UFC 249: Aleksei Oleinik spoils Fabricio Werdum’s return from two-year lay-off
- Oleinik, 42, gets split decision win against former heavyweight champion in Florida
- ‘This means a lot for me ... if you want to be a legend you have to fight with legends,’ says ‘The Boa Constrictor’
Underdog Aleksei Oleinik spoiled former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum's comeback in a split-decision win at UFC 249 on Sunday.
The 42-year-old Oleinik (59-13-1) pushed the pace in round one with Werdum (23-9-1) looking like he was rusty from a more than two-year lay-off because of a Usada suspension and subsequent retirement. Werdum, who will remain unranked at heavyweight, won the fight in one of the three judges eyes. He last fought in a loss to Alexander Volkov in 2018.
“This means a lot for me because you can fight with one guy, two guys, 10 guys, but not a name,” Oleinik said backstage after his win. “If you only fight people with no name, you will have no name yourself.
“If you fight with big names, with legends of mixed martial arts like Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, like Fabricio Werdum, you will go to the highest rankings and get bigger and bigger names too. If you want to be a legend you have to fight with legends.”
“The Boa Constrictor” Oleinik caught the Brazilian Werdum with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts.