After Cain Velasquez‘s first-round TKO victory over Antonio Silva in their UFC 160 rematch, there should be no question that Velasquez is the most dominant heavyweight in MMA.
Silva’s credentials to enter into such a fight were dubious at best. Just two fights removed from a one-sided beatdown at the hands of Velasquez, there wasn’t much indication that Silva was any more prepared to take on the well-rounded skills that the champion brings to the table.
Velasquez made sure that everyone knew he didn’t belong in the cage with him. After going for a takedown and failing early on, he went to his quick hands to send Silva to the ground where he followed up with some of his signature ground and pound.
It was a typical performance from Velasquez and one that led Bleacher Report’s MMA Lead Writer Jeremy Botter to say that there’s no heavyweight in the world that can unseat the champion:
It’s hard to argue his case.
Velasquez is simply a rare talent. Velasquez weighs in well below the 265-pound limit at 240, but he’s shown that he doesn’t lack for power at the lighter weight. It also gives allows him to be quicker than everyone and gives him better cardio than anyone in the division—not that he has to use it very often.
The first-round finish was his sixth since making his UFC debut back in 2008. Only four opponents have made it out of the opening frame and none of them were able to beat him.
Yes, the early TKO of Silva wasn’t a big surprise, but outside of Junior dos Santos, it’s about the average level of competition that Velasquez will see as the champion.
Even dos Santos, who will be the next challenger to the championship and is the only man to beat Velasquez, should be a heavy underdog to take the title. While dos Santos put him away with just one strike, Velasquez’s win was one-sided for a full 25-minute fight.
With a title defense out of the way and a dominant win on his resume over the No. 2 fighter in the division, Velasquez could be in the middle of a legendary title run.
The heavyweight division has been notorious for turnover at the top. No champion has defended the belt three consecutive times, but Velasquez seems like a safe bet to do just that.
If he can get the best of dos Santos once again, there aren’t many legitimate contenders in the division that have proven they can give him problems.
Velasquez could go down as the most dominant heavyweight champion in the history of the organization.
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