Fabricio Werdum Upsets Cain Velasquez in Mexico City at UFC 188 To Become Heavyweight Champion

Cain Velasquez went into his fight against Fabricio Werdum as the favorite on Saturday night at UFC 188. What transpired in the Mexico City Arena was a little different than what everyone expected. Wedum, with a record of 20-5-1, tapped Velasquez out with a guillotine choke. With the win Werdum became the new undisputed UFC Heavyweight Champion. The championship victory comes five years to the day after he upset heavyweight Fedor Emelianeko at Strikeforce.

Werdum's road to becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion was a dominant one. Before tapping out Velasquez in three rounds he claimed the interim from Mark Hunt by knocking him out at UFC 180. Werdum said of his win last night that the hardest part was adjusting to the physical landscape of Mexico City.

"I was in Mexico for 34 days," Werdum said. "Adjusting to the altitude is very hard. I had a good strategy. I just have a big dream and I got it today."

Going into the fight Velasquez hadn't seen action in the octagon for 602 days. He went down with a knee injury back in October 2013.

After the fight, Velasquez apologized to his people in Mexico City.

"Sorry to everyone here," Velasquez said. "It was my dream to fight here and win in front of everyone. I didn't do it tonight and I'm sorry. I will be back more motivated and win that belt again."

Werdum's win is being described as a Cinderella story. The new champion was released in 2008, after a knockout loss to Junior dos Santos. After that fight Werdum went 9-1 and is in the midst of a six-fight winning streak.