At 37 years of age, Fabricio Werdum has defied the odds and the hopes of an entire nation, defeating Cain Velasquez to take the UFC Heavyweight Championship of the world in front of the sold-out Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City.
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The title unification bout was largely expected to be one-way traffic, with many believing Werdum, the Interim Heavyweight Champion, would be at a disadvantage on the feet against Velasquez in the champion's first fight since October 2013.
Velasquez, born in America to Mexican parents, was the overwhelming favourite and walked to the Octagon to a standing ovation.
From the first bell, it was quickly evident that Werdum would not just hold his own, but rather he was going to comprehensively outstrike the champion in almost every aspect.
The two heavyweights began exchanging toe to toe from the opening bell, and Werdum's crisp, long jabs and deft clinch game gave Velasquez constant trouble and before long the champion was cut over both eyes.
Velaquez managed to take Werdum down, but chose to continue striking, unwilling to go to the ground with the multiple-time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu world champion.
While that takedown likely gave Velasquez the first round, the fight was one-way traffic from there on.
Werdum came out in the second round looking fresh while Velasquez, famed for his cardio, was breathing heavily and his footwork had slowed considerably, allowing Werdum to utilise his Muay Thai clinch and hit the champion with a barrage of uppercuts and knees.
By the third round, it was clear that if the fight stayed on the feet Velasquez would at the very least lose a decision, and his head trainer Javier Mendez urged him to go back to his wrestling roots and take the Brazilian down.
That was all the invitation Werdum needed. He waited for Velasquez to shoot for the takedown and instantly slapped on a guillotine choke, forcing the champion to tap, to the dismay of the Mexican fans, with two minutes and 13 seconds remaining in the third round.
After the fight, the new champion gave thanks to his trainer and said he knew it was only a matter of time before an opportunity would present itself.
"I had a good strategy, I had a big dream," he said.
"I have trained the guillotine a long time... I knew he was going to takedown my legs and I waited for the opportunity.
"When I'm the underdog I believe more... I knew that spending 40 days in Mexico would help me."
Werdum had trained extensively at altitude in Mexico and Velasquez admitted he had not spent enough time in the country to acclimatise to the conditions, 2250 metres above sea level.
"[This loss is] more motivation for me to get better and win that belt back again," he said.
"Two weeks I was out here training for the fight... I guess it wasn't enough.
"He was better than I was tonight... I was here two weeks before the fight and I felt I should have been here longer, but the truth is Werdum was better than I was tonight, he fought with great technique and he was very relaxed."
For his troubles, Werdum not only claimed the UFC Heavyweight Title, but also a win bonus, a $50,000 performance of the night bonus and possibly a date with Stipe Miocic following his big win over Australian Mark Hunt in Adelaide on May 10.
In the co-main event, Eddie Alvarez overcame a broken nose and a closed eye to score a controversial split-decision over arch-rival Gilbert Melendez in the lightweight division.
Melendez dominated the first round, with a series of short elbow strikes breaking the nose of Alvarez, which caused his left eye to completely close up due to the swelling.
However the former Bellator champion did just enough to edge Melendez out over the next two rounds, leaving the former Strikeforce champion with a UFC record of 1-4.
Kelvin Gastelum announced that he can become a contender in the 185-pound division, with the former welterweight dominating veteran Nate Marquardt, who could not answer the bell at the start of the third round.
Rising featherweights Charles Rosa and Yair Rodriguez are now both $50,000 richer after engaging in a three-round fight of the night war.
The spectacular fight was a back-and-forth battle, pitting a submission specialist in Rosa against a striker with an extensive Taekwondo background in Rodriguez.
In the end, it was the home-town favouritein Rodriguez who secured the split decision victory, however the loss will do nothing to Rosa's standing in the featherweight division.
On the preliminary card, Olympic gold medallist Henry Cejudo overcame a bout of food poisoning to earn a unanimous decision victory over Chico Camus.
Camus gave Cejudo much more resistance than anticipated, with the Olympian struggling to take the 13th-ranked flyweight down, however he managed to outstrike Camus on the feet to claim the victory and signal himself as a serious threat to flyweight kingpin Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson.