If you can think of a better way that Cain Velasquez could have proven that he’s ‘the real deal’ than by pasting “Minotauro” Nogueira like he did last night, we’d like to hear it (and no, ridiculous answers like ‘8 second KO by dropkick’ don’t count, even if that would be totally awesome). We all knew that Velasquez was a damn fine talent, but the hand speed he demonstrated last night should definitely give other elite heavies like Shane Carwin, Frank Mir, and of course, Brock Lesnar, pause for thought (although maybe that’s what Nog did…).
At any rate, it sounds like Velasquez’s ‘holy sheeet’ performance last night definitely resonated with UFC boss man Dana White (thanks to Sherdog for the quote).
“Because of Brock’s absence, it’s a little plugged up right now in the heavyweight division, but this guy?” White said. “In my opinion, Nogueira’s probably the best heavyweight of all time, and (Velasquez) absolutely demolished him tonight. He’s for real and he’s in the line right now.”
It’s interesting that the man that defeated Nogueira on two occasions, a certain Fedor Emelianenko, was glossed over by White (but not terribly surprising considering the source). Now partial opinions aside, the internet is already buzzing today about the possibilities of Velasquez vs. Lesnar. It will be interesting to see if the winner of Mir vs. Carwin is ready to throw down against the champ in July, if not, Velasquez will be stepping up to the plate.