We’ve heard Dana White say, “this division is stacked” many times, but rarely, if ever have we heard him say that about the heavyweight division. This actually is time to point out why MMA (the UFC in particular) have overwhelmed their principal …
We’ve heard Dana White say, “this division is stacked” many times, but rarely, if ever have we heard him say that about the heavyweight division. This actually is time to point out why MMA (the UFC in particular) have overwhelmed their principal rival, boxing.
Let’s admit it, boxing has two things going for it right now: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. These guys have fought a total of five times in two years. That’s not enough to keep fight fans satisfied.
When boxing was king, Heavyweights ruled.
The popularity of boxing can be directly linked with the success and prosperity of the heavyweight division. Be honest, who wants to see the Klitschko brothers beat up another terrible opponent? This establishes my point.
MMA (once again the UFC in particular) is wildly successful in spite of it’s heavyweight division. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying there are no good fighters in the heavyweight division, because there are. There just aren’t the number of good fighters that are in the light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, and lightweight divisions.
(Notice I left out bantamweight…We’ll save that for another article)
The point is this: MMA is successful in spite of its overall heavyweight division. Why is it weak? I’m glad you asked…
Cain Velasquez is truly a force to be reckoned with. He attained the UFC heavyweight title last October, defeating the massive and dangerous man known as Brock Lesnar.Learning from Shane Carwin’s shot at Lesnar, Cain intelligently picked his shots to a…
Cain Velasquez is truly a force to be reckoned with. He attained the UFC heavyweight title last October, defeating the massive and dangerous man known as Brock Lesnar.
Learning from Shane Carwin’s shot at Lesnar, Cain intelligently picked his shots to avoid gassing himself. Cain’s stamina is immense, but he still made sure his shots counted. He used his strength to stay off the mat, and ended up overpowering the former WWE star.
Cain is currently holding a statistic that is very rare in the UFC and in MMA in general. He is undefeated in his career inside the Octagon. With that, his run hasn’t been a short one either. Nine wins in a row has landed him at the top of the heap, and made him the first Mexican UFC champion.
When defining an MMA champion, one has to look at a few factors. By sheer numbers, the opponents they fought play a role, as well as the means in which they came out victorious.
Beyond the arena, fans and critics alike look at a fighter’s character and demeanor to determine if they act like a champion. Lastly, after winning the title many believe that in order to be considered a true champion, they must defend their title at least once.
Cain’s only flaw in this equation and criteria is a title defense. He will have the opportunity to prove he deserves to have the belt around his waist at the UFC on FOX debut. He will be facing Junior Dos Santos, a devastating fighter with incredible boxing skills.
With nine straight wins, six of which were first round finishes, Cain makes a statement that is very impressive for any professional fighter. In fact, only one of his victories has come by decision, and that was to Cheick Kongo back in 2009. Everything else has ended from his fists.
As far as opponents, having finishes over Lesnar, Nogueira, Rothwell and Jake O’Brien is a great testament to his relativity to the division. He still has many challenges ahead of him, especially with the addition of Alistair Overeem. But next he will face JDS to add another very reputable name to his repertoire.
His character and overall personality are also very humble. Where he wins fans with his fights, he wins them over with himself sometimes as well. He remains focused and determined, and rarely bashes the other opponents.
He takes pride in his heritage, and feeds off it and his supporters. He dons the “Brown Pride” across his chest and carries the flag with him as well, wrapped around his right hand. Very appropriate, since as mentioned before, it is his hands that are what has gotten him to where he is.
Due to his injuries, he has been sidelined for a year, but with his power and strength fueled by motivation, he should be one of the few to show real signs of ring rust. A strong wrestler, he knows not the meaning of taking it easy and always prepares himself for his endeavors.
Aside from yet attaining a title defense, Velasquez most certainly meets many of the standards people set for Champions. He will be fighting on one of the most historic nights that the UFC will put into the history books.
With the biggest television deal and the biggest belt class, comes two of the biggest heavyweights in the sport, ready to show the world why they believe they are the number one heavyweight in the world.
EPISODE FOUR of “Defining a Champion” Series: Cain Velasquez
What do YOU think is Velasquez’s defining factors that makes him a champion? Please leave your answers and why in the Comments Section below.
It’s been a busy time in the heavyweight division in mixed martial arts: The UFC has announced that Cain Velasquez will defend the heavyweight title against Junior dos Santos on Fox, that Brock Lesnar will return against former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in what should be the year’s biggest pay-per-view, and that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will attempt to continue his comeback with a rematch against Frank Mir.
But the most exciting thing to happen in the heavyweight division recently has been the emergence of Daniel Cormier.
Cormier didn’t just win against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal. He won in devastating fashion and did it by out-striking Silva, not by out-wrestling him, which most people thought was Cormier’s only path to victory. The victory vaults Cormier into the heavyweight Top 10, which is below.
