At UFC 166, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will try to break their tie in a trilogy fight that could put the winner on a path to becoming the best heavyweight in MMA history.
Dos Santos knocked Velasquez out in the first round of their initial me…
At UFC 166, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will try to break their tie in a trilogy fight that could put the winner on a path to becoming the best heavyweight in MMA history.
Dos Santos knocked Velasquez out in the first round of their initial meeting. Velasquez dominated JDS from start to finish in their second clash. Clearly the two best heavyweights in the world, the winner of Saturday’s bout could have a lengthy title run ahead.
In addition to the heavyweight championship bout, UFC 166 could produce top contenders in the light heavyweight and lightweight divisions.
Though fighting at heavyweight on Saturday, Daniel Cormier is expected to move to 205 pounds in his next outing. An impressive win over Roy Nelson at UFC 166 could position Cormier for a quick shot at the light heavyweight strap.
On the heels of a controversial loss to then-champion Benson Henderson, Gilbert Melendez will try to jump back into the title hunt Saturday. Standing between the former Strikeforce champion and another shot at the belt will be fellow former title challenger Diego Sanchez.
Here is how MMA fans can tune in to watch every portion of the UFC 166 fight card.
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will complete their heavyweight championship trilogy on Saturday.
Following dos Santos’ knockout win in their first meeting and Velasquez’s dominant decision win in their second, these elite heavyweights will battle…
Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will complete their heavyweight championship trilogy on Saturday.
Following dos Santos’ knockout win in their first meeting and Velasquez’s dominant decision win in their second, these elite heavyweights will battle to see who takes a step closer to becoming the best heavyweight in UFC history.
In addition to the highly anticipated main event, UFC 166 will feature two more heavyweight bouts on its main card. Daniel Cormier will try to set up a light heavyweight title run with a victory over Roy Nelson in what is expected to be his final heavyweight showing, while Gabriel Gonzaga and Shawn Jordan will try to work their way closer to the Top 10.
Gilbert Melendez will also appear on the UFC 166 main card. Coming off of a controversial decision in a lightweight championship bout, Melendez will look to earn another title shot by winning impressively against another former title challenger in Diego Sanchez.
At the conclusion of the fight card, several fighters will join UFC president Dana White for the post-fight press conference, which can be viewed live on the above video player.
Below is the full UFC 166 fight card.
UFC 166 Main Card (Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET)
Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos
Daniel Cormier vs. Roy Nelson
Gilbert Melendez vs. Diego Sanchez
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shawn Jordan
John Dodson vs. Darrell Montague
UFC 166 Fox Sports 1 Prelims (Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET)
Rick Hawn has punched a ticket to his third Bellator tournament final. Fighting fellow Bellator mainstay Brent Weedman, Hawn took a handy unanimous decision victory at Bellator 104.
Hawn repeatedly rocked Weedman in a battle that, despite Hawn’s w…
Rick Hawn has punched a ticket to his third Bellator tournament final. Fighting fellow Bellator mainstay Brent Weedman, Hawn took a handy unanimous decision victory at Bellator 104.
Hawn repeatedly rocked Weedman in a battle that, despite Hawn‘s world-class grappling background, was contended almost entirely standing. By the end of the fight, Weedman wore Hawn‘s hands, and all three judges scored the fight 30-27 in favor of the 37 year-old.
A member of the 2004 United States Olympic Judo Team, Hawn has been one of Bellator‘s most successful and enduring fighters.
He has fought with the promotion 11 times, racking up a 9-2 record. In 2011, he made it to the finals of Bellator‘s Season 4 Welterweight Tournament, dropping a split decision to UFC, IFL and Strikeforce veteran Jay Hieron.
In 2012, he won Season 6 Lightweight Tournament but suffered a second-round knockout loss at the hands of champion Michael Chandler.
With this victory, Hawn will find himself fighting Ron Keslar in the coming months.
Keslar also earned his way into the tournament’s finals at Bellator 104, beating UFC veteran Jon Koppenhaver (who legally changed his name to War Machine) with an impressive first-round submission from a rear-naked choke.
After the tournament is over there lies a giant question mark. This is due to the awkward free agency situation regarding welterweight champion Ben Askren.
If Askren returns to Bellator, the winner of Hawn vs. Keslar will fight the winner of Askren vs. Douglas Lima (who won Bellator‘s Season 8 welterweight tournament at Bellator 100). If not, the winner will likely face off with Lima to fill the vacant welterweight championship.
With a violent streak that extends well outside of the cage and a propensity to say absolutely idiotic things, War Machine (previously known as Jon Koppenhaver) is one of the most controversial fighters in mixed martial arts. Because of that, Bellator …
With a violent streak that extends well outside of the cage and a propensity to say absolutely idiotic things, War Machine (previously known as Jon Koppenhaver) is one of the most controversial fighters in mixed martial arts. Because of that, Bellator executives must have taken a big sigh of relief tonight.
At least for now, there is no chance of him becoming their champion.
The former TUF 6 competitor lost to relative unknown Ron Keslar in the semifinal bout of Bellator‘s Season 9 Welterweight Tournament via first round rear-naked choke.
Keslar scored an early takedown off a caught leg kick and achieved back control not too long after. War Machine would work his way back to his feet, but Keslar had a tight body triangle locked in, and would sink in a tight rear-naked choke from that position. War Machine went unconscious, and Keslar had his hand raised for the technical submission victory.
