-
Velasquez: Will ‘Definitely’ Be UFC Heavyweight Champion
Read more -
Breen Tackles Lesnar-Velasquez at UFC 121
Read more -
Poll: Lesnar-Velasquez Betting Favorite?
-
Poll: Lesnar or Velasquez?
-
UFC 110 Post-Mortem: Pride After the Fall, Oz Festival, More
By: Jake Rossen
Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com
Three of Japan’s biggest attractions of the last decade competed in Australia Saturday, and while two of them earned wins, none of them looked familiar.
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, once the most feared striker in the sport, appeared sluggish against late replacement Anthony Perosh, a 216-pound jiu-jitsu practitioner thrown into the fight because of his geographic convenience. Despite being pitted against someone unlikely to damage him standing, Filipovic took two rounds to deliver enough punishment to warrant a stoppage.
While that fight said little about the Croatian’s current value as a UFC heavyweight, Cain Velasquez could not have been more vocal, nudging his record to a perfect 8-0 after a quick, flawless destruction of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Once considered unflappable, Nogueira has been knocked down (or out) in three of his four UFC bouts, leading to a belief that his tenure in Japan has created a body suffering far more than just his 33 years on the planet.
Wanderlei Silva looked the most impressive of the three, but virtually by default: despite a promise he had returned to his “old style,” Silva spent most of his three rounds against Michael Bisping tentative and content to stay out of any real exchanges. It was a quality win -- Bisping, despite the fan venom he draws with his mouth, is a good fighter -- but it was not a performance that will be remembered for very long. Read more -
Cain's Stiffest Task
-
5 Questions: UFC 110
By: Jake Rossen
Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Can Velasquez handle real ground pressure?
Never once in seven professional bouts has Cain Velasquez been threatened when a fight has hit the mat: his wrestling core usually leaves opponents flat and struggling more for their own survival than his extinction. But the exact place where Velasquez is most comfortable -- on top -- is where Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is his most dangerous. He may not submit Velasquez, but the threat of it can help get him in and out of positions that could dictate the outcome of the fight.
Will Nogueira’s experience work against him?
Could be that Velasquez is going to be the victim of the finesse and tactical correction provided by Nogueira’s nearly 40 trips to the ring. But the price paid for that experience is a body that may want to hang up its shield. Against Frank Mir, Nogueira was downed by staph; wars with Fedor Emelianenko and Bob Sapp resulted in a different, more weathered fighter than we had seen before. If anyone stands to benefit from Nogueira’s long and painful history in MMA, it may just be Velasquez. Read more -
Red Ink: Velasquez/Nogueira
By: Jake Rossen
Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira enjoys high-level wrestlers. Against Dan Henderson, Mark Coleman, and Randy Couture, Nogueira was able to reduce their comfort level on the ground. If he is not the heavyweight division’s most dangerous submission artist, he is certainly the most experienced.
The problem Nogueira will have with the two-time All-American Cain Velasquez is that Velasquez is neither smaller (Henderson) nor significantly older (Couture, Coleman) than the variety of wrestler Nogueira is used to fighting. He smashes opponents from guard effectively; he has the cardio reservoir of a 20-something. If Nogueira plans on getting a tap, he will probably have to suffer tremendously in the process.
What It Means: A probable shot at Brock Lesnar’s title.
Wild Card: Velasquez’s striking on the feet, which seems most effective in the clinch. Distance may benefit Nogueira.
Who Wins: An MMA-credible boxer with tricks to spare on the ground might be asking too much of Velasquez at this point in time: after a gory couple of rounds, Nogueira by submission. Read more -
Video: Velasquez Open Workout
-
Big Plans: Velasquez Talks Future Opponents
By: Jake Rossen
You’re Cain Velasquez and you’ve just made Ben Rothwell’s mother exit the arena in a hurry, likely earning yourself a title shot. You probably want to sleep. Too bad the media has other plans.
Read more
Velasquez and trainer Javier Mendez spoke to Sherdog.com’s Greg Savage to evaluate the issues involved in facing either Brock Lesnar or Shane Carwin, who fight one another Nov. 21. And unlike some camps that promote the idea their athletes could hang with mace and small-caliber weapons, Mendez was practical.
“[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.”
I’m not sure there’s anything to neutralize in Lesnar’s cardio conditioning: he had no problem staying in Heath Herring’s face in a 15-minute fight, which is downright demoralizing considering his near 280-pound frame. Big men are supposed to wear out easy. That’s how life stays fair. Lesnar doesn’t.
And on Carwin: “Should Carwin get past Lesnar, it’s going to be a little different fight. 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.”
More ambiguous: Carwin is more or less Lesnar’s mirror. But if anyone’s cardio should be open to debate, it’s Carwin’s, who hasn’t seen a second round anywhere but in a gym.
