Fabricio Werdum kicked down the king’s door, marched into the king’s castle and took the king’s throne. It was only fitting that Werdum be the man to remind us that no one is unbeatable.
Cain Velasquez, a heavyweight tornado, had effortlessly torn through every opponent in his path. Outside of a lone knockout loss to Junior dos Santos, no real chink in Velasquez’s armor had ever been revealed. He came back and dominated dos Santos in a pair of rematches, firmly establishing himself as the best heavyweight on the planet.
Werdum faced long odds against Velasquez in the UFC 188 main event. Mexico City hosted the UFC championship bout Saturday night, which saw the return of one of the greatest heavyweights in MMA history. With a home crowd behind him, Velasquez set out to unify the heavyweight titles after spending nearly two years on the shelf.
Like MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, Velasquez is a fighter who rarely wears his emotions on his sleeve. But something about fighting in Mexico made this bout different. He threw stoicism to the curb as he walked to the Octagon amid the pouring rain of love and admiration from fans.
As Mexican fans celebrated Velasquez’s arrival, Werdum quietly paced back and forth as calm as ever. This wasn’t the first time he’s played the role of massive underdog. Let’s face it: When it comes to spoiling things, Werdum is MMA’s classier version of Kanye West.
It was just five years ago that Werdum handed Emelianenko his first official MMA loss. Few thought he’d be able to shock the world once more against Velasquez. The idea that no man is unbeatable is a concept we typically kick around after the fact. But in reality, few saw Velasquez running out of gas after one round and getting submitted by a guillotine choke, which is exactly what happened.
Velasquez, one of the most conditioned athletes in combat sports, wasn’t prepared for the high altitude that comes along with fighting in Mexico. When speaking with Fox Sports’ Ariel Helwani, Werdum admitted he knew Velasquez would have a tough time acclimating to the conditions.
“I saw when he was very tired because he just come into Mexico two weeks before,” Werdum said. “I listened when he breathed and I saw when he was very tired, and I said, ‘This is my moment.’”
Being the only man to defeat Velasquez and Emelianenko, Werdum was asked if he was now the greatest heavyweight of all time.
“Yes, I have it here. I have two belts. I have one at my home, and I have the other one here,” said Werdum.
After his performance Saturday night, it really does make you wonder.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for FanRag Sports and co-founder of The MMA Bros.
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