UFC 155 is only a matter of hours away and while the anticipation builds for fans, the fighters will likely find a night of restless sleep ahead of them. One fighter in particular has a lot on the line and could see his UFC future become very complicated if he’s not victorious.
Cain Velasquez will be challenging for the UFC heavyweight title in UFC 155’s main event. He faces a familiar foe in champion Junior dos Santos. The Brazilian has already defeated Velasquez once: a 64-second KO in the first ever UFC event on Fox television.
Although Velasquez claimed a knee injury forced him and his coaches to use a new strategy, it was a clear victory for JDS. A convincing victory for dos Santos could be in the cards for UFC 155’s finale.
If Velasquez loses it likely won’t be via controversial decision or because someone “laid and prayed” on him all night. No, as with the majority of heavyweight bouts, the end will come swiftly and violently.
Should Velasquez lose twice to dos Santos it would put the former champion at a crossroad junction in his career. That would make it two convincing defeats at the hands of the champion and so long as dos Santos has the belt, the UFC would be hard pressed to put together a rubber match.
Fans already believe Velasquez could make 205 pounds due to not being a chiseled freak like some of his heavyweight counterparts but I don’t believe that’s an option for him. Velasquez has always been a heavyweight and, despite not having a 12-pack, is a very solid 230-240 pounds.
Moving to light heavyweight would also eliminate Velasquez’s greatest advantage. Although Velasquez possesses great wrestling and a solid kickboxing game, it is his conditioning that allows the AKA fighter to push a relentless pace. It’s a pace very few heavyweights can keep up with but wouldn’t be an issue for the much smaller light heavyweights.
Velasquez needs to win this fight or at the very least make it a close defeat to stay relevant in heavyweight division. Matchups make fights and Velasquez is a terrible matchup for anyone in the division outside of JDS. The champion has great takedown defense and perhaps hits the hardest of any UFC fighter in history.
Without something to cling to like a “I just got caught” or “I was winning until..” type line, Velasquez could see his UFC title dreams go down the drain with a JDS knockout.
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