Tag: MMA

Junior Dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez: Final Preview and Prediction

Tonight from Las Vegas, the UFC heavyweight title is on the line between Junior “Cigano” dos Santos, and the former champion, Cain Velasquez.Dos Santos and Velasquez have met before, at the first UFC on Fox card last November. In that fight, dos Santos…

Tonight from Las Vegas, the UFC heavyweight title is on the line between Junior “Cigano” dos Santos, and the former champion, Cain Velasquez.

Dos Santos and Velasquez have met before, at the first UFC on Fox card last November. In that fight, dos Santos knocked out Velasquez in 64 seconds and became the new champion.

From there, both fighters would compete again at UFC 146, although against different opponents. Dos Santos would defend his heavyweight title against the former champion, Frank Mir, and Velasquez would face off against Antonio Silva in his first UFC fight. Dos Santos beat Mir by second-round TKO and Velasquez beat Silva by first-round TKO.

Tonight, dos Santos and Velasquez will meet for a second time, this time with dos Santos as champion. The first fight between these two lasted only 64 seconds, but there is still plenty that can be taken from that.

Velasquez was throwing a lot of leg kicks, and his game plan clearly involved taking away the lead leg of dos Santos. Additionally, expect Velasquez to shoot early and shoot often. He has seen the power of dos Santos, and he doesn’t want to see it again.

Dos Santos is going to do what he always does: stand up with his opponents, avoid takedowns and pick his opponents apart with his boxing. Dos Santos has incredible speed and power, and he will use that to his advantage, as he always does.

Many are saying that the first fight between these two was a fluke, or that Velasquez’s knee injury affected the fight heavily. That may or may not be true, but don’t expect anything to change this time around. Dos Santos will still come out with a knockout victory, it just won’t be as fast as last time.

By the fourth round, dos Santos will land an uppercut and put Cain out cold to defend his title and tie the record for most consecutive UFC heavyweight title defenses.

 

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.

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Dos Santos vs Velasquez: 5 Things to Watch for from Velasquez

Tonight, Cain Velasquez will attempt to reclaim the heavyweight title from Junior “Cigano” dos Santos. Velasquez lost the title at the first-ever UFC on Fox event, and he has been on a mission to get it back ever since.He had a fight against Antonio “B…

Tonight, Cain Velasquez will attempt to reclaim the heavyweight title from Junior “Cigano” dos Santos. Velasquez lost the title at the first-ever UFC on Fox event, and he has been on a mission to get it back ever since.

He had a fight against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, and he plowed right through him en route to this title shot.

The first fight between Cain and dos Santos lasted only 64 seconds, so expect to see a lot more out of Cain this time.

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UFC 155: Why Pickett vs. Wineland Is the Can’t-Miss Prelim

Sometimes, perhaps because they’re feeling generous or perhaps as a matter of circumstance, the UFC just plain gives one away. Saturday night in Las Vegas and free on FX, they’ll be doing exactly that when Eddie Wineland meets Brad Pickett in a bantamw…

Sometimes, perhaps because they’re feeling generous or perhaps as a matter of circumstance, the UFC just plain gives one away.

Saturday night in Las Vegas and free on FX, they’ll be doing exactly that when Eddie Wineland meets Brad Pickett in a bantamweight barn-burner that could very well secure the next contender at 135 pounds.

Both men come out of their corners throwing heavy leather and would perhaps be 1-2 in terms of raw power, if there were a ranking of such tools available for bantamweights around the world.

Pickett is currently riding back-to-back wins and believes one more will give him a rematch with Renan Barao for the interim title. Wineland will have taken six of his last eight should he beat Pickett, and the former WEC champion could well make a claim of his own for a chance at Barao.

It’s interesting to note that both men may enter Saturday’s prelim tilt seeing it as the last great chance to secure their shots. Pickett is getting on in years, and though Wineland is still on the south side of 30, he’s put in a lot of miles and may not be this close again.

The reality is that the weight classes below 155 pounds are wide open, and the right guys can gain momentum in a hurry with exciting fights that put them on the map. Pickett’s last win was a violent starching of the underrated Yves Jabouin, while Wineland matched him with a similar destruction of Scott Jorgensen.

Those sorts of finishes get you noticed in divisions that are rich with talent, so in a relative wasteland of contenders like bantamweight, they can catapult a man into big fights.

All of the ingredients are there for a short, memorable and important fight for the UFC’s 135-pound class. Two guys with penchants to be exciting, fuelled further by the amount to be gained by an explosive finish, is exactly the type of thing that likely has FX execs wringing their hands with glee.

There are no clear contenders at 135 pounds once Barao fights Michael McDonald in February, and while some guys are sniffing around, there isn’t one that stands above the rest.

Brad Pickett and Eddie Wineland will stake their claims at UFC 155, and they’re both men who rarely disappoint.

It’s something no MMA fan will want to miss.

