Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum is the latest big-name former fighter to share extensive brain damage testimony in the Le vs. Zuffa UFC lawsuit.
Werdum, former UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida, and others have provided testimonies in the ongoing Le vs. Zuffa lawsuit. The new settlement in the lawsuit is $375 million; with fighters accusing Zuffa and the UFC of violating anti-trust laws related to fighter pay and anticompetitive tactics.
Werdum’s testimony this week was startling.
“I have many lesions and scarring on my brain, and I have a cyst that is located centrally within my brain making surgery thus far impossible,” Werdum said in a statement. “I monitor this cyst with biannual exams to determine if it is growing.”
In a recent testimony, Machida didn’t claim any health concerns but did include what he’d use his portion awarded in the case for.
Fabricio Werdum reveals brain damage in Le vs. Zuffa court case
Werdum is one of the greatest UFC heavyweights of all time. He won the UFC heavyweight title by finishing Cain Velasquez at UFC 188 to cap off a six-fight winning streak inside the Octagon at the time.
Before signing with the UFC, Werdum was a force in Strikeforce. He snapped Fedor Emelianenko’s lengthy win streak in 2010 by submitting the Russian legend with a triangle armbar.
Werdum earned UFC victories over the likes of Travis Browne, Mark Hunt, and Alexander Gustafsson during his promotional tenure. He parted ways from the UFC in 2020, signing with the PFL and falling to Renan Ferreira in May 2021.
Werdum returned to MMA last year at Gamebred Fighting Championship 5. He lost to former UFC titleholder Junior dos Santos by split decision in his bare-knuckle MMA debut.
Werdum has accumulated a 24-10-1 record in his professional MMA career. Before transitioning full-time to MMA, he won six ADCC Submission Wrestling medals.
He should go after Gamebred lol
in the anti trust
Sad.
I shat me britches when he tapped Big Nog.
Lets not forget that night he fly8ng Sidekicked Travis Browne, then front teeped Edmund Tarverdian.
Shit was legendary.
Lol Member that time he hit Colby with that boomerang in a bag?? Colby was so shocked and befuddled that he grabbed the floating bag out of the air as if it was some fierce show of athleticism?
Like I said ^ et all
Some BRILLIANT MMA Minds on this Site !!!
The boomerang thing is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in this sport
The vultures are circling that lawsuit…lol
Yeah seems that way
Love Werdum as a fighter. Wish him nothing but the very best.
Fabricio Werdum is looking pretty good on the outside.
On the inside, however, things are not going so well. The former UFC heavyweight champion recently issued his declaration in the UFC antitrust lawsuit and revealed his ongoing battle with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“While fighting for UFC, I suffered many concussions,” Werdum wrote. “I fear that during my career I have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI) and am noticing symptoms common with TBI and CTE including irritability, anger, anxiety, insomnia and memory loss. I have many lesions and scarring in my brain, and I have a cyst that is located centrally within my brain making surgery thus far impossible. I monitor this cyst with biannual exams to determine if it is growing. To date, no treatment for CTE has been found.”
Probably because so many people believe it’s “fake.”
Werdum (24-10-1, 1 NC) has not competed since his Junior dos Santos rematch for Gamebred BareKnuckle MMA last fall. “Vai Cavalo” turned 47 back in July and is unlikely to make his return to combat sports after brain swelling forced him from PFL.
The UFC antitrust case reached a settlement just last month.
rightfully so.
have to agree on this one
He took some bad shots.
This is not shocking
OMG…fighting could give you brain damage!!
Totally the UFCs fault for not telling them
you don’t think dana would do the same in their shoes? take every little bit he could get? all is fair the way the dana and the ufc play the game.