(‘A contract with the UFC? I’m set for life! What could possibly go wrong now?’)
Former UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum didn’t appear to realize he’d been fired from the organization even after several media outlets reported the news. At first we thought maybe his manager (also known as his sister) hadn’t told him for fear that he’d finally realize what a mistake it had been to hire her. Or perhaps he was just in denial. But now Werdum is facing the difficult realities of the situation, and judging by what he told Tatame, the UFC didn’t make much of an effort to come to terms with him:
“When I first heard the rumours, I didn’t know anything. I had four more fights left with them on my contract, which ran to 2010. But they demanded to renegotiate my existing contract by cutting my pay in half” revealed the heavyweight. Adding also that his departure had nothing to do with the video game licensing dispute. “No that wasn’t an issue but its not something that benefit’s the fighters”
“I‘m a free agent now. One of the advantages of leaving the UFC is the freedom of contract, which allows fighters to work with more than one event without any problems. That’s very beneficial. There are several possibilities now including fighting in multiple organizations. Affliction, Sengoku and Dream are big events, but I think the possibility of fighting for Affliction in particular will give me the best chance to fight the best in the world, Fedor, in addition to (Andrei) Arlovski, Josh Barnett and several other big names …That would be a great opportunity for me.”
So let me see if I understand this. The UFC signs you to a contract stipulating how much they’ll pay you to fight, plus how much they’ll pay you to win, over a certain number of fights. After dropping one to Arlovski, you’re moving right along, beating Gabriel Gonzaga and later Brandon Vera‘s overpriced ass. Then you lose a fight you were expected to win, and suddenly they want to renegotiate in the middle of a contract to give you half what both parties had previously agreed to. When your sister balks at that suggestion, they go ahead and fire you altogether. There, I think that about covers it.
Best of luck getting on with Affliction, Fabricio. I hear they still need someone to fight Josh Barnett. Tell your sister to go head and ask for Tim Sylvia money, but be willing to settle for whatever they offer. Otherwise you’ll run out of options sooner than you think.
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Get off his nuts. He get knocked the fuck out!