Velasquez, Trainer Break Down Lesnar-Carwin

Cain Velasquez kept his perfect record intact at UFC 104 with a dominating TKO victory over an always-tough Ben Rothwell, and now the American Kickboxing Academy product seems poised to face the winner of the Nov. 21 Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin title fight.

Fresh off his big win, Velasquez (7-0) took a moment to break down Lesnar-Carwin with Sherdog.com.

“For me, standup is a tossup,” said the 27-year-old heavyweight contender. “They both have a lot of knockout power. I think it could go either way in the standup, but I think Brock has the better wrestling and I think he can take the fight where he wants to take it, and if he does, I see him as the winner.”

AKA head trainer Javier Mendez said he would rather Velasquez face Lesnar, not because he thinks there is a tactical advantage for his charge but because of the former WWE star’s popularity.

“[Lesnar] is an extremely hard fight for us,” Mendez said. “We’re going to definitely have to win the standup game and the kicking game. And then the wrestling, the size of Brock could potentially neutralize us, but Cain’s cardio is going to neutralize him, so it’s going to be a really, really interesting fight.”

As for Carwin, Mendez acknowledged he would require a completely different game plan because of a perceived power advantage.

“Should Carwin get past Lesnar, it’s going to be a little different fight,” Mendez said. “We can’t attack the same as against Lesnar because Carwin is to be respected because of his incredible power, and his wrestling is top notch also. We will have to take a different path because he is a different fighter with different strengths.”

Mendez has been adamant that his prized pupil needs all the experience he can get before being thrown into the UFC heavyweight title picture. However, after Velasquez’s handling of Rothwell, Mendez was singing a different tune.

“If you look at the records of all the heavyweights, Cain is 5-0 [and] I don’t think there has ever been a UFC heavyweight who has gone 5-0,” said Mendez. “Who is there left for us to fight that’s not in title contention? Frank Mir, Nogueira … they’re all top guys. Carwin, Lesnar is the champ. I feel that now, we can fight the champion now. To me, they’re all interchangeable. They’re all just as tough. They all have their strengths.”

And where might Velasquez’s next fight take place? Earlier this week UFC President Dana White confirmed the company is aiming for an April date in Mexico City. Velasquez-Lesnar or Velasquez-Carwin for the heavyweight title would qualify as a high-profile bout, perhaps even just the kind of fight White promised he would book for the promotion’s planned forays into new markets.

“That would be a dream for me to be there and to fight there,” said a beaming Velasquez, clearly relishing the thought of fighting in the land of his ancestors.