1. Cain Velasquez (1): The champion will finally return to the Octagon against Junior dos Santos in November, after more than a year away. He says he’s at full strength after shoulder surgery. He’ll need to be against dos Santos, who’s a better striker than anyone Velasquez has ever faced.
2. Junior dos Santos (2): In a sign of how big the dos Santos-Velasquez fight is going to be, Fox was advertising it during its Week 1 NFL games. That’s the kind of promotion that will bring these two heavyweights — and the UFC — to a whole new audience.
3. Alistair Overeem (3): By signing to face Lesnar at the end of the year, Overeem has accepted the biggest challenge of his MMA career: Overeem has never faced anyone as physically strong as Lesnar, or anyone with Lesnar’s wrestling pedigree. Overeem won’t be able to throw Lesnar around or bully him in the clinch, the way he’s been able to do against so many of his recent opponents.
4. Brock Lesnar (4): The big problem Lesnar had in his last two fights is that he didn’t react well to getting hit in the face by Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez. That could become an even bigger problem when he faces Overeem, who’s an absolutely devastating striker.
5. Fabricio Werdum (5): Werdum is the best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner in the heavyweight division and a threat to submit anyone he faces, but at the moment it’s hard to see where he goes: Fans aren’t exactly clamoring to see him again after his lackluster performance in his June loss to Overeem, and the uncertain future of Strikeforce may have him waiting around for a while before he finds his next fight.
6. Daniel Cormier (NR): Cormier is an Olympic wrestler and maybe the best pure wrestler in all of MMA, but what’s so impressive about Cormier is how far his striking has come. Cormier made a conscious effort to turn himself into a well-rounded mixed martial artist rather than simply a wrestler who plays to his strengths in the cage, and the results on display in his knockout win over Bigfoot were stunning. Cormier is now 9-0 and a real force in the heavyweight division.
7. Shane Carwin (7): Carwin is now on a two-fight losing streak, but there’s no shame in losing to Lesnar and dos Santos. The bigger question facing Carwin is whether he’s lost some of his devastating power. The 36-year-old, 255-pound Carwin who lost to dos Santos didnt’ look nearly as powerful as the 35-year-old, 265-pound Carwin who knocked out Frank Mir.
8. Frank Mir (8): Mir should be favored to beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira again in their December rematch. If he does, he’ll position himself to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title in 2012, although he’ll have to get in line behind the Lesnar-Overeem winner.
9. Josh Barnett (10): Barnett is now on an eight-fight winning streak, and he hasn’t lost since meeting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride in 2006. He’ll have his hands full in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final, however, as he won’t be able to take down Daniel Cormier and control him on the ground, which was Barnett’s path to victory over Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov.
10. Antonio Silva (6): The way Silva dropped like a sack of potatoes against Cormier raises some questions about his striking defense, but Silva is still a big talent who could potentially have some very interesting matchups against heavyweights in either Strikeforce or the UFC.
It’s been a busy time in the heavyweight division in mixed martial arts: The UFC has announced that Cain Velasquez will defend the heavyweight title against Junior dos Santos on Fox, that Brock Lesnar will return against former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in what should be the year’s biggest pay-per-view, and that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will attempt to continue his comeback with a rematch against Frank Mir.
But the most exciting thing to happen in the heavyweight division recently has been the emergence of Daniel Cormier.
Cormier didn’t just win against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix semifinal. He won in devastating fashion and did it by out-striking Silva, not by out-wrestling him, which most people thought was Cormier’s only path to victory. The victory vaults Cormier into the heavyweight Top 10, which is below.
1. Cain Velasquez (1): The champion will finally return to the Octagon against Junior dos Santos in November, after more than a year away. He says he’s at full strength after shoulder surgery. He’ll need to be against dos Santos, who’s a better striker than anyone Velasquez has ever faced.
2. Junior dos Santos (2): In a sign of how big the dos Santos-Velasquez fight is going to be, Fox was advertising it during its Week 1 NFL games. That’s the kind of promotion that will bring these two heavyweights — and the UFC — to a whole new audience.
3. Alistair Overeem (3): By signing to face Lesnar at the end of the year, Overeem has accepted the biggest challenge of his MMA career: Overeem has never faced anyone as physically strong as Lesnar, or anyone with Lesnar’s wrestling pedigree. Overeem won’t be able to throw Lesnar around or bully him in the clinch, the way he’s been able to do against so many of his recent opponents.
4. Brock Lesnar (4): The big problem Lesnar had in his last two fights is that he didn’t react well to getting hit in the face by Shane Carwin and Cain Velasquez. That could become an even bigger problem when he faces Overeem, who’s an absolutely devastating striker.
