I've heard rumors that the firing was over a contract dispute, but that was never fully documented. Fabricio Werdum had knocked out Brandon Vera and Gabriel Gonzaga in consecutive fights. At the time, those were two heavyweights that were in the top ten of the division. Gonzaga had been coming off a hellacious fight against heavyweight champion Randy Couture. Then Vera nearly earned a title shot, before losing to Tim Sylvia. Werdum knocked both fighters out and seemed to be climbing up the ranks. He was booked to face Junior Dos Santos, who was making his UFC debut at the time. It was odd match-making, although that always seemed to be the case with heavyweights. Werdum gets leveled by an uppercut in 81 seconds and was on the receiving end of a major upset. He looked too heavy for the fight and was careless in leaving his chin open by such a wide degree. It was still harsh to see him fired after one loss. Werdum's standup seemed to be improving, to go along with his world class Jiu-Jitsu. They terminated his contract and he ended up going to Strikeforce. Werdum's performances against the likes of Antonio Silva and Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce proved why it was so shocking. Great talent shouldn't be let go that instantly.
I cover the sport of MMA, along with being a fan of the sport since 2008. I've been covering the sport for two years now, along with interviewing several fighters. I also write on MMASucka.com. You can follow me on twitter @Allen_Strk or email at AStrk19@gmail.com
