Forget about predictions by mixed martial arts experts and veteran UFC combatants. If you want to know what’s going to happen when Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos meet in the Octagon for UFC on FOX at the Honda Center in Anaheim, just “ask” UFC Undisputed 3.
The newest Ultimate Fighting Championship video game, set for release in February of 2012, has already predicted that Velasquez will retain his Heavyweight Championship with a second-round TKO of Dos Santos, using a vicious display of ground-and-pound to finish off his Brazilian challenger.
That should come as no surprise, considering everyone and their mother has been pointing to Velasquez as the favorite in this fight. Velasquez is the far superior wrestler, having come up as an All-American on the mat at Arizona State, but has more than enough skill and strength as a striker to hang with JDS on his feet. If/when this bout goes to the ground, the odds will swing decisively in Velasquez’s favor, particularly given Dos Santos’ lack of live practice with his jiu jitsu in the Octagon.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that everyone is simply underestimating how good Dos Santos is as a striker, as he’s never had to put his jiu jitsu to much use. Similar thing were said about Jon “Bones” Jones heading into his recent fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, except that Jones, rather than being untested as a grappler, had never had to deal with adversity in the Octagon.
Jones wasted little time in that fight reminding the MMA world exactly why he’d never had to handle damage—because he was that good at using his incredible length to avoid damage and beat the stuffing out of his opponents in the process.
Chances are, that won’t be the case with Dos Santos, if for no other reason than he’s not the more talented fighter in this matchup. That distinction belongs decisively to Velasquez, who will parlay his dominant 2010 win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Dos Santos’ jiu jitsu trainer and the top cop in his camp, into success in his first title defense.
Then again, if Velasquez falls flat, then perhaps we’ll have to reconsider just how accurate the new UFC video game is.
Ultimately, though, expect Velasquez to push all the right buttons in the Octagon to put Dos Santos out relatively early and retain his title belt in the process.
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