Most of Las Vegas, including the oddsmakers, envision tonight’s main event at UFC 160 between champ Cain Velasquez and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva unfolding in a similar fashion to their first encounter.
Velasquez, deemed an 8-to-1 favorite (-800) by Bovada.com, brutalized Bigfoot for the better part of 3:36 in their first meeting at UFC 146, eventually finishing the bloody Brazilian via TKO from punches on the ground.
But since the main event appears so lopsided on paper, then which bout will steal the show at UFC 160?
With fighters like Gray Maynard and Glover Teixeira on the main card, attempting to predict who will nab “Fight of the Night” honors could get tricky.
However, since few in the realm of MMA dislike slugfests, fans will certainly get their fill of entertainment in bouts between Junior dos Santos and Mark Hunt, and Donald Cerrone and K.J. Noons.
Junior dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt
While they possess vastly different skill sets, “Cigano” and “The Super Samoan” typically aim for the same results—a brutal knockout—each time they grace the Octagon.
With that said, Dos Santos and Hunt surely won’t engage in a grapple-heavy affair or a point fight. Instead, fans will likely get treated to a kickboxing match between two of the UFC’s most surgical and powerful knockout artists.
Dos Santos stands six inches taller than Hunt and will enjoy a three-inch reach advantage. Cigano also has the more refined boxing chops and footwoork, but in terms of pure striking, The Super Samoan possesses the bigger arsenal.
A black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Dos Santos may chose to floor Hunt and administer some ground-and-pound or even fish for a submission.
After all, Hunt dropped six straight fights before entering the UFC, and five of those losses came via submission.
Donald Cerrone vs. K.J. Noons
Akin to the scrap between Dos Santos and Hunt, the showdown between Cerrone and Noons could easily become a bloody slugfest.
Although Cerrone and Noons each enjoyed stellar kickboxing careers before turning to MMA, once introduced to grappling, the two took different routes.
“The Cowboy” holds just two wins via KO, but has submitted 14 of his 20 victims.
Noons, conversely, has eight knockouts and no submissions, and like Cerrone, has only been submitted once in his career.
Typically a slow starter, Cerrone will have a three-inch reach advantage and will look to find his range and pepper Noons from a distance.
If Noons starts to win the bulk of striking exchanges, then Cerrone certainly won’t hesitate to try and plant Noons on his back and go to work with his slick submission game.
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