UFC 188 Results: Fabricio Werdum Is Officially The Baddest Man On The Planet
UFC 188 is complete from Mexico City, Mexico (Saturday, June 13, 2015). Arena Ciudad de Mexico played host to this stacked card, ultimately leading to the crowning of a new heavyweight champion.
In the main event, Cain Velasquez took the octagon to defend his heavyweight title against Fabricio Werdum. In the first round, Cain pressured Werdum, but slowed down towards the end. As round two came around, Cain started to get tired. Werdum started to control the fight with his striking, believe it or not. As the fight went on, Cain grew more and more tired. In the third round, Velasquez looked to be out on his feet on multiple occasions. After Velasquez got tagged, he rushed in to take down Werdum, only to leave his neck open. Werdum grabbed Velasquez, and squeezed forcing the champion to tap.
It didn’t take long for drama to ensue between Eddie Alvarez and Gilbert Melendez. Two minutes into the first round, Alvarez caught a brutal elbow from Melendez in a heated exchanged, that forced his left eye shut due to swelling. Melendez controlled the rest of the round, and it seemed as if Alvarez might have dug himself into a deep hole. Alvarez came out firing in round two, dominating Melendez in every aspect of the game. The same continued in the third round, as Alvarez used his wrestling to gain some valuable points. Alvarez opened up Melendez at the end of the third round to show the judges he deserved the close win. The fight ended with both fighters raising their hands, but the judges saw it go in favor of Alvarez.
As Kelvin Gastelum and Nate Marquardt took the octagon, it was obvious that the younger Gastelum was very comfortable at 185 pounds. Gastelum dominated the battle tested Marquardt with striking and wrestling. In round two, referee Dan Miragliotta was very close to stopping the fight when Marquardt was turtled up against the fence taking strikes from the dominant Gastelum. As the bell sounded, and Marquardt walked back to his corner, his team determined that he could not continue. Marquardt put up a good fight, and showed a lot of heart, but it was not enough for the fresher, crisper Gastelum.
Yair Rodriguez and Charles Rosa took the octagon as the second fight on this main card. In the first round, Rosa was able to take Rodriguez down, but soon found himself fending off a very tight guillotine choke attempt from Rodriguez. In the second round, Rodriguez started to separate himself with Jon Jones like striking. And when Rosa was able to take Rodriguez down, he was busy in the guard like Anthony Pettis. The fight finished with an intense scramble, and the crowd on its feet screaming. This three round war was fight of the night worthy.
Angela Hill and Tecia Torres came out as the first fight on this very anticipated main card. Torres and Hill opened up with some exchanges, but it was clear soon there after that Torres was on another level. Every attack by Hill was stuffed and countered. Torres controlled the octagon with swift striking, and superior wrestling. In between rounds two and three, cameras showed Hill sitting with her arms over her trainer, taking very deep, raspy breaths. From there, it was all but over. Torres closed out the fight in complete control of her opponent. The crowd let the two fighters know of their displeasure with the fight, but Torres was happy that she got out of there with a win.
UFC 188 PPV Main Event:
265 Pounds: Fabricio Werdum def. Cain Velasquez via R3 submission (guillotine, 2:43)
UFC 188 PPV Co-Main Event:
155 Pounds: Eddie Alvarez def. Gilbert Melendez via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
UFC 188 PPV Undercard (10 p.m. ET):
185 Pounds: Kelvin Gastelum def. Nate Marquardt via R2 TKO (referee stoppage, 5:00)
145 Pounds: Yair Rodriguez def. Charles Rosa via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
115 Pounds: Tecia Torres def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 20-27)