Reported at ESPN.com the Fabricio Werdum camp failed to strike a deal with Affliction. According to the report, the aim was to participate in Affliction’s “Day of Reckoning” event on 24 January 2009, but negotiations failed when it came to numbers. Currently there are no plans to reopen the discussion.

Werdum is considered to be a top ten heavyweight, but has not been able to sustain his winning performance. With an impressive professional record both in and out of the UFC, he is a proven fighter with wins over Gabriel Gonzaga, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Brandon Vera in the last two years. However, with his loss against Andrei Arlovski at UFC 70, and an upset loss to Junior Almeida at UFC 90, Werdum’s managers are going to need a sharper pencil if he wants to keep fighting.