Cain Velasquez still believes he is the rightful king of the heavyweight division.
At UFC 155, Velasquez will have an opportunity to recapture the UFC heavyweight title and avenge the only loss in his professional career, but it won’t be easy.
Brazilian knockout artist and UFC heavyweight champ Junior Dos Santos stands in his way.
Velasquez may have to lean heavily on selective memory to draw confidence for this heavyweight showdown; it only took Dos Santos 64 seconds to finish him in their first bout back in November 2011.
“I’m going to win this fight because I feel like I’m the better guy. I’m hungry, and I want that belt back,” Velasquez said in his pre-fight interview for UFC 155.
After losing the UFC title, Velasquez returned with a vengeance at UFC 146, where he made Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva look more like Little Foot from The Land Before Time.
It was a performance that really put the entire heavyweight division on notice. Velasquez is back, and he is coming for the UFC title.
For some, the rematch between the world’s best heavyweights is happening too soon. It is unlikely there will be any rematches down the road if Velasquez loses to Dos Santos a second time.
Unfortunately, the first bout ended too quickly to get an actual grasp on how Velasquez and Dos Santos match up. The key to the fight will obviously be Velasquez’s takedowns. If Dos Santos can keep the bout standing, he will probably earn the twelfth knockout of his professional career.
For Velasquez, it’s all about sticking to what made him UFC champ in the first place. He continues in his pre-fight interview:
I got myself into this sport to be the best. I’m not there right now. There’s one guy I have to go through to be that…The only reason why I’m here right now is to be the best, be the champ. That’s the only thing that I want is the belt and to keep it and keep defending it. I’m going to go in there and take what’s mine.
Going out there, taking him down and finishing it on top would be the ultimate thing for me. I’m going to prove I’m the best when I take my belt back. There’s nobody better than me, especially Junior Dos Santos.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com