It’s safe to say that few people would dispute that Cain Velasquez is the best heavyweight in the world. Not after his UFC 166 performance against Junior dos Santos, anyway. In fact, Velasquez is quickly approaching all-time great status, and there’s a chance he’s already a notch or two above Fedor Emelianenko in some eyes.
But his dominant performance against Dos Santos created a major question mark: Can any fighters on the UFC’s heavyweight roster give Velasquez a run for his money?
My answer to that question? No.
No heavyweights on the roster can beat Velasquez when he’s at his best and able to execute his game plan effectively. Sure, there’s always the chance of a one-punch knockout, as Dos Santos showed in his first fight with Velasquez. But it’s far more likely that Velasquez will smother and batter any fighter standing across the cage from him, as he showed in the 10 rounds that followed the first fight against Dos Santos.
But despite their lack of any real chances to beat him, challengers will line up to face him. Here I’ll take a look at five contenders for Velasquez in 2014 and try to figure out what kind of chance they have to dethrone the champion, so let’s get started.