Fabricio Werdum submitted Cain Velasquez in the third round of their main event tilt at UFC 188 to become the undisputed champion of the UFC's heavyweight division.
It was a performance that saw Vai Cavalo weather the notorious cardio-driven relentless pace that has become Velasquez's signature attribute in the opening round, only to batter the long-standing divisional king with crisp striking and pressure of his own in the second frame. The AKA staple's face was a mess of crimson and exhaustion as a result of those striking exchanges, and Velasquez's corner stressed to their fighter to put Werdum on his back in the third stanza.
The Brazilian grappling ace's proven credentials on the mat made that a dangerous route to travel, and the San Jose-based fighter paid the price for it as he was forced to tap to a guillotine choke seconds after landing the takedown. The victory was a crowning moment for Werdum and his team at Kings MMA as Master Rafael Cordeiro has been widely credited with the expansion of the newly minted champion's game.
And while Velasquez gave full credit to Werdum for being the better man at UFC 188, he also told the press in attendance his decision to only spend two weeks training in the high altitude and low air quality of Mexico City was a costly mistake. Werdum's camp believes outside elements had nothing to do with their fighter's win over Velasquez, and Cordeiro recently told Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting it's a bout his heavyweight finishing artist would win each and every time.
Werdum fights Cain Velasquez 10 times, he wins 10 times. I think people should stop finding explanations for results. If you lost, you lost, go back to the gym and train. It’s a sport. Got a bad result? Train harder. The altitude was the same for everyone.
The fight was announced and everybody knew they would have to deal with altitude, so go there one month earlier. But even if you go there one month before, that’s now a guarantee that you’re going to win. You have to be prepared to fight. We always believed in Werdum, and today he proved he’s the best fighter on the planet.
The UFC promoted the winner of Velasquez vs. Werdum as being the "baddest man on the planet," and the rangy Porto Alegre, Brazil, native certainly earned that distinction. Prior to being drubbed by Werdum in Mexico City, Velasquez had only been defeated on one other occasion as the result of a flash knockout suffered at the right hand of Junior dos Santos when they met for the first time at UFC on Fox 1 in Nov. 2011.
Velasquez would go on to avenge that loss two more times as he handed Cigano the worst beatings of his professional career, and the fashion in which the heavyweight machine smashed JDS made his lone loss appear circumstantial in hindsight. Nevertheless, the way Werdum handled the difficult challenge of dethroning Velasquez was done in such dominant and brutal fashion there was no doubt when their main event bout concluded.
And while Velasquez's camp believes things would and will eventually be different should he meet Werdum again, the reigning king of the heavyweight division and his team have reason to believe otherwise.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
