Is Cain Velasquez, Now The Baddest Gent On The Planet?

By Jess Jimenez

Cain Velasquez, an American mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a two-time UFC Champion. Velasquez resides with his wife Michelle and his 3-year-old daughter and currently fights out of San Jose, California. According to the UFC 360 magazine, Velasquez “is the baddest dude on the planet.” Velasquez was born July 28, 1982, in Salinas, California, with a stature of 6′ 1″ and weighs 249 lbs., this 30-year old has 12 Wins and 1 loss, with 10 knockout’s.

On May 25, 2013, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Velasquez walked away from UFC 160 with both his title and the evening’s largest disclosed payday, pocketing a flat $400,000 and is now the UFC Heavyweight World Champion. Velasquez made history that night in 2013 by unifying the heavyweight divisions, an event 16 years in the making, which made him the baddest man on earth and the true World Heavyweight Champion when he defended his title and finally unified with the UFC Heavyweight title by beating Silva.

Velasquez got the best of Antonio Silva in a headlining rematch, “Bigfoot” took home $75,000 in defeat after eating a hard one-two from the champion that sent him to the mat, where Silva was pounded out from the turtle position 81 seconds into the opening round. Velasquez landed a perfectly placed right cross on the chin of the Brazilian. Silva crumpled to the mat. Velasquez quickly moved into position and finished him with ground and pound, forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to stop it just 1:21 minutes after it started.

Silva had no answer once he was hit and simply turtled until the fight was called. On May 26, 2012, Velasquez also beat Silva in the first round. In that bout, he caught Silva early with a kick, took him down, opened a massive cut with an elbow and then pounded on him until it was stopped at 3:38 minutes. This time around, Velasquez didn’t need a takedown. The Velasquez win, coupled with a win by Junior dos Santos over Mark Hunt in the co-main event, will likely lead to a rubber match between the two. Dos Santos won the title from Velasquez via knockout in 2011, but Velasquez won a wide decision last year.

We caught up with Velasquez and asked him what is next for the current UFC World Heavyweight Title holder and Champion and who just scored another highlight-reel knockout of Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. “Isn’t it obvious, what’s next for me and who I want next. With dos Santos talking all this stuff about him being hurt still from the Frank Muir fight and him being physically too tired to fight me because he wore himself out, well I say let’s do it again,” said Velasquez.

UFC President Dana White announced in the post-fight press conference that the champ’s next opponent would indeed be the only fighter to ever defeat him, Dos Santos.

“It’s a No-brainer,” said White of the Velasquez-Dos Santos matchup “If there was ever a trilogy, that’s it right there. If you look at the way both fights went—Junior destroys (Velasquez) in the first fight, Cain destroys (Dos Santos) in the second fight—I can’t wait to see the third fight.”

In November of 2011 in UFC on Fox, Dos Santos shocked Velasquez, knocking him out with punches 1:04 minutes into the first round. Not only was that Velasquez’s first loss, but also it was only the second time he failed to knock out his opponent as a professional mixed martial artist. A year later, Velasquez got his revenge, reclaiming his heavyweight title belt from Dos Santos via unanimous decision.

Following their first bout, Dos Santos supposedly was suffering from rhabdomyolysis. Which is described as a serious syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury, “which” results from a breakdown of muscle fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. Injuries didn’t hold Dos Santos back as he knocked out Mark Hunt in the third round of their UFC 160 bout, but his health concerns are starting to add up so it will be difficult to unseat the scorching Velasquez. In Velasquez-Dos Santos III, expect a result closer to their most recent bout. Gentlemen’s Guide will keep you posted, of course.