Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum and Tony Ferguson recently got into it during a UFC 216 media event, a situation that saw the Brazilian use homophobic slurs against the lightweight.
Following his bout against Derrick Lewis at UFC 216, the promotion says the Brazilian is going to be taking part in some LGTBQ outreach programs.
The UFC issued the following statement on the matter:
The UFC organization is disappointed with recent comments made by Fabricio Werdum at a promotional event in Los Angeles. The nature and implication of his comments do not reflect UFC’s views and will not be tolerated, no matter the manner in which they are used.
We acknowledge and appreciate that Fabricio has since apologized to the organization and to anyone he may have offended with his words. As high profile athletes, role models, and global ambassadors of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, athletes under contract with UFC are required to abide by the Athlete Conduct Policy. Given his breach of this policy, Fabricio has agreed to perform community outreach within the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas, taking steps to enact change and make a direct impact within the community.
Werdum has taken to Twitter to issue an apology for what he said:
Maricon is common word in the Spanish culture and I do not mean to offend anyone in the LBG community and if I did I'm apologetic #heeyy
— Fabricio Werdum (@FabricioWerdum) September 29, 2017
UFC 216 takes place on Saturday, October 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
