Last weekend was full of strong emotions for former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum.
After being inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame along with five other key figures — Xande Ribeiro, Jean Jacques Machado, Ronaldo Souza, Vinny Magalhaes and Orlando Sanchez — Werdum met backstage with the person mainly responsible for his arrival at the event in 2003: Mark Kerr.
“Not many people remember, but it was thanks to Kerr that I joined the ADCC,” Werdum said. “The year was 2003. I had gone to Los Angeles to compete in the Jiu-Jitsu Pan American Championship and as I was still starting out and couldn’t afford a hotel, I slept in the dojo at the Beverly Hills JJ Club owned by my friend Marcus Vinicius de Lucia, where Kerr trained. When the Pan American ended and I was going back to Spain, Marcus arrived at the gym with Kerr and suggested that I stay in L.A. to help Kerr for the super fight he would have with Arona at the 2003 ADCC in Sao Paulo. I remember he offered me $200 a day and, obviously, I accepted.”
Werdum recalls receiving strong criticism from the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community because at the time, it was not common to train Americans to fight against representatives of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The partnership worked so well that Kerr decided to take him as a corner for the ADCC in Sao Paulo.
“I asked the organizers to fight, but unfortunately the brackets were already full. That was when Kerr discovered that Ricco Rodriguez had visa problems and interceded with the organization so that I could replace him,” Werdum recalled.
While Kerr lost his unbeaten record, falling to Arona via points, Werdum left the renowned event with two medals (bronze in absolute and silver in over 99 kilograms category). From this event onwards, Werdum, who had already been a jiu-jitsu world champion, would once again join the world grappling elite.
The victory at ADCC was essential for Werdum to be chosen by Wallid Ismael to fight Gabriel Gonzaga at Jungle Fight 1 four months later. The following year, “Vai Cavalo” would receive an invitation from Mirko Filipovic to live in Croatia. That was an important step for Werdum toward competing at Pride 29 in February 2005, when he submited Tom Erikson in his debut with the Japanese promotion.
“This whole story starts with Kerr,” Werdum said. “I showed him the slide I used in my speech telling this story, and he showed me his arm with goosebumps. It was very moving to be able to meet him again and be able to thank him once again. I told him I can’t wait to see his film in the cinema.”
