Werdum claims UFC heavyweight title with spectacular submission victory over Velasquez

For more coverage of UFC 188, check out our complete recap of every fight on the card.

Fabricio Werdum is the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

Werdum violently removed the interim tag from his heavyweight title on Saturday night, improbably submitting long-time champion Cain Velasquez with a guillotine choke to cap a spectacular firefight at UFC 188 in Mexico City on Saturday night.

Uninterested in the feeling out process, both men threw caution to the wind to start the first round, and absolutely unloaded on each other, with each landing heavy shots. Velasquez took Werdum down multiple times, but really didn't want to engage the grappling wizard on the floor.

Velasquez looked gassed in the second round, and, although he landed some heavy leg kicks, Werdum used his gigantic head for target practice, repeatedly wobbling Velasquez with massive punches and knees from the clinch. It almost seemed like a miracle that Velasquez was able to survive the violent onslaught.

Werdum continued to bludgeon Velasquez with fists and knees to start the third stanza, and when Velasquez foolishly dove in for a desperate double-leg, the former BJJ world champion immediately sunk in a fight-ending guillotine choke.

What. A. Fight.