It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is wasting little time in nailing down a date for the upcoming UFC heavyweight title bout between champion Cain Velasquez (9-0) and challenger, Junior dos Santos (13-1).
According to the “Los Angeles Times” the promotion is looking at Nov. 19 as the date of the fight and is looking to book the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California as the venue. The “Times” learned of the news from Lorenzo Fertitta himself on Thursday.
This would mark the first time that the UFC has made an appearance in San Jose, the longtime former headquarters of the Strikeforce promotion until their recent purchase by Zuffa.
Velasquez acquired the UFC title last October after defeating former champ Brock Lesnar by first round TKO in the main event of UFC 121. That win also earned Velasquez his second straight “Knockout of the Night” bonus and third of his career. Afterwards, Velasquez revealed that he had injured his shoulder and underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. He has been sidelined ever since and will make his first title defense against the Brazilian heavyweight.
Dos Santos won his seventh straight victory in the UFC last weekend by earning a unanimous decision over former UFC interim champ Shane Carwin at UFC 131. ‘Cigano’ had already earned a shot at the title after defeating Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson last summer at UFC 117, but he opted to coach opposite Brock Lesnar on “The Ultimate Fighter Season 13″ instead. He was to meet Lesnar in the Octagon but an illness forced the former champ out, and Dos Santos was given Carwin instead.