Fabricio Werdum's time in the Global Fight League apparently is over.
The promotion posted on social media Thursday that Werdum (24-10-1) is out of the GFL's first season due to an injury. But earlier in the week, it was reported that Werdum said he lost interest in the fight after fellow former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir announced a surgery and pulled out of their planned matchup.
Werdum, from Brazil, will turn 48 in July. In 2024, Werdum admitted to a jiu-jitsu publication he has scarring and lesions on his brain from fighting, as well as CTE symptoms. That was about a year after a split decision loss to Junior Dos Santos in a bareknuckle MMA fight.
Werdum won the UFC heavyweight title in June 2015 in a title unification bout with Cain Velasquez, but he lost it to Stipe Miocic in his first attempted defense. His last standard rules MMA fight was in May 2021 in the PFL, but it was flipped to a no contest.
The GFL implied Werdum's MMA career is over now, saying the promotion hopes for "a speedy recovery and all the best as he embarks on his post MMA journey."
The GFL will officially launch as a promotion May 24 at the famed Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. A second night of fights goes down May 25 in the same venue. The GFL has promised broadcast details will be announced in April, as well as a ticket on-sale date.
The GFL is a team-based new MMA promotion with franchises, for lack of a better term, in six world cities. After a draft of eligible fighters in February, teams were assembled. In the GFL's team system, fighters score points each bout. A finish win is worth 4, a decision win is 3, a draw is 2, a decision loss is 1 – and if you're stopped, yourself, your team gets 0 points. Co-ed teams are made up of fighters across 10 weight-classes.
The fledgling promotion has made early waves in the industry by signing dozens and dozens of former champions, title challengers and major draws who have left the UFC, Bellator, PFL and other big promotions for GFL's promised business model of a 50-50 revenue split with fighters.
All six GFL teams – Los Angeles, New York, London, Dubai, Sao Paulo and Miami – have fighters in action across a whopping 31 total bouts over the two days. So far, L.A. is the only city to be announced for events. Additional cities and venues for future events are expected to be announced soon.
The GFL's first two lineups include:
GFL Los Angeles, May 24
- Urijah Faber (LA) vs. Renan Barao (SP)
- Anthony Pettis (MIA) vs. Benson Henderson (LON)
- Holly Holm (NY) vs. Julia Budd (LON)
- Chad Mendes (LA) vs. Maike Linhares (SP)
- Derek Brunson (DUB) vs. Omari Akhmedov (DUB)
- Sage Northcutt (LA) vs. Lucas Martins (SP)
- Marlon Moraes (MIA) vs. Ray Borg (LA)
- Aspen Ladd (LA) vs. Alejandra Lara (SP)
- Robelis Despaigne (MIA) vs. Todd Duffee ...
