UFC Fight Island 3 - Fabricio Werdum plays party-spoiler; submits Alexander Gustafsson in first round on latter's heavyweight debut

UFC veteran Fabricio Werdum may be reaching the fag end of his career and has even decided not to re-sign with the UFC but he's still got a few tricks up his sleeve.

The former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum looked in prime condition as he pursued a takedown in the first minute of the fight and managed to secure it successfully, and then locked up a nasty armbar to spoil Alexander Gustafsson's much-awaited comeback to the UFC following a brief retirement from the sport. At 2:30 in the very first round, Fabricio Werdum forced the Swedish knockout artist to tap, picking up a win inside the Octagon for the first time since 2017.

Don't count him out! 🤫 @FabricioWerdum with a MASSIVE win tonight. #InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/7cZL9v2WxQ

— UFC (@ufc) July 26, 2020

Following the victory, Fabricio Werdum gave an emotional speech.

“This is my strategy,” Werdum said about his submission victory. “This is a very important point for me. I’m very happy, I’m almost crying now.”

Following a disappointing performance in his last fight, Fabricio Werdum had a lot to prove heading into his final fight in the UFC against former sparring partner Gustafsson. Fabricio Werdum started strongly on the feet and later swooped inside to look for the takedown. Gustafsson tried to wriggle his way out of a mauling on the ground at the hands of one of the most accomplished grapplers in the history of the sport but he got trapped and Fabricio Werdum doesn't require an invitation to make good use of the advantage he has on ground.

Werdum transitioned to the arm instead of taking the back and was finally able to break the Swede's resistance, extending the armbar to get the finish.