Many fans were surprised when Dana White announced a heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos as the main event of the UFC’s inaugural FOX card, mostly because it seemed unlikely the UFC would be willing to lose PPV buys by putting a fight of this magnitude on free TV.
Heavyweight title fights are still the biggest attraction in combat sports, and with two fighters as skilled as Velasquez and Dos Santos, this fight was hyped as being one of the best title fights in the organization’s history.
While ZUFFA could have opted to throw a fight between MMA legends Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as the main event and taken no negative backlash, it chose to put a fight that would lead to a big pay day on free TV.
The reason has to be Cain Velasquez.
Velasquez is an undefeated heavyweight with a Mexican-American background who appeals to key demographics while providing entertaining fights every time he steps inside the Octagon, making him a promoter’s dream.
Velasquez is coming off back-to0back huge wins, taking out an MMA legend in Minotauro Nogueira at UFC 110 and destroying the most well-known fighter in the sport, Brock Lesnar, at UFC 121.
The win over Lesnar introduced Velasquez to a mainstream audience and made him an instant star in Mexico, a market the UFC has been trying to get into for a long time.
By throwing him on FOX, they are attempting to create MMA’s first superstar.
Any high-profile fight would have done the job for this fight card, but the UFC chose a heavyweight title fight between two fighters that were undefeated since entering their promotion, and no offense to Dos Santos, but it is all because of Velasquez.
Velasquez has a calm, professional demeanor that appeals more to a mainstream audience than most fighters, and after his brutal beatdown of Lesnar, his popularity is at an all-time high.
Obviously, Velasquez has to find away to get past the toughest fight of his career, as Dos Santos is incredibly talented and may have the best boxing in MMA, but if he wins don’t be surprised if you see Velasquez on your television a lot more often in the next few months, whether it is in commercials or just promoting the UFC on ESPN and late-night talk shows.
This first event on FOX could be the platform that skyrockets a fighter into the eyes of a mainstream audience, and it seems like the UFC would like that man to be Cain Velasquez.
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