UFC 139 was originally rumored to serve as the pay-per-view event to house the heavyweight title bout between challenger Junior dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez. However, as we have all learned earlier today, such is not the case and both men wil…
UFC 139 was originally rumored to serve as the pay-per-view event to house the heavyweight title bout between challenger Junior dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez. However, as we have all learned earlier today, such is not the case and both men will instead take part in the organization’s first venture onto Fox.
UFC 139 takes place on Nov. 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Cali., and though Velasquez, a product of the famed American Kickboxing Academy, would have been a huge local draw for the event, the promotion is currently underway in developing a respectable main event to take it’s place.
Several options exist, though limited they are, could still very well pull in a decent crowd to an always burgeoning hot bed for mixed martial arts action.
The HP has served home for many Strikeforce events and now that Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, has since purchased the organization, they will use all of their new tools at their disposal in order to open to a wider audience.
So, who can fill in these big shoes come this November?
At UFC 139, the organization will make its first official event in San Jose, headlined by a heavyweight bout which has all the makings to become one of the best heavyweight fights in recent mixed martial arts history.On November 19 at the HP Pavilion, …
At UFC 139, the organization will make its first official event in San Jose, headlined by a heavyweight bout which has all the makings to become one of the best heavyweight fights in recent mixed martial arts history.
On November 19 at the HP Pavilion, UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title against No. 1 contender and boxing extraordinaire Junior dos Santos.
Anticipation is high for the bout after the fight was delayed due to the champion suffering a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder during his bout with Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, which sidelined him for months.
Now, the first ever Mexican heavyweight champion and 29-year-old California native will face off against an equally talented and equally dangerous “Cigano” in what is expected to be a very difficult title defense.
Velasquez, who has not fought since his first-round TKO of then-champ Brock Lesnar to win the heavyweight title, did so using superior technique despite being the significantly smaller fighter.
Known for his tenacity and big-time resilience inside the cage, the former Division I wrestler will definitely have his hands full come UFC 139.
Dos Santos, who is widely considered the best boxer in the division, is fresh off of his beat down of Shane Carwin at UFC 131 and has remained more active than his counterpart, especially after coming off a stint on The Ultimate Fighter as a coach.
While he was unable to face off against his rival coach in Lesnar, the boxing clinic he performed on Carwin was definitely enough of a statement that he is the force to be reckoned with in the division.
Utilizing some crisp technique and some quick but deadly hands, Dos Santos has torn through the likes of Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson, Fabricio Werdum and Gabriel Gonzaga.
Add to that some very proficient takedown defense courtesy of his Black House training partners like Mark Munoz for instance and his brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, courtesy of the Nogueira brothers, and he is definitely a well-rounded threat.
In all of his fights, he’s shown boxing skill and technique that improves with each bout and an evolution in his game that keeps on progressing.
His foe, on the other hand, Velasquez boasts arguably the division’s, if not the entire sport’s, best cardio, in addition to some pretty devastating power and equally refined technique.
The American Kickboxing Academy member also has some of the sports best stablemates in Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck in addition to his already well-documented work ethic.
What also makes the fight so interesting, is that while Dos Santos has more than enough offense to throw at Velasquez, the champion has an unreal ability to withstand a beating.
It was especially visible in his fight with Cheick Kongo, who rocked him badly, but was unable to put him away when Velasquez held his ground to score the takedown and eventually win the fight decisively.
So while Dos Santos might carry more power and better technique than Kongo, against another durable opponent in Nelson, he was unable to completely seal the deal and take the win back at UFC 117.
The duo can definitely dish it, but more importantly, they could seemingly take whatever they could possibly throw at each other.
Velasquez himself also possesses some pretty clean boxing and has enough knockout power to give Dos Santos a run for his money too.
Also, given the speed and accuracy both of these heavyweights have, the fight could end up looking more like a bantamweight bout, with the pair trading blows and engaging in speedy exchanges.
Both Dos Santos and Velasquez can string together speedy combinations and drop huge bombs, giving this fight real potential for a stand-up war.
Should the fight go to the ground, with Velasquez utilizing his wrestling, Dos Santos has shown an aptitude for takedown defense and has a very rarely seen jiu-jitsu game that could finally make an appearance against a wrestler of Velasquez’s calibre.
