Fabricio Werdum shocked the world with his third-round submission win over Cain Velasquez on Saturday night. With the victory, Werdum became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. The 37-year-old Brazilian was expected by many to be dominated by Velasquez, but he had other ideas.
Velasquez came out strong early looking to push the pace, but it looked as if the altitude in Mexico City got the best of him. By the second round, a combination of Werdum’s striking and Velasquez’s fatigue led to a bloody face for the latter.
In the third round, Velasquez was totally gassed. Werdum again peppered him with shots. Velasquez went for the takedown and fell right into Werdum’s guillotine. It didn’t take long for Velasquez to tap out.
It was a stellar performance from Werdum and well worth the Performance of the Night bonus he earned, per the UFC’s official Twitter account:
Per Ariel Helwani of Fox Sports UFC, during the post-fight press conference, Werdum was still floating on cloud nine after his accomplishment:
Fox Sports’ Damon Martin believes Werdum could ultimately be the greatest heavyweight of all time:
It’s hard to argue with that statement. With Saturday’s win, Werdum has beaten two fighters widely considered to be the best heavyweights in the history of the sport. This win has to at least put him in the conversation.
In the co-main event, Eddie Alvarez edged Gilbert Melendez via split decision in a close and hard-fought battle. After losing the first round and eating a vicious elbow that caused heavy swelling above his left eye, Alvarez showed his mettle in the second and third frames.
He secured three takedowns and landed two spinning elbows that opened cuts on Melendez’s head. The shots clearly held a lot of weight with the judges as well.
It was an impressive comeback for Alvarez. He was legit stunned by Melendez’s elbow in the first round. It seemed he was headed for his second straight loss in the UFC after losing to Donald Cerrone in his debut with the promotion.
Instead, he fought through the adversity and earned a win over one of the best fighters in the division.
To close out the preliminary scraps, flyweight contender Henry Cejudo won a unanimous decision over Chico Camus. Cejudo was expected to dominate Camus, but that wasn’t the case. Camus showed some nice striking and excellent takedown defense.
Camus stuffed 14 of the 15 takedown attempts from the Olympic gold medalist. While Cejudo was unable to have his way, he was still the man pressing the pace and controlling the Octagon. Because of that, he did earn the decision.
Cejudo might have been slowed by the effects of a “bad taco” he ate during fight week. During the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Cejudo mentioned he considered bowing out of the fight but chose to push through. The question now is: Has Cejudo earned a shot at flyweight champion Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson?
With Johnson having beaten everyone else in the division, no one should complain if Cejudo is the man next in line for Johnson. Mighty Mouse needs a formidable opponent. It just might be an exciting bout that helps endear the division to a larger audience.
Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter:
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com