There’s a strong likelihood that Saturday night’s main event at UFC 155 in Las Vegas will end in stunning fashion, with first-round fireworks from Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez stealing the show in Sin City.
Each fighter has tremendous knockout prowess and plenty to fight for. With a championship belt, bragging rights and much more on the line this December, who knows what’s in store?
But even though Saturday’s UFC heavyweight title rematch is the most promising clash of all, there are other fighters we’ll be keeping an eye on at UFC 155.
Let’s take a closer look at the top main card fighters to watch for this weekend.
Chris Leben
With a nickname like “The Crippler,” what’s not to love about Chris Leben. The UFC veteran will square off against Derek Brunson, filling in for an injured Karlos Vemola, on Saturday night.
Leben is one of the tougher fighters in the sport today and rarely withers away after taking a shot. Some would even argue he is of the rare breed of fighters who actually improve with punishment. Of course, Leben’s entertaining style doesn’t always translate into success. He’s lost two of his last three fights coming into UFC 155 and needs a decisive victory on Saturday night to stop the bleeding.
A dozen of Leben’s 22 wins have come via knockout, and none of his last five fights have gone to a decision.
That’s all you need to know for this weekend.
Tim Boetsch
Tim “The Barbarian” Boetsch is surging in the UFC middleweight division right now, coming into Saturday’s fight with Constantinos Philippou on a four-fight winning streak.
But Boetsch’s wins haven’t come easy, not at all. All four made it to the third and final round, with only one fight not requiring a judges’ decision. Still, Boetsch hasn’t come up short in the Octagon in more than two years now and is emerging as a fan favorite.
It’s certainly not difficult to see why people love Boetsch’s style. He’s a gutsier fighter who doesn’t rely on pure talent and ability, but instead, outworks his opponent for the duration of the fight.
With the winner of Boetsch-Philippou potentially earning a shot at Anderson Silva next, expect the Barbarian to be at his very best on Saturday.
Cain Velasquez
All eyes will be on UFC heavyweight challenger Cain Velasquez on Saturday night. It’s been more than a year since he was taken out by Junior dos Santos just 64 seconds into the first round of their championship fight.
After a first-round TKO of Antonio “Big Foot” Silva last May, eight of Velasquez’s 11 career fights have failed to make it past the first round.
With Velasquez, fans are sure to see supreme punching power and knockout ability. The only bad news for the former heavyweight champ is that his opponent on Saturday night, dos Santos is every bit as lethal as Velasquez in the stand-up game.
But, Velasquez will be looking to not only reclaim his title belt but dish out some serious payback after being embarrassed on national television 13 months ago.
UFC 155 Fight Card
Main Card
Heavyweight Championship: Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez
Jim Miller vs. Joe Lauzon
Tim Boetsch vs. Constantinos Philippou
Yushin Okami vs. Alan Belcher
Chris Leben vs. Derek Brunson
Preliminary Card
Brad Pickett vs. Eddie Wineland
Erik Perez vs. Byron Bloodworth
Melvin Guillard vs. Jamie Varner
Michael Johnson vs. Myles Jury
Phil de Fries vs. Todd Duffee
Chris Cariaso vs. John Moraga
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