TRAINING: I made the trip to Sacramento to do my camp in the best gym in the world with Team Alpha Male. I trained two to three times a day and managed to maintain a very quick and good pace that helped me a lot in my preparation. I am now in Mexico keeping my condition but getting used to the altitude. I'm also very happy that I have several friends here who are helping me and I'm getting adapted very fast. I'm ready for this fight. I think we achieved a significant relationship between my body and my mind and now I have to get them both together at the same time and take the victory.

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training long ago, around 2000, and I noticed I was good in kickboxing competitions. Then I started looking for something tougher, and MMA was calling and I knew it was my kind of sport.

What ranks and titles have you held? I don’t hold any tittles or official ranks because in Argentina there are no big leagues or a big franchise.

 

Do you have any heroes? No

 

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It means achieving an impossible dream. When I started out, my friends told me it was going to be impossible to get to fight in the UFC, yet with a lot of sacrifice, here I am.

 

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? Yes, I am a physical education professor.

 

What was your job before you started fighting? I was a personal trainer and worked at gyms.

 

Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? When I was an amateur, I took part in a competition named “Super 8.” At first I wasn’t accepted because they only needed 8 fighters to dispute a title, but when one of them got injured I jumped in and I ended up defeating all of the Super 8 contestants.

 

Specific accomplishments in pro competition? I fought in Brazil against Rafael Dias, and I knocked him out in 11 seconds.

 

Favorite grappling technique: Lateral control

 

Favorite striking technique: Kicks

• Team Werdum on TUF LATAM

• Pro since 2007

• Three wins by KO, three by submission (3 RNC)

• Has finished all but one of his wins, with all finishes coming in the first round

• Was on four fight pre-TUF winning streak

• Owns 11-second KO win over WEC vet Rafael Dias in 2012