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Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2: What a Win Means for Cain Velasquez

The UFC 155 main event features a climatic rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and the No. 1 contender, Cain Velasquez. Velasquez will be looking to get the title back around his waist for the first time since dropping it to dos …

The UFC 155 main event features a climatic rematch between UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos and the No. 1 contender, Cain Velasquez.

Velasquez will be looking to get the title back around his waist for the first time since dropping it to dos Santos in Nov. of 2011. Velasquez faced Antonio “Big Foot” Silva at UFC 146 and put on one of the most dominant performances in recent memory.

The win earned Velasquez another crack at JDS and a chance to win the UFC heavyweight title. It’s easy to pick dos Santos to win because he’s already defeated the AKA fighter once and has the always dangerous, one-punch KO power.

But what would a win for Velasquez mean for the challenger?

For starters, it would give Velasquez some vindication for his dreadful performance in his first meeting with dos Santos. Velasquez has been extremely critical of his performance against JDS and seems to realize what he must do if he wants to take the title.

It also could quite possibly save Velasquez’s UFC career.

I know a lot of people have fathomed the idea of Velasquez dropping to light heavyweight due to his “doughy figure,” but I don’t believe it’s a plausible move for the former champion. Velasquez is a solid 240 pounds and has competed his whole life at heavyweight.

Moving to light heavyweight also takes away Velasquez’s biggest advantage, which is his amazing cardio and ability to push a relentless pace.

If Velasquez doesn’t manage to walk away victorious, it will be hard to imagine a scenario where he gets another title shot so long as JDS is champion. Velasquez needs the victory to keep his UFC champion dreams alive.

He matches up well with virtually every other fighter in the division outside of dos Santos. Therefore, Velasquez could be looking at his situation much the same way Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar saw themselves exiled from title contention after failing to capture a title in multiple tries.

Does Velasquez have the option to move to light heavyweight or willingness to compete without hope of a future title shot? For Velasquez and his fans’ sake, let’s hope he doesn’t have to answer those tough questions.

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Velasquez vs. dos Santos 2: Junior dos Santos’ 5 Finest Moments

Junior dos Santos could assume the mantel of “Baddest Man on The Planet” and nobody would question it. In the past it’s been a title given to the world heavyweight champion in boxing, but since that division is on virtual life support, it also applies …

Junior dos Santos could assume the mantel of “Baddest Man on The Planet” and nobody would question it. In the past it’s been a title given to the world heavyweight champion in boxing, but since that division is on virtual life support, it also applies to the UFC heavyweight champion.

Possessing immense power with precision technique, dos Santos has made it to the top of the UFC ladder by using his boxing skills. He’s without a doubt the best boxer in the division and perhaps the best striker outside of Alistair Overeem.

The champion will have a chance to add to his brief legacy in the UFC by defeating the challenger, Cain Velasquez, in the UFC 155 main event. JDS already holds a victory over Velasquez but will look to silence the critics who claim his first victory was nothing more than a fluke.

UFC 155 provides dos Santos with an opportunity to create a moment that will be forever remembered but the moments on this list are synonymous with the Brazilian. His UFC career has been filled with plenty of knockouts but a heartwarming story could be dos Santos’ finest moment.

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UFC 155: Junior Dos Santos Has Right Mindset to KO Cain Velasquez

While the heavyweight division hardly ever sees a fight go the full time before someone gets knocked out or submitted, heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has the right mindset coming into UFC 155 to KO his opponent, Cain Velasquez.The familiarity b…

While the heavyweight division hardly ever sees a fight go the full time before someone gets knocked out or submitted, heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos has the right mindset coming into UFC 155 to KO his opponent, Cain Velasquez.

The familiarity between these two will give each of these fighters an edge coming into this bout, but leaning on that knowledge will not be what wins this matchup.

This fight isn’t about redemption; this is about the UFC World heavyweight Title.

Velasquez was embarrassed on national television the last time these two men squared off, and the former champion will look at this fight as his chance to bring his name back into the good graces of the fans in attendance and the shot-callers in the UFC.

The defending champion has a different outlook.

Dos Santos told ESPN about how he doesn’t view this as a fight as a rematch and how he prepared for this in-ring war:

I think it’s more a rematch for Cain Velasquez than it is for me. For me it’s another fight, and every fight…I take my next fight as my toughest fight ever. So I get very well prepared for all my fights, [and] I that’s how I am now. I am 100 percent [ready] to go there and keep my belt.

As hard as it is to imagine fighting without any emotion, the key to a great MMA fighter is the ability to control their emotions in the Octagon and use them to harness and disperse their power.

When a fighter has vengeance on their mind or is fighting angry, they begin to let their form slip and start to leave themselves open for the potential knockout blow that could be coming at any second.

Velasquez will come at Dos Santos like a bat out of hell, but the calculated demeanor of the current champion will not only weather the former champion’s storm, it will help Dos Santos find the opening Velasquez leaves and knock him out in spectacular fashion.

The UFC star treats all of his fights the same way, and it’s no wonder why they all end the same way, too. Dos Santos is a knockout machine, and he’ll add another to his resume.

 

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