UFC 188 Preview: Cain Velasquez vs. Fabricio Werdum
UFC 188 is set to go down in two days on June 13, 2015 from Mexico City, Mexico. In the main event, oft-injured heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is finally set to make his long-awaited, and highly-anticipated return to defend his title against arguably his most well-rounded and toughest test to date in interim champion Fabricio “Vai Cavalo” Werdum.
Werdum has improved tremendously as of late training at Kings MMA, and has won his last five bouts. He may be able to offer the champion some challenges, but then again, Velasquez is the best heavyweight in the world for a reason. Check out the LowKickMMA Velasquez vs. Werdum breakdown here.
Striking:
This is the area where Werdum has made the most notable improvements, adding a devastating arsenal of kicks, elbows, and knees to his striking game. “Vai Cavalo” put on a striking clinic against Travis Browne in April 2014 to originally earn his title shot, battering Browne over five-rounds. He also landed a beautiful flying knee to knockout highly touted striker Mark Hunt last November to become the interim champion. However, despite his improvements and the fact that he may be able to make it interesting on the feet, I have to give the champion the advantage.
Velasquez is an absolute animal on the feet with crisp combinations. Known for his go-forward style, he implements a relentless pace that his opponents simply can’t keep up with. Velasquez also lands an outrageously high and impressive 6.10 significant strikes per minute with an accuracy rating of 58.49%. The champion also doesn’t get hit too often, boasting a strong 88.89% defense rating. Although the Brazilian is not the same striker he used to be, he will be facing a different animal inside of the cage. 60-40 Velasquez.
Takedowns:
Velasquez is a former division 1 wrestler at Arizona State University, and may be the best wrestler in the heavyweight division. He lands 5.28 takedowns per contest as opposed to Werdum’s 1.83 and has a takedown accuracy rate of 44.30% as opposed to “Vai Cavalo’s” 32.56%. The champion also boasts a super impressive takedown defense rate of 88.89% percent as opposed to his opponents 36.67%, which likely means that Velasquez will be able to get Werdum down probably with ease, but I don’t see the Brazilian being able to takedown the champion.
He’ll have to be careful on the ground, but the champion is clearly the better wrestler. 65-35 Velasquez.
Submissions:
This is Werdum’s bread and butter as the interim champion is arguably one of the best submission artists to ever compete in mixed-martial-arts (MMA), if not the very best of all time. He’s a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and also a black belt in Judo with nine submission wins to his name. Werdum has put his talents on display throughout his career, submitting jiu-jitsu legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as well as all-time great Fedor Emelianenko.
The champion on the other hand is also a black belt in BJJ, but is not known for his submissions as he actually does not own a submission win. However, he has never lost by submission either as he is usually smothering opponents in the top position. I’m not sure I see the champion getting finished especially with his ground pressure, but if anyone could do it, it would be Werdum. 70-30 “Vai Cavalo”
Well there you have it. Fans are in for a very exciting matchup this weekend between two heavyweight greats, and a matchup that in my mind, could play out very interestingly and in many ways. We also don’t know how Velasquez will look after such a long layoff due to injury, and Werdum may have more of a chance than many are giving him. How do you see this fight playing out in Mexico City?
