There have been and there will continue to be a number of grandiose adjectives attached to the UFC’s debut on US network television on Sunday.
Short of inventing some new words I’m not really capable of coming up with anymore.
I will say this however. Sunday’s event (Live on One at 1pm ADST) has the potential to be as big for the UFC as Forrest Griffin and Stephan’s Bonnar epic battle on the original Ultimate Finale was back in 2005.
For this landmark event, the UFC has opted to offer up their biggest (in terms of size) of guns. Cain Velasquez will meet Junior Dos Santos in the first defense of his heavyweight title.
It’s a big statement from the UFC, considering that this event is not one of the contracted four events FOX signed on for and the injury plagued year the UFC has had.
It’s a smart move from the UFC though as the casual viewer has always had a fascination with the heavyweight division and unlike the sleep-inducing reign of the Klitschkos, this bout should prove to be incredibly exciting.
Velasquez will step into the cage for the first time since dethroning Brock Lesnar last October. He’s spent the subsequent time recovering from shoulder surgery that he underwent following that victory.
When in full flight, Velasquez brings a ridiculous pace to his opponents as well as a seamless transition between his excellent striking and powerful wrestling.
Dos Santos has gone undefeated in seven UFC bouts, using probably the best boxing in the heavyweight division to bludgeon an impressive list of fighters that include Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Cro Cop, Roy Nelson and most recently, Shane Carwin.
Aside from his outstanding boxing, Dos Santos has also shown astute takedown defense and good scrambling ability that he has used to negate the ground games of both Nelson and Carwin. That is the area where this bout gets the most interesting.
Velasquez has run through all comers in his career because of his ability to control the area the fight is held in. Aside from Lesnar though, he has not really met a fighter that had the technical skills to negate his wrestling. If Dos Santos can withstand the wrestling of Velasquez while still remaining comfortable enough to let his hands go then we are in for a hell of a striking battle.
Velasquez had his clock cleaned a number of times when he fought Cheick Kongo but since that time he has a looked a completely different human on the feet.
He absolutely dismantled Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira down here in 2010 and made Lesnar look silly in their fight. If he is forced to keep the fight on the feet he is by no means out of his element, but it’s most definitely not the path of least resistance.
The other question with this bout is what will happen if Velasquez can get the takedown? So successful has Dos Santos been in his UFC career that we have not seem him on his back for any extended period of time. His lone career loss is by submission but that was four years ago to a notable Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.
He has trained extensively with the Nogueira brothers since then and has undoubtedly made strides in that area. Velasquez has dismantled anyone he has put on their back in his career but hasn’t really met any good guard players in his career. He fought Nogueira but knocked him out before he had a chance to mess with his ground game.
Unanswered questions like that make this fight the incredibly compelling one that it is. My money is on Velasquez to outwrestle and outwork Dos Santos to a late stoppage but with this many unknowns and the layoff Velasquez has endured the result is really anyone’s guess.
Regardless of the length of Sunday’s bout, it will be the lone fight broadcast on FOX despite the lengthy and high quality preliminary undercard that will air on Facebook before it.
As far as first impressions go, the UFC has lumped all the eggs into a pretty impressive and intriguing basket.
Time will tell if the decision pays off.
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