Fabricio Werdum tiedPFL MMA opponentRenan Ferreira up with a triangle choke Thursday.- Ferreira tapped, but the referee didn't spot it. Werdum loosened the hold and then lost by knockout.
- Werdum - a former UFC champ - bemoaned the result. Watch it all unfold right here.
The former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum lost his Professional Fighters League debut in bizarre fashion Thursday, appearing to make his opponent tap before being knocked out himself seconds later.
It all went down at PFL 3, a behind-closed-doors MMA event at the $200 million Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
PFL 3 was the third event of the 2021 PFL season, and showcased the league's biggest and baddest athletes - male heavyweights and female lightweights.
In the PFL, athletes vie for as many points as possible so they can proceed to the playoffs later in the year.
As PFL analyst and commentator Kenny Florian pointed out to Insider earlier this week, Werdum is regarded as one of the favorites for this season's $1 million winner's check.
Werdum looked to be living up to that reputation Thursday and thought he had his bout done and dusted in the first round. He had Renan Ferreira in a triangle choke, and appeared to make him tap twice.
His pursuit of the PFL Championship suffered a strange hiccup, however, when the referee did not seem to spot Ferreira tapping out.
Moments later Werdum was beaten by knockout.
Watch the submission right here:
-ESPN MMA (@espnmma) May 7, 2021
Immediately after appearing to tap, Ferreira unleashed hammerfists on Werdum, rendering him unconscious, and reversing the result. Ferreira scored a knockout victory as opposed to suffering a submission defeat.
The ramifications of the outcome are huge for the state of the PFL league. Victories in the league format are rewarded with three points, with additional points given to finishes.
Rather than top the heavyweight table with six points (three for a win and three for a first-round finish), Werdum instead sees himself with zero, looking up at Ferreira who has those six points.
"I don't want to say nothing to him," Werdum said, according to MMA Fighting. "But he knows in his mind that he tapped. And it's not fair."
See Ferreira's knockout win here:
-PFL (@PFLMMA) May 7, 2021
It is currently unclear if Werdum will officially challenge the result. If he were to challenge the result, it is not certain that it would be successful.