In a move you could see coming a mile away, the UFC has responded to former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum’s repeated use of a gay slur — and sentenced him to community service. The promotion released a statement to MMA Fighting late Friday announcing its decision, after Werdum repeatedly used the Spanish word for f****t in a confrontation with Tony Ferguson at a UFC 216 media lunch.
The statement reads in full
The UFC organization is disappointed with recent comments made by Fabricio Werdum at a promotional event in Los Angeles. The nature and implication of his comments do not reflect UFC’s views and will not be tolerated, no matter the manner in which they are used.
We acknowledge and appreciate that Fabricio has since apologized to the organization and to anyone he may have offended with his words. As high profile athletes, role models, and global ambassadors of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, athletes under contract with UFC are required to abide by the Athlete Conduct Policy. Given his breach of this policy, Fabricio has agreed to perform community outreach within the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas, taking steps to enact change and make a direct impact within the community.
Werdum defeated Cain Velasquez for the promotion’s heavyweight title at UFC 188 back in 2015, but lost the belt in his very next fight at UFC 198 to Stipe Miocic. Since then, he has gone 1-1 in the UFC with a win over Travis Browne, and a majority decision loss to Alistair Overeem in the rubber match of their trilogy.
Ferguson headlines UFC 216 in an interim lightweight title fight against Kevin Lee. Werdum, meanwhile, meets Derrick Lewis on the undercard.
The apology referenced by the UFC in its statement came by way of a Twitter post Werdum made Friday, though it appears more of an excuse than anything.
Maricon is common word in the Spanish culture and I do not mean to offend anyone in the LBG community and if I did I'm apologetic #heeyy
— Fabricio Werdum (@FabricioWerdum) September 29, 2017
Common though it may be, the word essentially means the exact same thing in Spanish as it does in English. Nor is this the first time Werdum has used the word with another fighter. After Daniel Cormier posted a comment to Instagram asking people to lay off Jon Jones following his positive drug test, Werdum replied with a single word – “maricon.”
Combined with Werdum’s ties to a brutal Chechan dictator, and past threats against then featherweight Conor McGregor, the former champion doesn’t look to be in the best of places these days. A loss to Lewis could even see him bounced from the promotion, as at 40, he’s almost certainly reaching the end of his career.
