New Interim Heavyweight Champion Crowned At UFC 180

Mark Hunt went into UFC 180 with an incredible Cinderella story (read about it here), but in the end the glass slipper didn't fit, and Fabricio Werdum became the UFC's Interim Heavyweight Champion.

Mark Hunt did well in the early going, winning the first round handily. He connected on several big shots and looked to avoid the ground game of Werdum, notably once when Werdum looked like he was playing possum. Werdum was able to tap out iconic heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko with a similar technique years ago, but Hunt steered clear of it in the early going.

Frustration led to Hunt tossing Werdum to the mat, which was more of a guard pull than anything else. Werdum threatened off of his back, constantly switching his hips and looking for an angle to submit "The Super Samoan" Hunt. Eventually Hunt escaped and backed out of the guard, shrugged off a couple takedown attempts and landed a huge uppercut and straight to close and win round one.

The elevated altitude of Mexico City had an obvious adverse effect on Hunt, who barely trained for the fight and spent the majority of his abbreviated preparation and paid the price. Werdum faked a takedown and scored a major flying knee that dropped Hunt. Werdum followed up with ground and pound until the bout was stopped, with Werdum becoming the new UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion. An ADCC grappling champion in Werdum knocked out K-1 kickboxing champion in Hunt.

It looks as if Fabricio Werdum will take on his original opponent, UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez in a rescheduled bout in Mexico in 2015. If Velasquez's injury woes continue, however, he'll be stripped of the championship, and Werdum will be promoted to undisputed champion. After a year that saw injuries cripple UFC cards, that's the last thing the company needs.

To check out full results from UFC 180, click here. You can also watch the full post-fight press conference above.