Earlier this week, PRIDE champion and MMA legend Wanderlei Silva revealed severe well being points and doable CTE signs in courtroom paperwork associated to the UFC antitrust lawsuit and doable settlement, which may award fighters $375 million if authorized by the choose.
Sadly, Silva won’t be the final champion revealed to be affected by his fight sports activities profession. Many athletes are declaring their very own assist for the settlement, utilizing their well being issues as arguments for the choose to approve the lawsuit and grant them some monetary reduction.
One of the vital eye-raising within the lately revealed (courtesy of John Nash, who has been a useful supply in monitoring the lawsuit) is that of Fabricio Werdum. “Vai Cavalo” is former Heavyweight champion of the world and fought simply final 12 months, however Werdum revealed there are severe issues about his mind well being.
Werdum’s assertion reads, “Whereas combating for the UFC, I suffered many concussions. I concern that in my profession I’ve suffered traumatic mind harm (TBI) and am noticing signs widespread with TBI and CTE together with irritability, anger, nervousness, insomnia, and reminiscence loss. I’ve many lesions and scarring in my mind, and I’ve a cyst that’s positioned centrally inside my mind making surgical procedure inconceivable. I monitor this cyst with biannual exams to find out whether it is rising. Thus far, no therapy for CTE has been discovered.”
I wouldn’t count on this to be the ultimate unlucky well being replace from this sequence of declarations.
Fabricio Werdum fought on the UFC roster in two separate stints. The primary befell between April 2007-October 2008 after his PRIDE profession, however a loss to Junior dos Santos noticed him crossover into Strikeforce, the place Werdum would rating probably the most legendary win of his profession over Fedor Emelianenko.
He rejoined the UFC roster in 2012, happening a six-fight win streak that might see him submit Cain Velasquez to seize UFC Heavyweight gold. He remained on the roster till 2020, when Werdum opted to not re-sign with the promotion. Most lately, Werdum suffered a cut up determination loss to Junior dos Santos within the Gamebred FC promotion on Sept. 8, 2023.
