MMAjunkie Staff

MMA Junkie

Fabricio Werdum assessed the situation and didn't think twice about it. He did what he had to do.

The former UFC heavyweight champion had been at the beach with his family near his home in Torrance, Calif., for almost an hour when the local fire department arrived to rescue two teenagers in a dire situation at sea. There was only one lifeguard about to attempt to rescue the kids from drowning. When Werdum realized this, he didn't hesitate to spring into action.

"When we saw the fireman's car, the car stopped in front of us. I said I was going to help, and Karine (his wife) wasn't sure, because it was dangerous," Werdum told Brazilian web site AgFight.com in Portuguese. "But when I looked, there were two tiny heads at sea yelling 'help.' They were very far, about 70 meters away. When the lifeguard grabbed the board by himself, I took off my coat and ran. I took the orange floater, threw it across my chest, and I arrived with him, a little further ahead even. I told him to get the girl, who was screaming a lot, and I got the boy, who was already limp. I was able to get him, and we swam toward the beach. …

"Then, at shore, an old man helped me. The waves were big. The girl sank about three times."

Back on the beach, Werdum's wife captured video of him walking with the boy after saving his life (via YouTube).

Werdum described what he was feeling during the rescue.

"Wow, my heart was beating a million," he said. "It's an extreme situation. The heart goes to a million. It's worse than a fight. It's not even close."

Werdum, 41, is currently serving a two-year suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and has requested his release from the UFC.