Both fighters may not sell fights quite like the Chael Sonnens and Brock Lesnars of the UFC, but they have had good exposure despite their humble demeanors, especially Dos Santos, who definitely benefited from his time on The Ultimate Fighter.
Fans couldn’t ask for a better pair to square off than two guys who could let their hands loose and do their talking inside the Octagon rather than from behind a microphone.
In what is shaping up to be the UFC’s thinner division, this fight could jump-start a rivalry and possibly give birth to even a trilogy.
Velasquez and Dos Santos are both still relatively young and given the skill level they both possess, we can expect to see them atop the division for a long time to come.
Already immensely talented, the potential of this matchup makes it so exciting, especially when many heavyweight bouts can end rather quickly due to the kind of power these larger fighters have.
Velasquez and Dos Santos can put on a technical clinic against each other and have already shown that they break the stereotype of heavier fighters being big lumbering power punchers or smothering wrestlers.
In a division which has been without Lesnar, arguably its biggest star, at UFC 139, the heavyweight division will get what will most definitely be the best fight between the most skilled fighters it has.
It might not sound as entertaining as any fight with the brash Brock Lesnar or fast-talking Chael Sonnen, but Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos will surely be one of the best heavyweight fights we might ever see.
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will chat live with MMAFighting.com readers on Thursday at 12 PM ET.
Velasquez has been out of action since winning the heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar at UFC 121, but he’s getting ready to return to the Octagon against Junior dos Santos at UFC 139. Thursday’s live chat is your chance to ask Velasquez about his progress in recovery from shoulder surgery, his training for dos Santos, and anything else you want to know.
Post your questions and read the heavyweight champion’s answers below.
A pair of light heavyweights badly in need of a win will meet at UFC 139 in November.
Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz, each with two-fight losing streaks for the first time in their careers, have agreed to a fight on the UFC‘s Nov. 19 pay-per-view in San Jose, Calif. The promotion announced the fight Tuesday night on its official website.
The UFC 139 card, which is quickly starting to fill up with several recent fight announcements, features a main event heavyweight title fight between San Jose-based champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Bader (12-2, 5-2 UFC) started his UFC career 5-0, and his MMA career 12-0, including the title of Season 8 champion of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The two-time All-American wrestler at Arizona State then began a methodical climb up the light heavyweight rankings that culminated with a unanimous decision win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event of UFC 119 last September.
The win over Nogueira got Bader a fight against Jon Jones at UFC 126. But Jones was on his rapid ascension to the top of the 205-pound heap and submitted Bader in the second round. Jones got a quick title shot against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, which he won in dominating fashion. Bader had to regroup.
But against Tito Ortiz at UFC 132 last month, Bader fell victim to what has been the year’s biggest upset. Ortiz dropped Bader with a short right hand early in the first round, then moved in for a guillotine choke that forced Bader to tap. The win by Ortiz was his first since October 2006, saved his job in the UFC and made Bader the answer to an MMA trivia question, albeit on the wrong end.
Brilz (18-4-1, 3-3 UFC) saw his two-fight skid begin with a controversial split decision loss to Nogueira at UFC 114 in May 2010. That bout, which won Fight of the Night, had most in attendance, and many scoring the fight live, believing Brilz was the victim of bad judging.
After nearly a year off due to injury, Brilz returned at UFC 129 in Toronto to face Vladimir Matyushenko. He never had a chance to get started – Matyushenko knocked him out just 20 seconds into the first round.
Though he may get some leeway for the Nogueira fight, a loss to Bader would mean the former University of Nebraska-Omaha wrestler, and current assistant coach, would have just one win since March 2009.
UFC 139, though not yet officially announced by the promotion, will be its debut in San Jose, the former home base of one-time rival Strikeforce. The pay-per-view is expected to take place at the HP Pavilion.
Aside from the heavyweight championship in the main event, UFC 139 will also feature a bantamweight contenders bout between former champions Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber, a welterweight bout between Martin Kampmann and Rick Story and a light heavyweight bout between Stephan Bonnar and Kyle Kingsbury. In addition, though he does not yet have an opponent named, Josh Koscheck is expected to make his return at the event, and is planning on a move from welterweight to middleweight for the first time since his appearance on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
(“…and that’s the ‘bleeding robot’. For my next impression — the ‘bleeding hula girl’.”)
