Werdum on the UFC: They used me and threw me out
Posted on July 19, 2010, 04:09 PM by Joey SantosusBrazilian Jiu Jitsu expert Fabricio "Vai Cavalo" Werdum recently spoke in regards to his experience with the UFC. The Brazilian, who was 2-2 with the promotion, was coming off a disappointing TKO loss to rising heavyweight prospect Junior "Cigano" Dos Santos when he parted ways with the UFC.
"I lost that fight against Cigano and everything changed," Werdum explained. "I had a UFC contract, but lost it cause I refused when they wanted me to take a pay cut and there was no deal," he continued.
Since his release from the UFC, "Vai Cavalo" has returned to action under the Strikeforce banner, winning three straight and shocking the world with his sixty-nine second submission victory over Fedor Emelianenko. In hindsight, it would seem the contractual dispute may have been the best thing to ever happen to his mixed martial arts career, and while Werdum says he still feels a bit of animosity, he understands that as a fighter its best to remain professional and move forward, as he explains:
“They kind of used me and threw me out. That UFC business is complicated. It’s tough to swallow that they would terminate your contract after two nice wins just because you lost the last one, regardless of how it happened. Business is business, it seems, and there’s no soft spots involved. That’s how it works – if they don’t like it, you’re out. Naturally, there’s a little resentment, but since we must be professional with everyone, I can’t take it personally. If that’s the road you choose, you could get in trouble so it’s best to stay professional.”
Source: portaldovt.com.br
Comments
the ufc is like the mob man, hope strikeforce/dream get bigger so the ufc can learn to respect fighters
by the way i heard fertitias casino declared for bankruptcy google it
that's actually old news, they let it go into bankruptcy when the recession hit so the govt, can eat the loss in revenue instead of them and they walk away. They decided to do that when they realized they were making more from the UFC with less legalities.
I'm sure Jake shields wouldn't see it that way. Point is Strikeforce doesnt always treat their fighters any better, some fighters are treated like kings while others like Mcdonalds employees. Both organizations need to shape up.
True that 51JD51... but the thing that gets me is how unprofessional SF is. They make their favorites so obvious, pretty much never have contenders, have belts that dont mean a damn thing, the fighters call out who they want to fight rather than being places in top fights for their rankings. It's a joke.
The UFC does stuff like that too.
not to the extent of strikeforce
So the UFC has belts that dont mean anything? The UFC doesnt have contenders? So the UFC fighters who just earned #1 contender shots call out fighters who just lost rather than the champions and actually get the match instead of a championship match?
Come on get real. UFC fighters target the championship, and they dont pass up a title shot when they get them.
It's worse than the extent of SF. The UFC just blinds you with hype so you buy into everything they feed you. It's so easy to get caught up in the UFC because they have the bigger stars.
I agree with you 100%. I would LOVE to see the look on dictator Dana's face if that ever happened.
just because strikeforce treat fedor and hendo like gods, doesnt mean there any better!!just ask shields, coker didnt give a f**k about him, despite his obvious talent! also, even doh people like fedor are seriously well paid, ppl think the ufc dont care for their fighters, but what about the undercarders?im prepared to bet they get (on average) much more money in the ufc than in the other orgs...ui dont know what werdum is complainin about tbh, he KTFO by JDS...what did he expect, a bonus and a title shot?
I agree, Dana White needs to respect the people that put money in his pocket. I think Werdum going to strikeforce was the best thing that could happen to him. I'm sure Dana is pissed at himself for letting him go
Not so surprisingly since Zuffa is owned by an old Mafia family.
Why would he pissed? Letting him go led to Fedor losing and saved him millions of dollars lol. I'm sure hes GLAD he let him go!
werdum suckss
I think we have a Fedor fanboy
!!Why??
yeah he sucks so bad that he beat the p4p king in 69 seconds
....what....?
I like to train too but I don't know how good you are but no one is a part of it until they are a part of it. No one will care more about our opinions just cuz we do some training. And the people that own the UFC are not going to change. Those guys are set for life and won't give up that money train for anything. It sux that lower level fighters don't get paid much but that's just the incentive to train enough to be a top fighter.
Clubs, what clubs man? This is fighting sports, theres no Clubs, just organizations and Camps or Teams... UFC is a business and just like any other, they are ruled by profit margins. Although they look for profits, they are promoting the sport worldwide and doing a great job in that, so they have other interests in mind besides profits - or one could argue that by "expanding" the business worldwide they're only making more profits...
In this case, Werdum wasn't a very interesting fighter, his fights were boring and he was very one-dimensional in his approach and style. He was getting payed "a lot" and was delivering only "a little". The company wanted to re-access his contract and re-negotiate it. He didnt wanted that, no agreement was made and he got out, period. Happens every day with millions of workers, I don't see anything wrong here...
I'd rather work for UFC where you earn something with your wins and lose something with your losses, rather than Strikeforce where your wins gain you nothing, and your losses get you title shots.
I thought all the Fedor nuthuggers said that werdum left by his own choice? This is pretty much forcing him to leave or submit to treatment most would consider unfair.
That being said, i can see what he's saying and why alot of fighters probably hate the UFC for their abuse. It might be a better organization if Dana was replaced by someone who didn't have such a big mouth and was less disrespectful towards...people in general almost.
Like crossing suge with puffy, a bully that's all up in the entertainment
If he left rather than submitting to ridiculous demands he did leave of his own accord. He could just as easily have submitted.
I honestly wonder if the ufc would allow their fighters to compete in the mma olympics with no strings attached...?
Probably, but the UFC would decide what clothing you would wear and they would write your medal acceptance speech.
there will not be MMA in the Olympics for at least a decade... sorry but its true
idc when mma gets made into a olympic sport. I am just wondering what ufc strategy will be once it does form.
interesting question. i dont think the ufc would be able to do an awful lot tbh.
Where's the "BOO-HOO" to click?
Boring-ass fighter, Werdum barely beat the barely heavyweight Vera.
Go butt-scoop a bit more instead of learning how to fight.
and to think, hes such a nice guy and humble, how dare him!
Well when Werdum lost to JDS nobody knew who he was, losing to JDS today is a different story and Werdum was just unlucky to face him when he did. Kind of like Bonnar when he faced Bones.
But yeah obviously it was a great move for Werdum to leave the UFC, he is now immortal in the MMA community even if he never fights again. The only man (or the first we shall see) to beat the greatest of all time.
Well when Werdum lost to JDS nobody knew who he was, losing to JDS today is a different story and Werdum was just unlucky to face him when he did. Kind of like Bonnar when he faced Bones.
But yeah obviously it was a great move for Werdum to leave the UFC, he is now immortal in the MMA community even if he never fights again. The only man (or the first we shall see) to beat the greatest of all time.