Remember When: Fabricio Werdum Submitted Fedor Emelianenko

UFC interim heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum wil ltake to the octagon at UFC 188 this weekend (Saturday June 13th, 2015) as he takes on Cain Velasquez in a title unification bout in Mexico. The former Pride FC and Strikeforce veteran ‘Vai Cavalo’ has some serious names on his record, including victories over Antonio Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem and, perhaps most famously, Fedor Emelianenko.

‘The Last Emperor’ was unbeaten in 10 years when he faced Werdum under the now extinct Strikeforce banner in 2010, and was fresh off a rousing second round decimation of Brett Rogers. Seemingly untouchable, Fedor entered the fight with the Brazilian grappler as a heavy favorite, and there was hardly anyone that expected Werdum to win, let alone finish Emelianenko in San Jose, California.

‘Vai Cavalo’ didn’t have the best start, getting lit up on the feet by the Sambo master, and it seemed as though all was going as planned for Fedor. Then, as he often did during his prime in the Pride FC day, Emelianenko lept in to Werdum’s guard with wild punches. Werdum locked up a tight arm-triangle choke and after a short struggle to get free, ‘The Last Emperor’ tapped out to the vice grip-like submission hold.

The sensational win put Fabricio Werdum on the map, and he has only lost one fight since. Fedor Emelianenko wouold go on to retire two years after, his best years clearly behind him, but still a legend of the sport. Werdum, on the other hand, has gone on to reach his own prime, but will he be able to defeat the monster that is the current UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez?

Watch the free Fedor Emelianenko vs. Fabricio Werdum fight video above, and stay tuned to LowKickMMA for more UFC 188 pre-fight hype and coverage!