UFC 155: Junior Dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez Preview

UFC 155 will be live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Saturday (Dec. 29).  The card is a mesh of interesting fights that will be headlined by a Heavyweight Championship bout between Junior Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez.  Velasquez is getting a rare second chance at the belt he lost to Dos Santos back in November of 2011.  The reason Velasquez is getting a second chance is because he earned it.

His losing fight with Dos Santos was not particularly controversial.  Dos Santos knocked out Velasquez in the first round to win the title.  Velasquez however knocked out Antonio Silva to re-earn his shot at Dos Santos.

The big question coming into this fight is how will Velasquez approach this fight after getting knocked out.  Though they were only in the octagon together for minuets in their last bout, Velasquez appeared to be trying to stand toe toe with Santos, who is widely regarded as the best boxer in MMA.  He got knocked out.  Velasquez is known for not being to shabby in the strikings department, but he clearly could not stand with Santos in that fight.

Velasquez is known for having excellent take down and wrestling abilities and could likely out wrestle Santos if he could get him to the ground.  Santos can defend the take down like no other heavyweight in the UFC.  Santos, however, has been specifically training for a situation where Velasquez takes him down and he has to fight off his back.

I train a lot of jiu-jitsu, too, and I can tell you I’m ready to submit someone.  If the fight goes to the ground and I can’t come back to my feet, I’m going to be looking to submit him.

-Santos

The assumption is that this fight is going to go much longer than their previous encounter and be a back and forth clash of heavyweights.  Velasquez says he is in peak physical condition and has never been more ready for a fight.  Velasquez was coming off surgery on his shoulder and had a bum knee going into his first fight with Santos.  Many, including Velasquez himself, have attributed his knockout loss to Santos to being unhealthy leading into the fight.  He claims that he is now back in top physical shape and is more determined that ever to win.

“I had something taken away from me and I want what’s mine,” Velasquez said of the heavyweight title. “The belt is mine and I’m going to take it back.”

-Velasquez

Coming into this fight after being knocked out by his opponent in the past has put Velasquez has the underdog according to Bovada’s sports books.  His money line is at +160 to Santos’ -200 line.

The fight is Saturday Dec. 29.  UFC 155’s main even bout between Velasquez and Santos is scheduled to begin around 10 p.m. ET.  You can see the fight live on pay-per-view.