Fabricio Werdum saves drowning teen on LA beach
“When I looked, I saw two little heads in the sea shouting ‘help’. They were very far, about 75 yards out.”
Former UFC heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum saved the life of a drowning teen on Sunday at a Torrance, California beach. The fighter was enjoying a picnic with his family when he saw a rescue effort beginning, and without hesitation dove into the ocean to assist.
A lifeguard in a boat saved one teen, while the fighter saved another. Werdum’s wife captured the moments when her husband and a man assisting onshore exited the surf with the teen.
Werdum explained what happened to AG Sports, via Google Translate.
“I was going to help and my wife Karine was in doubt, because it was dangerous, but when I looked, I saw two little heads in the sea shouting ‘help’. They were very far, about 75 yards out. When the lifeguard picked up the board alone, I took off my coat and ran off,” Werdum recounted. “I took the orange buoy, I slung it across my chest, and I arrived to the boy, a little ahead still. I told the lifeguard to get the girl, who was screaming a lot, and I got the boy, who was limp. I was able to catch him and we went towards the shore. Then, on the edge, a gentleman helped me. … The waves were large, the guy sank some three times. Wow, my heart was beating a million, it’s an extreme situation, the heart goes to a million. It’s worse than fighting. It does not even come close.”