The latest GFL fight announcement has been met with groans.
On Friday, a day following the announcement of their first three “confirmed” match-ups (all without dates or locations attached), GFL officials revealed on social media that Frank Mir vs. Fabricio Werdum is scheduled to happen.
As with the league’s previous announcements including Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold 2, no date or location has been attached. However, reaction was not all that positive to the most recent announcement, especially given the age of the fighters in question.
Frank Mir is 45, and has been through wars and injuries. Fabricio Werdum is 47, and not the kind of freak, father-time defying 47 that Yoel Romero is. Over 90 years of life experience between them.
“The combined age of these fighters is 92 years old,” one fight fan said in response on Twitter/X, complete with face-palm emoji.
Former UFC heavyweight champ Mir has not competed in MMA since a 2019 decision win over Roy Nelson that somehow left Nelson looking like the more viable fighter (Big Country went on to a 1-1 record in Gamebred Bareknuckle FC in 2023). Mir on the other hand opted to try his hand in boxing, then the short-lived spectacle that was “Triad Combat,” losing both outings.
Aside from the Nelson win, Mir has lost his four fights in MMA and was finished in three of them.
Fabricio Werdum (24-10-1, 1NC) last competed for the aforementioned Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, losing a rematch with former UFC foe Junior Dos Santos in 2023. The Brazilian defeated Alexander Gustafsson in 2020 in “Vai Cavalo’s” final UFC fight, then had a fight in the PFL, where he was defeated by Renan Ferreira – until it was determined that Ferreira had tapped to a Werdum triangle choke shortly before the TKO “finish.” The result was later overturned to a No Contest.
Like Mir, Werdum is a former UFC heavyweight champ, winning gold in 2015 by defeating Cain Velasquez.
