UFC 146 – Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva preview
MMABay continues to bring you the lowdown on all the heavyweight action set for this Saturday, May 26th as ‘UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir’ rolls into the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Next up, it’s co-main event time as former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez returns to action set on blazing a trail back to the title as he takes on former Strikeforce grand prix standout, Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva. Will the relentless wrestler follow his team-mate, Daniel Cormier’s blueprint for toppling the giant? Or will the Brazilian behemoth use another heavyweight’s bones to make his bread? Find out after the jump…
Cain Velasquez (9-1, 7-1 UFC)
American Kickboxing Academy mainstay, Cain Velasquez, had seemed a shoe-in to be the next dominant UFC heavyweight champion after his infamous first round destruction of Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. Compared by some to the great Fedor Emelianenko, here was a smaller heavyweight with seemingly endless cardio and a softly-spoken, modest nature – not to mention stellar NCAA wrestling credentials.
The Mexican-American had arrived in the UFC with a mere 2-0 record but plenty of buzz and quickly steamrolled low-level competition such as Jake O’Brien and Dennis Stojnic. Some felt Velasquez was not quite ready for as big a test as Cheick Kongo – at UFC 99 – or Ben Rothwell at UFC 104, but the wrestling convert ran riot on both.
Velasquez earned his title shot by running through former PRIDE great, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, at UFC 110 in Australia, knocking out the veteran with punches in the first round to set-up a titanic showdown with Lesnar. After stripping the WWE wrestler of the gold, Cain was forced to take more than a year off to heal an injured rotator cuff.
Returning to the Octagon to mark the UFC’s first ever show on FOX, Velasquez was handed his first taste of defeat when a well-placed right hand from Junior Dos Santos dropped the wrestler and the Brazilian finished him just 1:04 into the first round. The pressures of being the champion have been lifted for the time-being and now Velasquez must prove he was more than a flash in the pan.
Antonio Silva (16-3, 0-0 UFC)
If Velasquez gained notoriety for proving that size means nothing inside the Octagon, via his demolition of Brock Lesnar, then Brazilian monster, Antonio Silva, proved that nothing lasts forever – even Fedor Emelianenko. ‘Bigfoot’, the former EliteXC heavyweight champion, was paired with ‘The Last Emperor’ in the opening round of the Strikeforce grand prix and obliterated the Russian’s eye with ground and pound for a surprising stoppage at the end of round two.
‘Bigfoot’, a black-belt in BJJ, judo and karate, had done reasonably well in the promotion, ebbing and flowing between close wins over the likes of Andrei Arlovski and a narrow defeat to Fabricio Werdum. The hulking Brazilian was cut down to size in the semi-finals of the grand prix, however, when tournament alternate – and eventual winner – Daniel Cormier, blitzed him with punches in the first round.
Silva could be a valuable addition to the ever-growing talent pool that is the UFC heavyweight division, and with his terrifying top-game and Mongolian chops, ‘Bigfoot’ could be a dark horse to work his way to a title shot.
The Verdict: Cormier proved that David is always capable of beating Goliath – with the right tools at his disposal. Interestingly, Velasquez is almost a carbon-copy of his friend and training partner. Both are fast-paced wrestlers, have quick, accurate boxing and solid cardio and if Velasquez can follow Cormier’s lead, Silva will once again find out that ‘speed kills’.
‘Bigfoot’ is by no means lost though, as the Brazilian has undeniable skills – he’s pretty nimble for a 6ft 4in monster who cuts to make 265lbs, has heavy hands and great positioning sense on the ground. Not to mention, his BJJ black-belt comes in rather handy once he’s able to contain opponents.
But Silva will find it hard to take down an exceptional wrestler like Velasquez, and will more than likely have to fight off his back on a few occasions. We’ve yet to see how Silva fares in this position, but knowing how relentless Cain can be once he begins letting rip from guard, the safe bet says Velasquez fires himself back into the title picture with piston-like ground and pound. Velasquez, (T)KO, 2nd round.
By Steve Davies.
Why not tell us what you think about this story and get your thoughts featured in this week’s edition of MMABay Radio? Email Mailbag@mmabay.co.uk, start the subject with the word ‘RADIO MAILBAG’ and we’ll talk about our favourites on the next show.
