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UFC 166 goes live tonight from the Toyota Center in Houston, featuring a main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
While the heavyweight championship is the most highly anticipated fight on the card, there are plenty of other conte…
UFC 166 goes live tonight from the Toyota Center in Houston, featuring a main event between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos.
While the heavyweight championship is the most highly anticipated fight on the card, there are plenty of other contests that have caught our eyes. These fights make up our most compelling fights on the card, based on fighter status/rank, pre-fight hype and potential to excite.
Tonight, Houston will play host to one of the most anticipated UFC events in the sport’s history, as Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez will face off at UFC 166.
For dos Santos, the fight represents an opportunity to redeem himself after losing…
Tonight, Houston will play host to one of the most anticipated UFC events in the sport’s history, as Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez will face off at UFC 166.
For dos Santos, the fight represents an opportunity to redeem himself after losing the heavyweight title to Velasquez last year, just 13 months after defeating the American in Anaheim.
But Velasquez’s win over JDS suggested that the Brazilian’s win could have been a fluke, as dos Santos appeared unable to come up with a sufficient defense for Velasquez’s relentless attack at UFC 155.
Heading into tonight’s title fight, here’s a look at the keys to victory for both dos Santos and Velasquez.
Junior dos Santos
Landing an early knockout
For the 29-year-old dos Santos, whether or not he’s able to land heavy shots on Velasquez, particularly during the early stages of the match, may be the deciding factor in who leaves Houston with the title.
Obviously, dos Santos needs to maintain his composure defensively, because as we saw during the pair’s second fight, weathering Velasquez’s combinations, takedowns and accuracy is of the utmost importance for JDS.
During their first meeting, dos Santos managed to come away with a victory by getting after the champion early, and though he may have been helped in part by Velasquez’s shoulder injury, his furious early attack got him the victory.
His overhand right was the decisive blow just over a minute into the fight, and for dos Santos to take the third installment of the trilogy, it may take a similar effort this time around.
The knockout punch wasn’t there during their second fight, and we saw what happened. So for JDS to win, he’s got to be opportunistic when his chances to land big shots arise.
If this one goes the distance, Velasquez has to be the favorite, but JDS‘ advantage in power could allow him to land a knockout during the early stages of the tilt.
Cain Velasquez
Wear dos Santos down with tireless offense
Last year, Velasquez earned his title back by furiously attacking dos Santos from start to finish, and he’ll aim to do the same in Houston tonight.
During their last clash, Velasquez’s effort offensively was masterful, as the champion became the first UFC fighter to reach triple-digits in significant strikes landed (111) and double-digits in takedowns (11), which obliterated the previous record of 81 and 11, respectively.
In order to defend his title against the younger Brazilian, Velasquez will have to break his opponent’s defense down in similar fashion, while also being aware of dos Santos’ power, which is what proved to be the difference in their first meeting.
These two fighters know one another very well now, so dos Santos will undoubtedly be more aware of Velasquez’s desire to get things done on the ground. He’ll likely have to land a sufficient number of strikes in order to win.
He’s very solid defensively against takedowns, and given how things turned out last time, look for Velasquez to try and establish control over dos Santos with early takedowns.
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The trilogy is one of the more compelling aspects of mixed martial arts, and tonight’s match up between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos—the third meeting between the two—should catapult this rivalry well up the lis…
The trilogy is one of the more compelling aspects of mixed martial arts, and tonight’s match up between heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos—the third meeting between the two—should catapult this rivalry well up the list of greatest trilogies in UFC history.
The heavyweight clash headlines UFC 166 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, as Velasquez looks to defend his belt against the man who took it from him in their first meeting back at UFC on FOX 1.
Before you sit down in your UFC man cave or head out to the bars to catch the fights, check out the three reasons to be excited for the third meeting between Velasquez and dos Santos.
When Cain Velasquez defends his heavyweight championship against Junior dos Santos in the main event of the stacked UFC 166 card, the sport of mixed martial arts will be put on notice for what could be the most exciting bout of the year.
