After Finishing UFC Deal, Fabricio Werdum Envisions Farewell Rematch with Fedor

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After finishing his UFC contract with an impressive submission win in the first round over Alexander Gustafsson this past Saturday, Fabricio Werdum talked to Sherdog.com about the fight and his future plans.

“As I told you two weeks before the fight, this time I was able to do everything I couldn't do in my return against [Alexey] Oleynik,” Werdum said. “Besides the camp itself, which was amazing, I liked very much the result of hiring Eric Faro. I'm a hyperactive person and controlling my focus was such a turning point.”

Werdum also revealed that his next combat sports appearance will be a grappling match with Marcus Buchecha Almeida on Sept. 6.

"Buchecha is an amazing person. He already helped me when I fought Roy Nelson, and it will be amazing to have to opportunity to test my skills with the guys who has the record of gold medals in jiu-jitsu history,” said Werdum, who himself is a four-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship gold medalist.  

Concerning his future in MMA, Werdum said that a superfight with Fedor Emelianenko would be something that would motivate him a lot. “Vai Cavalo” shocked the Russian legend by ending his 28-bout unbeaten streak with a triangle armbar at a Strikeforce event in June 2010.

"Even being able to defeat him in 2010 I still consider him the best heavyweight of all time,” Werdum said. “Not only for the period he remained undefeated but also because of the names he was able to defeat. I think the world of MMA would love to see that rematch 10 years later. Maybe we could retire together doing that last fight.”