Fabricio Werdum no longer under contract with PFL

Fabricio Werdum’s run as a Professional Fighters League heavyweight is officially over.

The former UFC heavyweight champion announced in an interview with Canal Encarada he’s “free” after completing his deal with the organization. PFL confirmed with MMA Fighting he’s no longer under contract.

Werdum only fought once for the company, a TKO defeat to Renan Ferreira that was overturned to a no-contest shortly after. Werdum complained of an alleged tap to a choke moments before the finishing sequence.

“My contract with PFL is over,” Werdum said. “I did that fight and had all that problem, and stayed out for two years. Not because of that [loss], but I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I needed this time off, and the contract ended.”

A veteran of PRIDE, Strikeforce and UFC, Werdum praised PFL as the best organization he’s ever worked with as far as the fighter treatment. After considering retirement from MMA in the past, the Brazilian is open to competing again if presented “an offer I can’t refuse.”

“If that happens in the future, give me some time to train and I would definitely do it,” Werdum said. “It could be [Francis] Ngannou, [Junior dos Santos] ‘Cigano’, it could be anyone. Maybe even [Cain] Velasquez coming back now. I don’t even know if he will.”

Werdum (24-9-1, 1 no contest) competed as a MMA fighter for nearly two decades and beat the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Cain Velasquez, Alistair Overeem, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mark Hunt. He finished Alexander Gustafsson in his final UFC bout in 2020, and was scheduled to meet Brandon Sayles in his second PFL bout in June 2021 but withdrew due to medical issues.