Hardcore and …
When Cain Velasquez defends his heavyweight championship against Junior dos Santos in the main event of the stacked UFC 166 card, the sport of mixed martial arts will be put on notice for what could be the most exciting bout of the year.
Hardcore and casual UFC fans both are excited about this defining rubber match—Dos Santos won the first bout and Velasquez won the second—and this pay-per-view main event will be one of the most entertaining in years.
This is a fight fans can’t afford to miss.
Where: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
When: Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 p.m. ET
Watch: PPV (call your local provider)
Live Stream: UFC.com
Velasquez’s Keys to Victory
There are few fighters on earth who have the unique mix of skill, size and power that Velasquez possesses. Saturday’s fight will require the champion at his best if he wants to beat dos Santos for the second consecutive time.
Velasquez’s biggest strengths are his wrestling ability and his cardio. With the capability to take down dos Santos at will—proved with his dominance in the second fight by controlling the ground attack—and elite endurance to grind a fight out for five rounds, the key will be keeping dos Santos’ power from making an impact.
Dos Santos is one of the greatest strikers in heavyweight history, and his heavy hands have made great fighters (including Velasquez) look weak. If the defending champion can use the ground attack to keep the challenger from landing clean strikes, Velasquez will successfully defend the title.
Dos Santos’ Keys to Victory
It is clear that Velasquez will try to take Dos Santos to the mat on Saturday night, but the No. 1 contender’s game plan will be centered on avoiding the shoot attempts and countering with his heavy hands.
After losing the title to Velasquez in the duo’s second fight, this could be dos Santos’ last chance at the heavyweight title for the foreseeable future. With the new champion so heavily based in wrestling abilities, expect the challenger to come in ready to not only defend the takedown attempts, but also turn them into his own form of offense.
If dos Santos can stifle the wrestling ability of his opponent, he will be able to keep the fight standing up. With Velasquez unable to match the pure punching precision, power and speed of the No. 1 contender, the title could easily change hands if these fighters stand toe-to-toe.
Prediction
Both men have each won a fight in this series and this will be the ultimate rubber match to decide which star truly is the better champion.
Velasquez has been a great title holder since taking the belt back from dos Santos in Dec. 2012, but the No. 1 contender has fought his way back into contention and will push the champion to his limit once again.
While Velasquez has the definitive edge on the ground, it will be dos Santos’ improvements in his wrestling game and his dangerous striking ability that will once again dethrone the champion.
In spectacular fashion, dos Santos will catch Velasquez with a clean shot to the head in the first round and the fight will end in a TKO.
Predicted Winner: Junior Dos Santos via first-round TKO.
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On Saturday, October 19, heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title against Junior dos Santos at UFC 166. The bout marks the third time the two heavyweight titans have competed for UFC gold, and also represents one of the most highly ant…
On Saturday, October 19, heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will defend his title against Junior dos Santos at UFC 166. The bout marks the third time the two heavyweight titans have competed for UFC gold, and also represents one of the most highly anticipated matchups of 2013.
UFC 166 features a total of 13 fights, spanning Facebook, Fox Sports 1 and pay-per-view. The action begins at 6:15 p.m. ET.
On the whole, the card shakes out like this:
UFC 166 Main Card
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
Fox Sports 1 Prelims
Tim Boetsch vs. CB Dolloway
Nate Marquardt vs. Hector Lombard
Sarah Kaufman vs. Jessica Eye
George Sotiropoulos vs. KJ Noons
Facebook Prelims
TJ Waldburger vs. Adlan Amagov
Tony Ferguson vs. Mike Rio
Jeremy Larsen vs. Andre Fili
Dustin Pague vs. Kyoji Horiguchi
Check in here for live play-by-play updates and results, as the UFC 166 action breaks. Coverage will begin as soon as the first bell tolls.
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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.
Online Prelims: 6 p.m. ET
Online prelims will be shown on UFC.com.
Fox Sports 1 Prelims: 8 p.m. ET
To find out how to watch Fox Sports 1, use this channel finder.
UFC 166 Pay-Per-View: 10 p.m. ET
The UFC 166 pay-per-view will be available through UFC.tv.
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