UFC Heavyweight Championship bout: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez
Odds: (-160 Lesnar / +130 Velasquez )
Betting Pick: Cain Velasquez
Bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com
The main event of the evening is a huge Heavyweight title match between champion Brock Lesnar and challenger Cain Velasquez. Obviously, Lesnar is a physical freak with ungodly strength and power to go with a ridiculously effective top game. Velasquez is a world class wrestler in his own right, though, and has very dangerous boxing, so this as epic a matchup as you are likely to see.
Cain Velasquez has earned his spot as the #1 contender by repeatedly destroying everyone put in front of him. A dominant wrestler with great takedowns and ground and pound, Velasquez also has very good boxing with great hand speed. He is far from the most powerful puncher in the division, but he makes up for it with volume of punching, accuracy, and a bruising clinch game. There is little question he is the more technical, and certainly the quicker, boxer in this fight. The question is how well his wrestling will hold up with the wall of flesh that is Brock Lesnar coming at him for the double.
Brock Lesnar is one of the physically intimidating human beings alive. A massive specimen who would be scary just because of his sheer physicality, Lesnar also brings a very hard to stop double leg, a huge amount of punching power, and arguably the sport’s most unstoppable top game to the table. While his punches pack a mean wallop, his boxing is very rudimentary, and against both Shane Carwin and Frank Mir the second time, he was getting boxed around badly on the feet before managing to secure a takedown. Against Velasquez that will not fly, and he is going to have to force his gameplan from the opening bell if he wants to avoid getting dropped and finished in the first round.
This fight has upset written all over it. Velasquez may lack the punching power that allowed Shane Carwin to put Lesnar up against the ropes, but he more than makes up for it in cardio, speed, and technical striking ability. Lesnar is not going to be able to telegraph his shot against Velasquez with any reasonable expectation that it is not going to get stuffed, and on the feet I think he will find himself outclassed. Unlike Carwin, who punched himself out trying to finish Lesnar, Velasquez has the gas tank to keep pouring on the damage until the job is done, and that is what I think will happen here. Velasquez by T/KO.
Prediction: Cain Velasquez via third round T/KO.
- And New UFC HW Champion – Bet on Cain for the Win at +130 for a good return on your money.
To add a little excitement on fight night, you can bet on this fight at Sportsbook.com Odds. They allow you to start with as little as $20, and you can bet on all of the fights for the night. Check out my review of Sportsbook here…