Two pivotal light-heavyweight matchups have been added to UFC 139: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, November 19th in San Jose. First, in the night’s “no pressure” match, Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz will both try to snap their two-fight losing streaks. Bader is skating on thin ice after being utterly ass-handled by Jon Jones in February, then getting choked out by Tito Ortiz in the upset of the year. Brilz kicked off his losing skid with a valiant effort against Lil’ Nog, followed by a far-less-impressive 20-second knockout loss to Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 129. Winner keeps their job. Loser…well, who knows anymore?
(“…and that’s the ‘bleeding robot’. For my next impression — the ‘bleeding hula girl’.”)
Two pivotal light-heavyweight matchups have been added to UFC 139: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, November 19th in San Jose. First, in the night’s “no pressure” match, Ryan Bader and Jason Brilz will both try to snap their two-fight losing streaks. Bader is skating on thin ice after being utterly ass-handled by Jon Jones in February, then getting choked out by Tito Ortiz in the upset of the year. Brilz kicked off his losing skid with a valiant effort against Lil’ Nog, followed by a far-less-impressive 20-second knockout loss to Vladimir Matyushenko at UFC 129. Winner keeps their job. Loser…well, who knows anymore?
Meanwhile, beloved light-heavyweight vet Stephan Bonnar — who’s riding his first two-fight win streak since 2007 — will be matching his momentum against TUF 8 vet Kyle Kingsbury, who has won his last four, and is starting to look like a straight-up beast. Bonnar most recently out-scored Igor Pokrajac at the TUF 12 Finale in December, and was slated to face Karlos Vemola at UFC on Versus 5, but had to withdraw due to injury. Kingsbury is coming off his decision win over Fabio Maldonado at the TUF 13 Finale in June, where he showed off some nasty clinch-knees but ate a heap of body shots in the process.
Just about a week after the completion of the card he was supposed to fight on, Stephan Bonnar has a new date for his return.
Bonnar will fight Kyle Kingsbury in a light heavyweight bout at UFC 139 in November. The UFC announced the fight on Tuesday.
UFC 139 is scheduled for Nov. 19 in San Jose and features a main event heavyweight title fight between champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
Bonnar (13-7, 7-6 UFC) was scheduled to meet Karlos Vemola at UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee earlier this month, but had to pull out in June with a Grade II tear of his MCL. After a three-fight skid, Bonnar has won two straight. He won his rematch with Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 116 by TKO in a Fight of the Night performance. And he dominated Igor Pokrajac for a unanimous decision win at the TUF 12 Finale last December.
Bonnar, the TUF 1 light heavyweight runner-up to Forrest Griffin, has made some waves the last six months or so with a line of shirts started by his company, NGauge Inc., called Trash Talkin’ Kids. The shirts featured cartoon representations of UFC fighters, including Josh Koscheck – which Koscheck threatened a lawsuit over. The shirts have been shelved in favor of a new brand, Punch Buddies. But Bonnar and Koscheck, housemates on TUF 1, have traded barbs through social media. When Koscheck announced Monday he was moving to middleweight to fight at UFC 139, there was speculation that Bonnar might drop down to fight him. But instead, they’ll have to share the same card – just probably not the same locker room.
Kingsbury (11-2, 1 NC, 4-1 UFC), a product of Season 8 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has won four straight in the UFC after losing his debut to Tom Lawlor at the TUF 8 Finale. His decision wins over Jared Hamman at Fight Night 22 and Fabio Maldonado at the TUF 13 Finale in June were both Fight of the Night winners.
The fight will be a homecoming for Kingsbury, who went to high school in the San Jose suburb of Cupertino, where he wrestled and played football. He was a walk-on for Arizona State’s football team. He lives and trains in San Jose.
UFC 139 will take place at the HP Pavilion and will be the UFC’s debut in the city, which is about 40 miles south of San Francisco. Aside from the heavyweight title fight and Koscheck’s return to middleweight, UFC 139 is expected to feature a bantamweight contenders bout between former champions Brian Bowles and Urijah Faber.
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A pair of light heavyweights badly in need of a win will meet at 
Just about a week after the completion of the card he was supposed to fight on,