Maybe Cain Velasquez was a lot more rusty than most people expected entering his fight against Fabricio Werdum.
Velasquez, who hadn’t fought in a year and a half, lost to Werdum by third-round submission at UFC 188 on Saturday night in Mexico City. The former UFC heavyweight champion showed signs of being gassed towards the end of the first round, which could have been the result of conditioning problems and/or issues with the altitude in his home country.
Velasquez’s big mistake came when he tried for a takedown in the third round and was caught in a guillotine by Werdum, who got him to submit almost instantly.