Keslar entered the fight with a 10-3 record. A product of the American Kickboxing Academy (home to UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, as well as Bellator light heavyweight title contender “King Mo” Lawal), he had no wins over recognizable names on his professional record before tonight and entered a sizable underdog. He fought twice on Strikeforce preliminary cards in 2010, losing both fights to Josh McDonald and eventual UFC washout Chris Cope.
Koppenhaver has kept his name in the news, but not from his exploits in the cage. War Machine has two stints in jail to his name and recently drummed up controversy earlier by boasting that he had “raped” his girlfriend, pornographic actress Christy Mack, and stating “real men rape.”
Keslar is now in line to face off with former lightweight title contender and former Olympic Judoka Rick Hawn. The next step from there, however, is murky, given the awkward free agency situation involving Bellator‘s current welterweight champion Ben Askren.
Koppenhaver, meanwhile, may or may not remain with Bellator.
At the UFC 166 weigh-in on Friday, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos measured each other up one more time ahead of their rubber match for the heavyweight championship.
There was no shoving or dramatics from either man. No, Velasquez and Dos Santos a…
At the UFC 166 weigh-in on Friday, Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos measured each other up one more time ahead of their rubber match for the heavyweight championship.
There was no shoving or dramatics from either man. No, Velasquez and Dos Santos are the types to save the show for the Octagon. Instead, both heavyweights looked completely focused ahead of the most important bout of their careers.
With Dos Santos scoring a knockout in the first meeting between the two and Velasquez dominating their second clash over five rounds, Saturday’s fight between the elite heavyweights could bring a permanent end to the rivalry and cement the winner as one of the best heavyweights in UFC history.
In addition to the staredown between Velasquez and Dos Santos, the above video shows some jawing between Gilbert Melendez and Diego Sanchez. The two lightweights will also appear on the UFC 166 main card in a bout that could put the winner very close to a shot at the 155-pound strap.
Being hosted by Houston on Saturday, the full UFC 166 fight card is listed below.
Cain Velasquez might’ve pummeled Junior dos Santos in the pair’s last bout, but the fighters’ rubber match in UFC 166 will still require the defending heavyweight champion to follow a very careful blueprint for victory.
Velasquez look…
Cain Velasquez might’ve pummeled Junior dos Santos in the pair’s last bout, but the fighters’ rubber match in UFC 166 will still require the defending heavyweight champion to follow a very careful blueprint for victory.
Velasquez looked dominant in his five-round victory over dos Santos in UFC 155, but that hardly means the Brazilian will be a pushover this time around.
After all, dos Santos needed just 64 seconds to knock out Velasquez in the duo’s first meeting in 2011.
But if he follows these simple principles, he should be able to keep his coveted championship belt.
Avoiding Dos Santos’ Strikes
If dos Santos is known for anything, it’s his devastating punching power.
The Brazilian tends to fight like a boxer, aiming for the one big punch that can decide a fight. That strategy worked perfectly for dos Santos in his first matchup with Velasquez.
Just watch the huge right he lands to end the fight the last time these two met.
Velasquez certainly has a talent for elusiveness, and he’ll certainly need to avoid dos Santos’ haymakers if he wants to stay upright in this one.
However, he should have an easier time of it this time around thanks to his improved health from the first fight, as Deadspin’s Tim Marchman explains.
Velasquez had torn both a rotator cuff and an ACL, the latter being especially bad for a wrestler since that ligament is what keeps the knee stable when planting and driving, the basic motion inherent in a takedown. Essentially, his knee was going to collapse under the force of his ordinary techniques, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He had no trouble avoiding dos Santos in their last matchup, and he’ll need to repeat that performance in the rubber match.
Countering the Kicks
While dos Santos is primarily a boxer, he’s recently added a new weapon to his arsenal.
He followed up his loss to Velasquez with a big win over Mark Hunt, a fight that gave him confidence and revealed a new side to his game, as the Los Angeles Times’ Lance Pugmire lays out.
Dos Santos called the second fight “a great experience” in regard to the lessons he learned. He responded to beat Mark Hunt in May, unleashing a new potential weapon with kicks.
Velasquez will need to be conscious about this new element to dos Santos’ game and be ready to counter appropriately.
Dos Santos tried a kick against Velasquez in their first fight, but the American couldn’t take advantage, as this clip demonstrates.
Velasquez anticipates the kick well, but his injuries prevent him from taking dos Santos down. If he can improve on this element of the game, he’ll easily neutralize dos Santos’ new weapon.
Ground Game
While avoiding and countering dos Santos will be key, Velasquez can most easily win this fight by putting the Brazilian on the ground early and often.
In the second fight, Velasquez landed this devastating right fist to bring dos Santos down, as this clip demonstrates.
From there, Velasquez could pummel him on the ground and use his wrestling background to his advantage.
Although dos Santos hung in for the rest of the bout, that sequence could’ve easily ended the fight. Accordingly, if Velasquez can repeat that type of performance in UFC 166, he’ll have dos Santos on the ropes once more.
Essentially, Velasquez just needs to continue to play to his strengths to win this one. He’s at his best when he can prolong a fight with his elusiveness and wear opponents down with his ground game. That’s exactly what he should be able to do here.
Velasquez will have to avoid dos Santos’ big punches and kicks to stay upright. If he can do that, he’ll have no trouble retaining the heavyweight crown.
