CAIN VELASQUEZ

CAIN VELASQUEZ

Once again, Cain Velasquez is the UFC Heavyweight Champion of the world! After loosing his title to Junior Dos Santos in November of 2011, Velasquez was on a mission to regain it at any cost and on December 29, 2012...that is exactly what he did!

Born July 28, 1982, the Mexican American fighter has a record of 11-1 with the one loss being against Dos Santos when he lost his title. Out of the 11 wins, 9 have been by Knock Out. Needless to say, this Brown Belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu is one tough cookie and in fact has defeated such greats as Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Antonio Silva, Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos.

UFC HISTORY

It was on October 7, 2006 when Velasquez made his MMA debut against Jesse Fujarczyk at Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello. Winning by TKO in the first round, he then took on Jeremiah Constant at BodogFight: St. Petersburg and won TKO within four minutes of round one.

His UFC debut would go equally as well. Squaring off against Brad Morris at UFC 83, Velasquez won by TKO two minutes and ten seconds into the fight.

Cain was on a roll! Again in round one, he took his next contender, Jake O'Brien, down at UFC Fight Night 14. And again it was via TKO.

Although his next fight with Denis Stojnic at UFC Fight Night 17 went on to round two, it was stopped short and he was once again the victor. The win earned him Knockout of the Night honors plus an extra $15,000 making it an even $30,000 racked up for the night.

Cain was certainly proving that he was able! At UFC 99 in Cologne, Germany, he showed even more of what he was made of when he produced a whopping 251 strikes at former kickboxer and Heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo, winning the fight and bringing his UFC record to 6 and 0.

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After a quick win via TKO over UFC newby Ben Rothwell at UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun on October 24, 2009, Cain entered the ring with former Pride Heavyweight Champion and former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on February 20, 2010 at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia. He was indeed the underdog.

But once again, Cain proved able! It took only two minutes and twenty seconds for him to knock out the notorious Brazilian. His achievement won him Knockout of the Night honors and of course, another victory under his belt. But even more importantly, his performance won him the right to fight the Heavyweight Champ, Brock Lesnar for the title.

It all took place at UFC 121 in Anaheim, California on October 23, 2010. For the occaision, UFC President Dana White even brought back UFC Primetime, knowing the event would be a hot comodity. White was right!

Velasquez wasted no time at all whipping Lesnar who at that time was deemed the "baddest man on the planet". In just a little over four minutes into the fight, Lesnar was down by TKO and Cain Velasquez was the UFC Heavyweight Champion of the World!

As a result of the fight, Cain recieved Knockout of the Night honors. He also recieved a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. Although he was predicted to be out of commission for at least 6 to 8 months, surgery on the shoulder was a success and he was back in the ring to defend his title on November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos.

Things would not work out so well for the Heavyweight Champ this time, however. Early in the first round, title contender Junior Dos Santos would snatch the belt from him.

Velasquez never made excuses for the loss but later it was discovered that Dos Santos had a minor knee injury, and took an injection of cortisone into the knee right before the fight. It was also later revealed that Velasquez had re-injured his rotator cuff only a week prior to the fight. In addition to all that, Dos Santos injured his knee once more during the bout and even had to undergo surgery. It would seem that fight was hard on everyone concerned.

THE ROAD BACK: RAISING CAIN

Velasquez determined he would regain the title no matter what it took. What it would take would be a win over Strikeforce Heavyweight Antonio Silva who was new to the UFC and eager to prove himself.

The match took place at UFC 146: Dos Santos vs. Mir on May 26, 2012. With eyes on the prize, Cain wasted no time peppering on the punches, cutting Silva so badly he had to be checked out by the doctor but was given the green light to continue. Although Silva made a valiant attempt to hang in, he was a bloody mess after Velasquez laid in some strong lefts. The fight was stopped three minutes and thirty-six seconds into the first round with Cain Velasquez the very obvious winner via TKO.

It was on December 29 at UFC 155 that a much anticipated rematch between Velasquez and the Heavyweight Champion, Dos Santos took place. It was the last UFC event of the year and a record $3.2 million in ticket sales was brought in by 12,423 fans who eagerly awaited the do-over. The fans were not disappointed or at least Cain's fans were not.

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For five full rounds, Cain Velasquez outwrestled and laid on powerful stikes. Dos Santos hung in but that was about all he could do. Via a unanimous decision, Cain regained his title and became the first fighter in UFC history to score triple digits in significant strikes landed and doubles in takedowns landed in a single fight. One hundred and eleven significant strikes were chalked up and eleven takedowns.

HOW DOES HE DO IT?

Cain Velasquez uses powerful and very fast punching combinations which generally begin with a jab and are followed by a hard right straight. Then he often adds hooks and uppercuts.

Kicks are another great weapon Cain executes. His kicks have been said to be the strongest in the Heavyweight Division, in fact.

As often as he can, Velasquez takes his opponent to the ground and uses his excellent grappling and wrestling skills to dominant them with strikes and punches.

Perhaps most importantly is the fact that he maintains exceptional cardiovascular training which enables him to endure and continue to fight aggressively after his opponents have run out of juice.

Cardio training can be done lots of different ways like with a Cardio Wavemaster or even a jump rope. Great fighters know the importance of a good aerobic workout and it shows.

OUTSIDE THE RING

Velasquez is married and has a daughter who was born in 2009. When he was unable to be home for Christmas due to the Dos Santos rematch, he declared the recaptured title belt to be his Christmas present to his wife. No doubt that was the greatest gift ever!

Fluent in both English and Spanish, the Heavyweight Champ has been a guest star on Spanish-language television shows like Telemundo and Univision and was also a guest on Lopez Tonight hosted by George Lopez.

WHAT DOES CAIN WEAR?

As you can see in the top photo, Cain wears the Dethrown Royalty brand. Shirts sporting the Heavyweight Champion's name are very popular right now such as the Cain Velasquez Affliction T-shirt. You can bet he has a few UFC 155 Event Shirts as well!

As do all the UFC Fighters, Cain wears UFC Official Fight Gloves in the ring.

WHERE DOES IT GO FROM HERE?

It is rumored that Velasquez might fight Alistair Overeem if he gets through Antonio Silva and he may also take on the winner of Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The only fight he pledged to not have is Velasquez vs. Strikeforce champion Daniel Cormier. The two are teammates at American Kickboxing Academy and have vowed never to fight each other.

What you can be sure of is that if history bears repeating, Velasquez will continue raising Cain for a long, long time to come!

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