The trilogy between UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and former titleholder Junior dos Santos will come to a close later this year, as the two fighters are expected to meet at UFC 166 in October.
The October show will likely land back in Houston, where the UFC would potentially return for the first time since UFC 136 in October 2011.
According to Sportsnet’s Joe Ferraro, UFC President Dana White revealed details about the heavyweight tilt during a media session on Thursday in Winnipeg as part of the UFC 161 pre-fight activities.
Thus far, Velasquez and Dos Santos are tied at one win apiece in their fights. This third bout will settle the rivalry and who is the UFC heavyweight champion.
In their first meeting, Velasquez entered the fight as champion when he faced Dos Santos in the inaugural bout for the UFC’s new television deal with Fox.
As hyped as the fight had been in the months leading up to the battle, the result was much different, with Dos Santos clocking Velasquez with an early punch and finishing the fight at just over one minute into the first round.
Velasquez came back strong and earned a shot at redemption when he faced Dos Santos for a second time at UFC 155 to close out 2012.
The second fight was a much different result than the first, with Velasquez controlling every aspect of the bout with his wrestling, clinch work and dominant stand-up. Velasquez regained the belt with a punishing performance to hand Dos Santos his first loss in the UFC.
Now with both fighters coming off of wins at UFC 160, they will meet for a third time to hopefully settle the debate of who truly is the best heavyweight fighter on the planet.
The promotion had hinted following the conclusion of UFC 160 that it would consider bringing Velasquez and the heavyweight title fight to the city of Houston later this year and now it appears that wish will become reality.
The UFC has now set up several major title fights to bolster the lineup of pay-per-views to close out 2013.
The lightweight title will go up for grabs in August, followed by a light heavyweight main event in September and the newly announced heavyweight bout between Velasquez and Dos Santos now being confirmed for October.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.
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