The phrase “best ever” is thrown around a lot these days. I should know. I just did it.
Sometimes, though, it’s a phrase worth bouncing off the proverbial wall. With dominant UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez set to take on an equally dominant top contender in Junior dos Santos, now would appear to be one of those times.
If any serious conversation containing the words “best ever” is to take place, we should first define our terms. Does best mean the most closely contested? Most contentious? Most hyped? Most lucrative?
For my purposes today, I’ll use the fourth definition of “best” listed on TheFreeDictionary.com, which is, quite simply, “most highly skilled.”
There are a lot of great heavyweight fights in UFC history, and in MMA history. Randy Couture, Mirko Cro Cop and Igor come to mind, as does this guy I once heard of, name of Fedor. And yet, when applying the term as defined above and when considering both combatants, I believe the looming battle between Velasquez and dos Santos could indeed take the cake. Here are five reasons why.