Brand-new mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, Global Fight League (GFL), is gearing up for its 2025 season debut next month; however, it’s already hit a big snag.
Indeed, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion, Fabricio Werdum, announced his withdrawal from GFL’s inaugural season yesterday after his upcoming fight was torpedoed a couple of weeks ago.
Perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise for the decorated 47-year-old Brazilian.
“Frank Mir was a fight that motivated me to return,” Werdum told Mundo da Luta podcast (via Sherdog.com). “After he announced his withdrawal, I also lost my motivation.
“The atmosphere in Dida’s academy in Curitiba is unbelievable,” Werdum added. “It was such a great experience to return and do training routines with Master Rafael [Cordeiro], Wanderlei [Silva], [Andre] Dida, Brunno [Ferreira], and [Bruno Silva].
“But, I have to feel the same motivation to return and that was not the case when Mir [was not an option],” Werdum concluded.
It’s probably for the best that Werdum lost interest and bailed on GFL because he’s dealing with an inoperable brain cyst and has started to show signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
And that’s not exactly a winning recipe for stepping back into the cage.
Werdum (24-10-1, 1 NC) hasn’t competed since his rematch with Junior dos Santos under Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA last year (watch highlights). His last MMA bout was against Renan Ferreira, in which he got clobbered, but later got flipped to “No Contest.”
For the list of GFL teams, coaches and managers click here. And for the latest GFL-related news and notes checkout our comprehensive archive here.
