Fabricio Werdum turns down Rousimar Palhares’ challenge

FabricioWerdum has no interest in sharing the mat with RousimarPalhares.Palhares called out the former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight titleholder afterJunior dosSantos withdrew from their scheduled grappling match at KingsChampionship 2, an event promoted by RafaelCordeiro taking place in Florianopolis, Brazil. However, Werdumdeclined the matchup, citing Palhares' history ofsubmission-related controversies.

Rousimar Palhares responds after Fabricio Werdum declinesmatchup

Shortly after dos Santos withdrew from his scheduled grapplingmatch with Werdum at Kings Championship 2, Palhares offered himselfas a replacement. The former UFC middleweight last competed in2024.Werdum rejected the offer, pointing to Palhares' history ofcontroversial submission finishes."Toquinho, I have no interest in fighting you," Werdum said in arecent interview. "The first thing we learn when we step onto themat is to let go of the submission and respect your opponent's tap.You never respected that first lesson and that's why you werebanned from the sport. I respect you as a fighter, but I don'tadmire you."Palhares, one of MMA's most feared submission specialists, becameknown for incidents involving late submission releases. TheBrazilian was released by the UFC in 2013 after holding onto a heelhook against Mike Piercedespite repeated taps. The UFC had previously warned Palhares oversimilar incidents before the Pierce bout.Palhares responded to the situation while speaking with Sherdog,disputing the idea that he had been banned from competition."Werdum: I was never banned from the sport," Palhares said. "I wasfired because my opponents wanted to take me out of the game."Renowned BJJ champion Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu subsequently offeredto take on Palhares."Since you don't have the guts to fight me, Cyborg has already saidhe's willing to accept," Palhares added. "Now I'm just waiting fora promoter, either here or in the United States, to put this fighttogether."