Fabricio Werdum Hopes to End MMA Career in 2021 with PFL Heavyweight Crown

Don't miss @FabricioWerdum fights all season long on @canalCombate in Brazil! pic.twitter.com/yu4qFgBHIp

— PFL MMA (@ProFightLeague) March 30, 2021

As he prepares to make his Professional Fighters League debut against Renan Ferreira on May 6, former UFC champion Fabricio Werdum is excited that the organization’s events will be broadcast on Brazil’s leading media company.

The PFL announced Tuesday that it has partnered with Globo, and the company will carry the promotion’s regular season, playoff and championship events beginning April 23 through Combate channel platforms.

"It´s amazing to know that most MMA fans in Brazil will be able to see me fighting,” Werdum told Sherdog.com. “I Have no doubt Combate is the best fighting channel in the world, the only one dedicated 24 hours to MMA and combat sports. I got more excited when I found out that my move to PFL was important to them to close the deal. That just motivates me to train more to finish my career as PFL heavyweight champion.”

Currently in California, where he rented an apartment from Cristiane Justino in Huntington Beach, Werdum is training with master Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA in preparation to face the 6-foot-8 Ferreira.

"Renan is really tall, and I hired Dante "La Tarantula Mexicana" Ceja, who is 6-foot-10 and weighs 285 pounds. This guy is helping me a lot as well as Marvin Vettori, Beneil Dariush and Kevin Gastelum and all the professionals from Kings MMA,” Werdum said.

As far as his strategy against the Team Nogueira fighter, Werdum did not offer much in the way of detail.

“Renan is a pretty complete fighter, uses a lot of jabs to keep the distance and also counter hits very well. His ground game is pretty decent,” Werdum said. “The fans can expect a great debut fight.”

Coincidentally, Renan “Problema” played the role of Werdum about four months ago in a film about legendary jiu-jitsu fighter Fernando Tererê that is finishing production in Brazil. Werdum fought Tererê in a historical final at the 2004 World Jiu-Jitsu championship. Werdum was unaware that Ferreira played him in the film, but he hopes that his matchup with the towering Brazilian on May 6 ends much the way his match with Tererê did in 2004.

"With Werdum winning and getting the gold,” he said with a laugh.

Werdum added that he plans to end his MMA career under the PFL banner in 2021.

"I always wanted to have more fights per year. PFL is giving me the opportunity to have four fights in six months,” he said. “I´ll fight every 6 weeks from May to October. I already conquered World Jiu-Jitsu, ADCC, the UFC belt and it would be great to finish my career as PFL heavyweight champion.”