Sherdog.com’s 2015 Submission of the Year

4. Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez
UFC 188
Saturday, June 13
Mexico City Arena | Mexico City
Not all submissions are created equal. Some are spectacular feats of athleticism and skill. Others showcase technical wizardry that makes us hit rewind and watch it in slow motion over and over to figure out exactly how they happened; and some submissions are a little simple and a little plain but occur in a way that creates divisional shockwaves throughout the sport. That is how Fabricio Werdum’s third-round guillotine choke on Cain Velasquez stakes its claim as one of the year’s finest submissions.

The fight itself was big. Naturally, whatever the outcome, it was going to stir up the dormant heavyweight division. Longtime champion Velasquez had been sidelined for nearly two years with shoulder and knee injuries, but before that, he was an absolutely unstoppable force. Aside from getting knocked out by a Junior dos Santos overhand that could have dropped a rhinoceros -- a loss that he thoroughly avenged twice afterwards -- Velasquez had steamrolled the rest of the division without dropping a single round. The only adversary that seemed to have any shot at derailing him was the injury bug. While questions of ring rust were rightfully asked, word was that Velasquez was strong and healthy for his third title defense.

Werdum, on the other hand, had been quietly compiling one of the greatest heavyweight resume’s the sport has ever seen. After returning to the UFC in 2012, “Vai Cavalo” won five straight fights, three of them finishes. His development as a fighter seemed to have come full circle when he claimed the interim heavyweight title against Mark Hunt in 2014, knocking out the former kickboxing standout with a devastating flying knee. Although Werdum always had a vaunted jiu-jitsu game, he had blossomed as a striker under the tutelage of Kings MMA head trainer Rafael Cordeiro. The man who was once known simply as “the guy who beat Fedor” had become a UFC champion.

There was one problem: Velasquez. After pulling out of the originally scheduled title tilt against Werdum, Velasquez was finally given the go-ahead to unify the belts. It was not just a comeback for Velasquez; it was a chance for him to live up to his potential and cement his name as one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time.

In the opening round, it looked like business as usual. Velasquez picked up where he left off, using a grueling work rate and a grinding pressure game to bully Werdum against the fence and land thudding strikes. Werdum hung tough and connected on several occasions, opening up a small cut over Velasquez’s eye. The round went to Velasquez, but the tides were starting to turn.

In the second frame, Werdum found his range as Velasquez visibly slowed down. He pieced up the incumbent champion with a steady diet of jabs and power punches to the body and head, throwing in the occasional knees and leg kicks for good measure. It was becoming a striking clinic. Werdum hurt Velasquez with crisp boxing combinations and sapped his waning energy with deep strikes to the body. Werdum ended the round in control of the fight, and Velasquez finished on rubbery legs.

In between rounds, Velasquez’s corner advised him to take down Werdum. Though Velasquez had never been remotely close to getting submitted in his career, the writing was on the wall.

The third round was a continuation of the second, and Werdum was only getting better as Velasquez slowed down. Werdum landed big knees, causing Velasquez to follow his corner’s advice and shoot for a takedown. Moments later, he was tapping to a guillotine from one of the greatest submission specialists to cross into MMA and one of the greatest heavyweights of all-time.

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