photo courtesy Zuffa/Hedges

Cain Velasquez

Heavy MMA HW Rank: 4

Record: 8-0

Last Five Fights: W-W-W-W-W

Notable Victories: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (KO), Ben Rothwell (TKO)

Notable Losses: None

Next Opponent: Brock Lesnar for UFC heavyweight championship, date undecided

Status: Velasquez has risen to the top of the heavyweight division in a relatively short time and was put on the shelf awaiting the winner of Lesnar vs. Carwin. Lesnar took home the victory and the belt, and now Velasquez has the next shot at stealing away Lesnar’s hardware.

Upside: The American Kickboxing Academy shares one strength with Lesnar that few else in the division do. His wrestling is top notch and, even though he will be undersized against Lesnar, Velasquez has always been able to utilize his wrestling effectively against any opponent in both his amateur wrestling career and mixed martial arts career. Another strength he holds lies in the fact that he is improving drastically with every fight. His striking against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ben Rothwell was very fast and very crisp, yielding him consecutive knockout victories. After watching Lesnar get tagged on the feet, Velasquez probably doesn’t hate his chances in the striking department.

Report: At this point in time, Velasquez is certainly one of the few fighters with a legitimate chance to take Lesnar’s belt. He continues to make strides in his striking game, he has incredible cardio, and he always has his solid wrestling base. However, the fact that Lesnar was able to take a strong beating from the hardest puncher in the game says a lot about the type of punishment the champion can take. It will be a tall order for Velasquez to earn a stoppage, and, if Lesnar uses his size and incredible wrestling well enough, Cain could very well find himself on his back. Velasquez is a tough kid with vast potential, but Lesnar is a physical specimen with severe ground and pound and the pedigree of an NCAA Division I national champion. Don’t count Velasquez out, but there will be a distinct size difference in this fight and he is going to have to compensate for that if he wants to earn the heavyweight title. I’d be cautious throwing any money down on him if he is anywhere short of +150 heading into this fight.