According to MMAWeekly:
Following a rocky time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, capped by a surprising knockout loss to Octagon newcomer Junior dos Santos at UFC 90, Chute Boxe fighter Fabricio Werdum has left the promotion.
Sources tell MMAWeekly.com that Werdum's exit comes on the heels of a failed contract renegotiation following the loss to dos Santos. The Brazilian came into the fight with the expectation that he would soon be contending for a heavyweight title shot.
Werdum had just signed a NEW fight contract with the UFC prior to his fight with Dos Santos at UFC 90. Apparently after Werdum was KO'ed by the new comer, the UFC wanted to renegotiate Werdum's contract. It appears that neither side could come to an agreement, and how could you blame Werdum? He just signed a new contract and then after one loss(although devastating) the UFC is asking him sign an entirely new contract, probably for less money? This is like the third time that Werdum has been shitted on by the UFC.
The whole situation for Werdum is messed up, in that he was granted a title shot after his win over Brandon Vera. However, that never came to fruition once Randy Couture decided to come back and honor his contract with the UFC.
Now I don't agree with it, but I can understand the numbers game the UFC is playing right now. Werdum is a very good fighter, a very good heavyweight fighter in a division that's rail thin. However, Werdum isn't marketable at all and the UFC feels as if he is disposable since they have the four man mini HW tournament. Those four fighters consist of Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Frank Mir, and Brock Lesnar. Werdum also doesn't help any of the UFC's competitors in that he doesn't speak any English, and will probably carry a pretty high price tag. My best bet is that Werdum may end up fighting back in Japan.
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