5. Fabricio Werdum (5): Werdum is the best Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner in the heavyweight division and a threat to submit anyone he faces, but at the moment it’s hard to see where he goes: Fans aren’t exactly clamoring to see him again after his lackluster performance in his June loss to Overeem, and the uncertain future of Strikeforce may have him waiting around for a while before he finds his next fight.
6. Daniel Cormier (NR): Cormier is an Olympic wrestler and maybe the best pure wrestler in all of MMA, but what’s so impressive about Cormier is how far his striking has come. Cormier made a conscious effort to turn himself into a well-rounded mixed martial artist rather than simply a wrestler who plays to his strengths in the cage, and the results on display in his knockout win over Bigfoot were stunning. Cormier is now 9-0 and a real force in the heavyweight division.
7. Shane Carwin (7): Carwin is now on a two-fight losing streak, but there’s no shame in losing to Lesnar and dos Santos. The bigger question facing Carwin is whether he’s lost some of his devastating power. The 36-year-old, 255-pound Carwin who lost to dos Santos didnt’ look nearly as powerful as the 35-year-old, 265-pound Carwin who knocked out Frank Mir.
8. Frank Mir (8): Mir should be favored to beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira again in their December rematch. If he does, he’ll position himself to make another run at the UFC heavyweight title in 2012, although he’ll have to get in line behind the Lesnar-Overeem winner.
9. Josh Barnett (10): Barnett is now on an eight-fight winning streak, and he hasn’t lost since meeting Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Pride in 2006. He’ll have his hands full in the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix final, however, as he won’t be able to take down Daniel Cormier and control him on the ground, which was Barnett’s path to victory over Brett Rogers and Sergei Kharitonov.
10. Antonio Silva (6): The way Silva dropped like a sack of potatoes against Cormier raises some questions about his striking defense, but Silva is still a big talent who could potentially have some very interesting matchups against heavyweights in either Strikeforce or the UFC.
The announcement that former UFC champion Brock Lesnar will fight former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem has set the MMA world aflame. Many are excited and think this will be the fight of the year. They are wrong. This fight will be one of the mo…
The announcement that former UFC champion Brock Lesnar will fight former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem has set the MMA world aflame. Many are excited and think this will be the fight of the year. They are wrong. This fight will be one of the most epic fails in MMA history.
Why will such a hyped up fight be such a disappointment? How can a fight between such strong fighters be a let down? Read and find out, but keep in mind you may lose your enthusiasm for the upcoming bout!
UFC on FOX November 1, 2011, will not only witness the first monumental UFC show on FOX and the promotions first outing on network television since signing a sport changing seven year deal with the No.1 network in the United States, but also feature th…
UFC on FOX November 1, 2011, will not only witness the first monumental UFC show on FOX and the promotions first outing on network television since signing a sport changing seven year deal with the No.1 network in the United States, but also feature the biggest UFC Heavyweight Title fight in the history of the sport.
Fact is what makes this battle so intriguing is that it is literally too close to call in every way, so therefore I have my work cut out but I will stick my neck out and take a shot in attempting to do so.
Let us start by taking a closer look at both fighters UFC career numbers provided by Fight Metric the official statistics provider of the UFC –
Velasquez JDS
UFC Record
9-0-0
7-0-0
Average Fight Time
04:31
06:17
Height
6′ 2″ (188 cm)
6′ 3″ (191 cm)
Weight
245 lb. (111 kg)
238 lb. (108 kg)
Reach
77.0″
77.0″
Stance
Orthodox
Orthodox
Age
29
27
STRIKING (Significant Strikes)
Strikes Landed per Min. (SLpM)
7.05
6.79
Striking Accuracy
61%
47%
Strikes Absorbed per Min. (SApM)
1.15
1.99
Defense
65%
64%
GRAPPLING
Takedowns Average/15 minutes
6.96
0.9
Takedown Accuracy
72%
75%
Takedown Defense
88%
83%
Submission Average/15 minutes
0.66
0
Most MMA experts would give Junior Dos Santos the edge in the striking due to the “put to sleep power” he carries in those fists winning 4 of 7 fights in the UFC and 8 of 13 MMA career fights, by knockout. Interestingly Cain Velasquez considered to be a lesser striker than Dos Santos, has 6 of his 7 wins in the UFC and 8 of his 9 MMA career wins, by knockout.
Saying that, Dos Santos has fought a higher calibre of striker including Mirko Cro-Cop, Gilbert Yvel and Stefan Struve knocking them all out and making a mockery of Shane Carwin’s face in the stand-up on way to a Unanimous Decision victory. Cain got rocked by the best striker he faced in Cheick Kongo, before showing his resilience following up with a takedown and subsequently landing 251 strikes on the way to a Unanimous Decision victory.
