to come by bus from Porto Alegre and stay in Curitiba at the Chute Boxe dormitory. Master Rafael Cordeiro is on the plane from LA to lead this camp alongside Dida. Wanderlei will also help me.”

The former UFC heavyweight champion also analyzed Ankalaev's victory over Alex Pereira in the main event of UFC 313.

"I agreed with the result, but it was really down to the details,” Werdum said. “The Russian imposed his tactics. If Poatan [was] moving forward, as he always does, it makes it easier for him to take him down, but moving backward, it made it harder for him to get [inside]. So much so that he attempted 12 takedowns and didn't convert any of them. On the other hand, he managed to neutralize ‘Poatan’s' strong point. I believe that ‘Poatan’ will come out differently in the rematch. Let's wait and see."

Using his own experience as an example, Werdum recalled how Brazilian fans completely changed their attitude after a champion's defeat.

"The day before my fight with [Stipe] Miocic in Curitiba [at UFC 198], I couldn't walk down the hotel street. People would be shouting at me from the windows. If I left the hotel, a crowd would come after me. The next day, after my defeat, I went down to lunch with my team and walked to the restaurant and no one came to even talk to me,” he said. “‘Poatan’ will now get to know this other side, but I'm sure as a great champion that he is, he will continue to train hard and improve. That's what matters. Getting this belt back will just be a consequence.”

A former UFC heavyweight champion, two-time BJJ world champion and ADCC champion, Werdum is currently 47 years old. His MMA record is 24-10-1 with one no contest, and he has notable victories over the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez, Mark Hunt, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Roy Nelson, among others. His last fight came in September 2023, when he was defeated by compatriot Junior dos Sanots in a bare-knuckle MMA bout at Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA 5.