Werdum silences doubters — again

For all the doubters that thought it was a fluke when Fabricio Werdum submitted the man widely considered to be the greatest heavyweight in the world, he went and did it again.

Werdum says it felt even better the second time around.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist tapped out Fedor Emelianenko back in 2010 in a Strikeforce bout when Emelianenko had never suffered a true loss in his career. He had been cut from the UFC two years earlier and was not even in the discussion of the world’s best heavyweights.

Even the win didn’t do a whole lot for his career as it was easily dismissed as a fluke. That notion was supported by the fact Werdum lost his next fight to Alistair Overeem a year later.

But the 37-year-old hasn’t lost since and his climb to the top of the sport was complete when he submitted Cain Velasquez, the man now thought of as the best heavyweight in the world, in the main event of a card in Mexico City to become the UFC heavyweight champion.

“When I fought versus Fedor in 2010 it was an amazing fight and nobody believed in me again,” Werdum said on Saturday night. “This moment today is the best moment of my life because I’m the best in the world in the UFC at heavyweight.

“I’m very, very happy.”

He’s also propelled himself into the conversation of the best heavyweights in the sport’s young history.

Now, he’ll have to cement his place in history by defending the title. There’s no clear-cut top contender to get the first crack.

Junior dos Santos and Stipe Miocic are likely candidates. Dos Santos is a former champion who knocked Werdum out in 2008. Miocic has put together a strong run of success with a 4-1 mark since the start of 2013, with the only loss coming to Dos Santos.

Former champion Andrei Arlovski, who also owns a win over Werdum, has won five straight fights.

“Obviously, it makes the heavyweight division very interesting,” UFC president Dana White said of Werdum’s win. “There a lot of different options. We’ll go back, sit down and talk about it. The heavyweight division is very exciting right now. You know Cain is going to come back like a mad man, so it’s going to be fun.”

Werdum actually floated the possibility of his first defense coming against Velasquez in Las Vegas. The location is key because the elevation of Mexico City seemed to take a toll on Velasquez, who only spent two weeks training there while Werdum moved his entire camp there for nearly two months.

Velasquez refused to blame the elements.

“I was here two weeks before the fight, maybe that wasn’t enough,” he said. “Again, no excuses, Fabricio was the better guy tonight. He fought with great technique, very relaxed. So, he was just the better guy tonight.”

Velasquez appeared exhausted after winning the first round and he wasn’t alone. White said he believed six fighters vomited after competing in the elevated and polluted air of Mexico City

“People think Denver is a tough place to fight. This is a tough place to fight,” White said. “I think we broke the record for guys puking in the back. This altitude kills you here.”

KIMBO, SHAMROCK FINALLY SQUARE OFF — Street-fighting legend Kimbo Slice, who rose to prominence on YouTube before attempting a sanctioned fighting career, will return to an MMA cage for the first time since 2010 on Friday when he headlines a Bellator card in St. Louis against Ken Shamrock.

Slice, whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, went 1-1 during his time in the UFC. He was knocked out by Matt Mitrione in May 2010 and was released from the organization.

He has gone 7-0 as a boxer and also done some acting in the meantime.

The 41-year-old former Miami football player was signed by Bellator in January and will fight Shamrock, 51, a former professional wrestler and UFC star, who also last competed in MMA in 2010.

The two were supposed to fight on CBS in 2008, but Shamrock was injured during warmups and was unable to compete.

The main card, which also features a featherweight title bout between Daniel Weichel and champion Patricio Freire, airs live on Spike (Channel 29) at 6 p.m.

Las Vegan Michael Chandler, the former lightweight champion, is also in action against Derek Campos.

UFC RETURNS TO BERLIN — Jessica Penne will challenge Joanna Jedrzejczyk for the women’s strawweight title in the main event of a UFC card in Berlin on Saturday.

The event, the UFC’s fourth in Germany and first since May 2014, will stream exclusively on the UFC’s online platform, Fight Pass.

Jedrzejczyk took the belt in March with a second-round knockout of Carla Esparza. This will be her first title defense.

Penne, a former Invicta champion, competed on “The Ultimate Fighter” and made her official UFC debut in December with a split decision win over Randa Markos.

Also, featherweight Dennis Siver will fight in his home country for the first time since 2010 when he takes on Tatsuya Kawajiri.

The 11-fight card will stream live beginning at noon.

CYBORG TO FIGHT IN LAS VEGAS — Cristiane “Cyborg” Justino will defend her Invicta Fighting Championship 145-pound title in the main event of the organization’s card inside The Chelsea at Cosmopolitan Las Vegas on July 9.

Faith Van Dunn has been named as her opponent for the event, which will take place during the UFC’s International Fight Week in advance of UFC 189 on July 11.

The event will stream live on Fight Pass.

Invicta is an all-female fighting organization. This will mark its first event in Las Vegas.

Also scheduled on the card is Marina Shafir, the longtime best friend and training partner of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. Shafir was unbeaten in five fights as an amateur, but is 1-1 as a pro and coming off a knockout loss in August.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.