What we knew would happen happened at UFC 160 on Saturday: Cain Velasquez made quick work of challenger Antonio Silva.
It wasn’t much of a fight, if you can even call it a fight at all. Velasquez, who improved to 12-1, dropped Silva with a right hand. He then proceeded to execute a chokehold, and finished the fight with his well-documented ground-and-pound game. The 30-year-old’s defense of his heavyweight title belt lasted a grand total of one minute, 21 seconds.
With the victory, Velasquez proved that the only challenger worth the effort is Junior Dos Santos, widely regarded as the No. 2 heavyweight in the world. While Velasquez scored a TKO against Silva, Dos Santos provided one of the most thrilling moments of Saturday’s action. The Brazilian landed a spinning kick to the side of Mark Hunt’s head in the third round of their fight, sending the “immovable” 265-pounder crashing to the canvas before knocking him out with a hard right hand.
Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report tweeted after the fight:
Velasquez’s rematch with Silva on Saturday was laughable. We already had a feeling that Velasquez would make it a tactical affair against Silva, based on his first-round TKO of the Brazilian in May 2012—we only hoped Silva would put up some kind of a fight.
Dos Santos remains the only fighter to defeat Velasquez in his MMA career. Both fights between the giants have been epic. Dos Santos knocked out Velasquez one minute, four seconds into their November 2011 encounter. Velasquez convincingly defeated Dos Santos via unanimous decision in December 2012. If you are looking for legitimate competition, there is only one fighter worthy of standing toe to toe with Velasquez, and his name is Junior Dos Santos.
Fortunately for MMA fans, we won’t have to wait very long for a third fight between the two.
When asked if Velasquez-Dos Santos III would be the next heavyweight title fight, UFC president Dana White said, via USA TODAY Sports:
No-brainer. If there was ever a trilogy, that’s it right there. If you look at the way both fights went – Junior destroys (Velasquez) in the first fight, Cain destroys (dos Santos) in the second fight – I can’t wait to see the third fight.
Relish this moment while you can, MMA fans. It’s rare that you see such electricity surrounding two fighters in a division. Not only are Velasquez and Dos Santos great fighters, but the rubber match could end up being legendary.
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