Dos Santos in my opinion has better boxing and is superb at keeping the distance and avoiding damage on his feet illustrated by his striking defence of 64%. Velasquez attempts 6.96 average takedowns every 15 minutes with a devastating accuracy of 75%. For Junior, his strength lies in the striking advantage against just about anyone assisted by an incredible takedown defence of 83%.
In terms of stand-up the advantage lies with Dos Santos however, one must point out that the UFC Heavyweight Champion uses more leg-kicks and himself has knockout power illustrated by the knockout of his opponent’s idol and Black House MMA team mate, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira all starting with the same left-hook that was later measured at 2230 lbs of force on ESPN Sport Science, the hardest recorded punch of any boxer or MMA fighter on the show to date. Nonetheless, in fluidity as well as combinations Dos Santos edges Velasquez who in all likelihood will look to get the fight on the ground.
Once in a blue moon in the rare occurrence both fighters have been taken down in their MMA careers, both shown an innate ability to scramble to their feet and either keep it standing avoiding takedowns in the case of the Brazilian, and in taking down the opponent in the case of the former NCAA Division 1 All-American. Dos Santos is yet to face a wrestler of the pedigree of Velasquez, who even took down a superior wrestler in NCAA Division 1 Champion, Brock Lesnar who was unable to keep the Mexican-American down.
If Velasquez shoots in for a takedown he must be careful of eating a huge upper-cut, a trademark of Dos Santos which he used to devastating effect in his last fight against another wrestler in Shane Carwin. If Velasquez scores a takedown look for him to exhibit his relentless brand of ground and pound considering his off the charts cardio, the best in the heavyweight division and probably in the whole UFC. This would point to the fact that the longer the fight goes, the higher the probability of Velasquez to win this being a 5 round championship fight.
To be fair, “Cigano” has never been put on his back and is a Brown-Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trained by the Nogueira brothers, but will probably spend most of the time practising his takedown defence and scrambling with highly acclaimed wrestler Mark Munoz. It is no secret Dos Santos will look to keep this one standing and point to the fact that Velasquez has never faced a high-level striker of his quality.
So who will win? As they say in the UFC “its time”, in my humble opinion the telling factor will be that Cain Velasquez is returning from a 90 percent torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder sustained during his October 23 2010, UFC 121 victory over Lesnar. There is bound to be a level of ring-rust for even someone as professional and well prepared as Velasquez in terms of his striking power and timing as well as, the shoulder power required to exert in forcing a takedown. It is a known fact that shoulder injuries take a long time to heal up, sometimes years and Cain is returning from surgery and 8 month lay-off with no training returning only returning to full training as late as mid-July.
How this disruption will affect the confidence, routine and preparation, both physically as well as mentally of a fighter known to be an obsessive gym fanatic and how he handles this will be critical. As champion, you do not get tune up fights and Velasquez is most certainly is not getting one, an absolute beast in Junior Dos Santos who has been on a tear awaits and my gut feeling says he will make the most of this. Cynically I may even suggest, he may target the shoulder with strikes and elbows especially when Velasquez attempts the takedown.
There is every chance that Cain Velasquez, who I admire massively likewise with Junior Dos Santos, I reckon the Brazilian will edge this one either by Split Decision or by Knockout.
Last week, I took you through a slide show of five fighters within the UFC’s light heavyweight division who would match up well with current middleweight king, Anderson “The Spider” Silva. The list contained such names as Dan Henderson, Lyoto Mach…
Last week, I took you through a slide show of five fighters within the UFC’s light heavyweight division who would match up well with current middleweight king, Anderson “The Spider” Silva.
The list contained such names as Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Surely, any of those stars could put up one hell of a fight against the man they’re now calling “the greatest fighter of all time.” Right?
It didn’t seem as if the fans are so sure.
The talents of Anderson Silva, they say, would be too much for anyone in the light heavyweight division to handle. Dan Henderson would be choked out again. Lyoto Machida would find himself on the receiving end of the dreaded crane kick. Jon Jones would be blasted out cold while attempting a spinning back elbow. Anderson Silva can’t be beat, won’t be beat.
Ok. Well, let’s take it a step further. What if he moved into the heavyweight division?
In all fairness, this isn’t something that is likely to ever happen. However, Silva would only have to put on an extra 35 lbs to go from middleweight to heavyweight. Randy Couture made the move from light heavyweight to heavyweight, and coming into a fight at merely 220-230lbs, he was still crowned the UFC heavyweight champion of the world for a period of time. Sure, he never fought at middleweight, but he was 43 freakin’ years old! That has to count for something.
So, just for the sake of argument, let’s say Anderson Silva did make the move up to the heavyweight division. Who would he face? How would he fare? Let’s have a look-see, shall we?
Cain Velasquez is truly a force to be reckoned with. He attained the UFC heavyweight title last October, defeating the massive and dangerous man known as 
It’s been a busy time in the heavyweight division in mixed martial arts: The