Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum will make his long-awaited return to the octagon at UFC 250 in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 9. Werdum will face Alexey Oleynik, this was first reported by Combate’s Evelyn Rodriguez and Raphael Marinho, from sources close to the organization. According to Rodriguez and Marinho, they have verbally agreed to fight with at UFC 250, but still need to sign a fight contract.
Werdum was suspended by USADA for a doping violation back on September 30, 2018. However, he cooperated with USADA to get a reduction on his suspension, making him eligible to fight by April 1. The Athletic’s Shaheen Al-Shatti reported first that Werdum gave “Substantial assistance” on January 16.
Werdum received the reduction to due to the "substantial assistance" clause — meaning he provided "information that leads to the discovery of another violation or which results in a criminal or disciplinary body discovering an offense."
— Shaheen Al-Shatti (@shaunalshatti) January 16, 2020
Werdum will be 42 when he makes his return at UFC 250. His last win was a unanimous decision against Marcin Tybura at UFC Fight Night 121 on November 18, 2017. The last time we saw Werdum compete in the UFC, he was knocked out by Alexander Volkov at UFC Fight Night 127 on March 17, 2018. Werdum has the skills to be formidable, but the question is has time caught up with him? Werdum will have his first test against Oleynik.
Oleynik is coming off an impressive win over Maurice Greene by armbar at UFC 246 on January 18. In the fight, Oleynik showed his experience and the ability to dictate a fight on the ground. A fight against Werdum, who is incredible on the ground as well makes the fight very interesting. Oleynik is also 42 years old but has still shown that he is still capable of beating a lot of heavyweights in the UFC. A win over Werdum can propel Oleynik to get another chance at trying to become a contender in the heavyweight division.
UFC 250 card is still being worked on. The main event is rumored to feature a UFC bantamweight championship matchup between champion Henry Cejudo and former featherweight champion Jose Aldo. Another fight that was announced was Bethe Correia vs Pannie Kianzad in the bantamweight division.
It drives me nuts when people say, “More ex-fighters should be judges!” Combat literacy is important, but the skills don’t overlap as much as people think.
Also, do you know what’s stopping ex-fighters from signing up?
NOTHING!!!
It turns out they don’t really want to do it!
UFC Fight Island is set for its premiere on July 11 and it is a doozy. UFC president Dana White joined UFC Fight Live Take on Tuesday to reveal that UFC 251 will feature three championship bouts on Yaz Island in Abu Dhabi.