Saturday night was a historic one for the UFC in Mexico City. It was just the second time the promotion has put on a show there, and the atmosphere was great for the sport. The altitude wasn’t exactly ideal for all of the fighters at UFC 188, though.
Per Fox Sports UFC on Twitter, UFC head man Dana White said that a number of the fighters felt the effects of fighting 7,000-plus feet above sea level:
Only the strong were able to come out victorious under the conditions. Here’s a look at all of the results from UFC 188:
Top Performances
Per the UFC on Twitter, Fabricio Werdum and Patrick Williams earned Performance of the Night bonuses. Charles Rosa and Yair Rodriguez won bonuses for Fight of the Night.
Quite honestly, the Rosa vs. Rodriguez fight won the bonus by default. There really weren’t any great scraps on this card.
Of all the fights, that one had the most action, as the 23-year-old Rodriguez used better striking to win a decision over the grappling-minded Rosa. Those two lucked out as they didn’t have a ton of competition for the event’s Fight of the Night bonus.
Werdum
Discussion about the top performances from the evening has to begin with Werdum’s improbable win over Cain Velasquez to win the undisputed UFC heavyweight title. Most expected Velasquez to dominate upon his return to the Octagon, but Werdum scored a relatively easy win.
Velasquez came out aggressive and may have actually won the first round, but toward the end of the opening frame, he began to slow down. The altitude and Werdum’s sturdiness seemed to be sapping his energy.
By the middle of the second round, Werdum was teeing off with jabs, uppercuts and knees. Velasquez’s face was a bloody mess, and he looked exhausted.
In the third round, Werdum continued the onslaught and took advantage of a desperate and sloppy takedown attempt from Velasquez. Werdum sunk in a guillotine choke deep, and Velasquez tapped quickly. Unless Bethe Correia finds a way to knock off Ronda Rousey at UFC 190, MMA fans aren’t likely to see a more shocking result this year.
Williams
The altitude didn’t get a chance to bother Williams. He only needed 23 seconds to submit Alejandro Perez. The speedy finish set a bantamweight record for fastest submission victory.
Williams landed two hard rights that dropped Perez, and he quickly locked on the signature move of the event. The guillotine choke put Perez to sleep.
Williams’ performance after the fight was just as impressive as his work during the bout.
The crowd booed him loudly before the fight and during his post-fight interview, but when he began to speak fluent Spanish to the Mexican crowd, he turned the boos to cheers. Williams talked about his win and that moment in the video below from UFC.com:
This could be a star-making performance for Williams. Keep an eye on him moving forward.
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