The rematch between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez takes place Saturday, Dec. 29 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
I’m so excited to see two top-notch, healthy heavyweights clash, I couldn’t wait until Saturday night. As I’ve done with several other major sporting events, I simulated the matchup as a bit of a preview on my YouTube channel.
Hopefully, the real thing lives up to the simulation.
I used the latest licensed UFC game available for a gaming console as the platform, UFC Undisputed 3. In case you haven’t heard, the UFC license now belongs to EA Sports, per EA Sports, so this title is the last UFC game that will be published by THQ.
The simulated match was a mixture of exciting stand-up fighting and some grappling. In the end, Junior Dos Santos came out on top again.
He used some excellent takedown defense to thwart Velasquez’s attempts to shoot his legs. The two behemoths traded top position when they did go to the ground. Dos Santos more than held his own there.
He actually opened up a nasty gash over Velasquez’s eye with an elbow from top position.
That spelled bad news for Velasquez in the simulation, and I believe it would equate to doom for him in the real-life clash. Dos Santos’ reach and boxing ability is too advanced for Velasquez in the stand-up game.
If Cain can’t control him on the ground, he’s going to be in major trouble.
Such was the case in the simulation. After two-and-a-half spirited rounds, Dos Santos stopped Velasquez in the third round.
I didn’t alter any of the abilities as each man has only competed once since their initial meeting. I cranked the difficulty to the max to ensure that each virtual fighter was at his best.
It was a cool simulation to watch.
We’ll have to wait and see if the real thing is as exciting. If it is, MMA fans will get their money’s worth with this pay-per-view.
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