Cain Velasquez Vs Junior dos Santos – OFFICIAL UFC/FOX BREAKDOWN
By Sean Farrell
With the biggest title fight of the year on Saturday, everyone is torn between finding a winner between Junior dos Santos the challenger and UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez. So what do we do in situations like this? We go to the source in Cain’s trainer.
Javier Mendez has been in the UFC for almost 20 years, he has seen the sport grow from the bottom up first-hand. Now, he prepares Cain Velasquez’ training camp ahead of his UFC heavyweight title defense with Junior dos Santos, Mendez talks the first time he met Velasquez.
Velasquez-dos Santos will be the main event of UFC On FOX 1 this Saturday night from Anaheim, California. The fight will be FREE which is already a milestone for the sport.
Mendez left his job in real estate to open a gym after learning the trade through kickboxing and Tae Kwon do. He won two championships as a professional fighter, but knew he made the right choice for a career when he first laid eyes on Velasquez.
“The first time I met Cain Velasquez, they’re tell me we got this kid that has an incredible gas tank, he never gets tired but then I heard the word, ‘Mexican,’ and I was like, ‘Whatever, I’ve never seen a Mexican that’s a heavyweight that’s extremely athletic.’ I thought he was probably overweight, so I’m not that interested in him,” Mendez said. “Then Cain popped through the door and I had to take a double look at him. Then I watched him work out and the unbelievable discipline he had and I said, ‘Wow, this kid is special.’ He’s not the greatest athlete but he’s the greatest fighter I’ve ever trained.”
Mendez knows that his prized pupil is in for the biggest test of his career in dos Santos, saying, “Cain’s focused for a five-round war and I believe we’re going to win that five-round war. If we’re thinking we’re going to finish him, that’s a bad mistake on my and Cain’s part to underestimate someone as dangerous as Junior. But I believe 100 percent we are going to win.”
Now to the other side of the coin, dos Santos has other plans as he has stated “This fight is going to be my toughest fight ever because I think Cain Velasquez is the number-one Heavyweight right now. So, it’s going to be a tough fight, but I will be ready for him. I think Cain Velasquez is a very complete fighter. He’s got good stand-up skills, good jiu-jitsu, but i think what he’s got best is his cardio. His cardio is very, very good for a Heavyweight. I think if Cain wants to fight standing with me, it’s going to be a great fight, because he has good speed, good footwork – pretty good skills fighting stand-up. But, man, I believe so much in me fighting stand-up and I think that’s my area. Someone’s going to get knocked out and I think he has more of a chance to get knocked out than me. I will be ready to fight, it doesn’t matter where, on the ground, on my feet, it doesn’t matter where.”
dos Santos does have a point, he has recently become one of the most feared strikers in all combat sports. I guess the only the i left to do is wait…So glad Saturday is two days away!!! I personally am picking dos Santos to become the new champion but this fight is a pick ’em honestly.
