Despite being branded an interim champion, Fabricio Werdum proved that there was a reason he was chosen as the UFC heavyweight champion.
Among the critics included Cain Velasquez who submitted in the third round of UFC 180 at the Mexico City Arena in what is being billed as one of the most stunning upsets in mixed martial arts history.
Werdum showed he was in pretty good shape, wearing down Velasquez who on the other end seemed to be struggling. After seemingly running out of gas after the second round, Velasquez resorted to take downs as he was seemingly left gasping for air.
While the strategy seemed to work, Werdum employed an alternative maneuver in his guillotine which eventually forced Velasquez to tap out and reward the former with perhaps the biggest win of his career.
“We knew the fight would be fought everywhere and that we’d have to do that,” Velasquez said of fighting on the ground. “We’re not one-[dimensional] any more. It goes to the ground and we fight there.”
Both fighters were actually set to face off as early as November last year but an injury to Velasquez prevented the fight from happening.
Werdum would go on to fight a different fighter in Mark Hunt. Werdum would come out victorious and claim the interim championship at UFC 180.
It has been a rough road ahead for Velasquez, someone who hasn’t fought in 603 days. His last victory was at the expense of Junior dos Santos at UFC 166 in 2013 and his lack of conditioning was visibly apparent, struggling in the match.
The altitude was seen as a factor as well. Werdum was able to acclimatize himself spending 40 days in Mexico and training at 10,000 feet. Velasquez on the other hand arrived two weeks out and trained at only 7,500 feet.
Werdum got the job done using his jiu-jitsu knowledge which eventually set up Cain for the submission. Prior to that however, it was Werdum’s constant strikes at Velasquez which set up for the kill.
While Werdum savors his monumental victory, Velasquez is left in the doldrums figuring out what to do next.
He was being wooed as the spiritual successor of Fedor Emelianenko prior to the match. But with the setback, it is back to the drawing board for American mixed martial artist.
Velasquez is seen as a potential fighter that possesses all the tools to be the baddest man in the planet. The setback is temporary and the former 2-time champion can still regain lost ground.
However, he needs to do a better job conditioning and taking care of himself plus assessing if he does have the right team handling him in big title fights such as this one.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
