Werdum to appeal majority decision loss to Overeem at UFC 213
For Fabricio Werdum, his trilogy with Alistair Overeem isn't over quite yet.
Werdum told MMA Fighting's Guilherme Cruz that he intends to file a formal appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission over his close majority-decision loss to Alistair Overeem in the co-main event of UFC 213 this past Saturday in Las Vegas.
The three-round heavyweight bout ended in dramatic fashion with Werdum badly hurting Overeem in the final frame, only to be crestfallen when two of the judges awarded the fight to Overeem (the other scored it a draw). Rounds 1 and 2 were light on action and it was determined Overeem did just enough to get the edge on the scorecards.
Werdum reacted in shock when the judges' call was read and many in the audience appeared to loudly agree with him, which prompted the former UFC champion to consider an appeal.
"The athletic commission gives us a chance to appeal, so I want to see what happens," Werdum said. "I have the right to appeal because I don't want this loss on my record. I'm sure I won because I won the first and the third rounds, and lost the second one.
"When I lose a fight I admit it, but this one … The crowd booed him, I received a lot of messages. Everyone saw I won. You saw my face after the fight, I couldn't believe I lost. I was surprised."
This was the third meeting between Overeem and Werdum dating back to May 2006. Werdum defeated Overeem by submission in their first encounter, with Overeem getting a measure of revenge via unanimous decision when they fought again in June 2011.
Should his appeal be denied, Werdum is open to stepping into the cage with Overeem one more time.
"A fourth fight would be good if I appeal and it doesn't change the result," Werdum said. "My goal is the belt, and if he's on my way, I think it would be good to fight him a fourth time. I'd like to fight him a fourth time to show the reality, what really happened. I believe I won. If it's worth it to fight a fourth time to get to what I want, the belt, that would be interesting, for him.
"I always say that a loss is three steps back and a win is one step forward, but the way it was, I think it was only one step back. I believe I won, but the official result was a loss. I have a loss in my record."