At UFC 139, the organization will make its first official event in San Jose, headlined by a heavyweight bout which has all the makings to become one of the best heavyweight fights in recent mixed martial arts history.
On November 19 at the HP Pavilion, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title against No. 1 contender and boxing extraordinaire Junior dos Santos.
Anticipation is high for the bout after the fight was delayed due to the champion suffering a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder during his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, which sidelined him for months.
Now, the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion and 29-year-old California native will face off against an equally talented and equally dangerous “Cigano” in what is expected to be a very difficult title defense.
Velasquez, who has not fought since his first-round TKO of then-champ Brock Lesnar to win the heavyweight title, did so using superior technique despite being the significantly smaller fighter.
Known for his tenacity and big-time resilience inside the cage, the former Division I wrestler will definitely have his hands full come UFC 139.
Dos Santos, who is widely considered the best boxer in the division, is fresh off of his beat down of Shane Carwin at UFC 131 and has remained more active than his counterpart, especially after coming off a stint on The Ultimate Fighter as a coach.
While he was unable to face off against his rival coach in Lesnar, the boxing clinic he performed on Carwin was definitely enough of a statement that he is the force to be reckoned with in the division.
Utilizing some crisp technique and some quick but deadly hands, Dos Santos has torn through the likes of Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Add to that some very proficient takedown defense courtesy of his Black House training partners like Mark Munoz for instance and his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, courtesy of the Nogueira brothers, and he is definitely a well-rounded threat.
In all of his fights, he’s shown boxing skill and technique that improves with each bout and an evolution in his game that keeps on progressing.
His foe, on the other hand, Velasquez boasts arguably the division’s, if not the entire sport’s, best cardio, in addition to some pretty devastating power and equally refined technique.
The American Kickboxing Academy member also has some of the sports best stablemates in Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck in addition to his already well-documented work ethic.
What also makes the fight so interesting, is that while Dos Santos has more than enough offense to throw at Velasquez, the champion has an unreal ability to withstand a beating.
It was especially visible in his fight with Cheick Kongo, who rocked him badly, but was unable to put him away when Velasquez held his ground to score the takedown and eventually win the fight decisively.
So while Dos Santos might carry more power and better technique than Kongo, against another durable opponent in Nelson, he was unable to completely seal the deal and take the win back at UFC 117.
The duo can definitely dish it, but more importantly, they could seemingly take whatever they could possibly throw at each other.
Velasquez himself also possesses some pretty clean boxing and has enough knockout power to give Dos Santos a run for his money too.
Also, given the speed and accuracy both of these heavyweights have, the fight could end up looking more like a bantamweight bout, with the pair trading blows and engaging in speedy exchanges.
Both Dos Santos and Velasquez can string together speedy combinations and drop huge bombs, giving this fight real potential for a stand-up war.
Should the fight go to the ground, with Velasquez utilizing his wrestling, Dos Santos has shown an aptitude for takedown defense and has a very rarely seen jiu-jitsu game that could finally make an appearance against a wrestler of Velasquez’s calibre.
Both fighters may not sell fights quite like the Chael Sonnens and Brock Lesnars of the UFC, but they have had good exposure despite their humble demeanors, especially Dos Santos, who definitely benefited from his time on The Ultimate Fighter.
Fans couldn’t ask for a better pair to square off than two guys who could let their hands loose and do their talking inside the Octagon rather than from behind a microphone.
In what is shaping up to be the UFC’s thinner division, this fight could jump-start a rivalry and possibly give birth to even a trilogy.
Velasquez and Dos Santos are both still relatively young and given the skill level they both possess, we can expect to see them atop the division for a long time to come.
Already immensely talented, the potential of this matchup makes it so exciting, especially when many heavyweight bouts can end rather quickly due to the kind of power these larger fighters have.
Velasquez and Dos Santos can put on a technical clinic against each other and have already shown that they break the stereotype of heavier fighters being big lumbering power punchers or smothering wrestlers.
In a division which has been without Lesnar, arguably its biggest star, at UFC 139, the heavyweight division will get what will most definitely be the best fight between the most skilled fighters it has.
It might not sound as entertaining as any fight with the brash Brock Lesnar or fast-talking Chael Sonnen, but Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos will surely be one of the best heavyweight fights we might ever see.
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