UFC 160 Preview
The Heavyweight division in the UFC has had plenty of changes over the last few years as it has changed hands six times since 2008. As if the talent in the UFC wasn’t already great the promotion has continued to add top contenders into the division. The influx of talent added to the talent that is already in the division has made the heavyweights one of the toughest groups in the UFC. One of the new talents added to the UFC recently was Antonio Silva also known as Bigfoot. Silva is a massive heavyweight at 6’4” and 265 lbs and he came in to the UFC with plenty of hype. He would not get an easy road into the UFC though as he would face the most recent champion who had been unseated in Cain Velasquez. He would make his debut at UFC 146 against Cain Velasquez and would get a rude awakening to the UFC heavyweight division. Velasquez would win the fight via TKO in the first round showing Bigfoot the talent in the UFC giving a shock to the newest heavyweight fighter. The fight would send both fighters in different directions but in the end they would meet once again for a much bigger prize. For Silva the fight would be a disappointing debut in the UFC and would push him into the bigger group of potential contenders but would have to fight his way out. He would do just that as Bigfoot would earn two KOs in back to back fights against Travis Browne and Allistair Overeem. The way he would win the fights would earn him a title shot and a rematch against the man who would spoil his UFC debut. Velasquez would take the win against Silva and turn it into a title shot against the man who took the title away from him. Velasquez would fight Junior Dos Santos who looked to become the next dominant champion in the heavyweight division. The fight would not go Junior’s way though as Velasquez would dominate the fight and win the heavyweight title for the second time. For the win Velasquez would earn a rematch against Silva this time for UFC gold in a much more important fight for both fighters. Velasquez is looking for his first title defence in this fight while Silva is looking for his first title in a major promotion after winning titles in Cage Rage and Pro Elite. The fight should be an interesting one as both fighters like the same technique. Antonio Silva has some experience in BJJ but his size and strength lend themselves to the stand up game. With two KOs in his last two fights there is no doubt that he likes to stand and trade. Silva is one of the bigger fighters in the division and has extremely heavy hands which he will try to use against Velasquez. Silva will want to avoid the ground game as he was knocked out on the ground in their last fight. Velasquez is also confident on his feet with plenty of success there in past fights. He could want to take the fight to the ground though with so much success there in the last fight. Velasquez will likely keep the fight standing but if he gets in danger there is no doubt he will go to the ground and use his wrestling to try to win the fight. It will be an explosive fight but in the end Velasquez will come out on top in the standup game with a unanimous decision victory.
The heavyweight title will be determined in the main event at UFC 160 and the next contender could very well be determined as well. The co-main event of the evening will be another fight between two very good heavyweights in Junior Dos Santos and Mark Hunt. Dos Santos is back for his first fight since losing the heavyweight title in a very sluggish effort. He may have a reason for his sluggish performance as doctors determined he had over-trained for the fight making him slow during his fight with Cain Velasquez. With a new regime Dos Santos is back to try to earn a chance at the heavyweight crown. He will take on one of the most dangerous stand-up fighters in the division in Mark Hunt. Hunt has taken the long road to this point starting in K1 where he won a Grand Prix title to earn a spot in Pride. When Pride would merge with UFC Hunt seemed to be on his way out as the promotion offered to buy him out of his contract. Instead Hunt stayed with the UFC and would begin to run through the division. It wasn’t until he KO’d Stefan Struve that he would get his due. The knockout would get him a shot at a former champion and a chance to fight his second top 10 heavyweight in two straight fights. Both fighters have a lot to gain in this fight and both love the stand-up game but Dos Santos might want to take the fight to the ground. Mark Hunt has some of the most dangerous hands in the division and better strikers than Dos Santos have fallen. Hunt has a serviceable ground game but he will want to stay standing to use his biggest strength in this fight. It will be a tough fight that could determine the next challenger in the heavyweight division.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva [Heavyweight Title] (PPV)
Main Card:
Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos vs. Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt (PPV)
Glover Teixeira vs. James Te Huna (PPV)
Gray “The Bully” Maynard vs. TJ Grant (PPV)
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone vs. KJ Noons (PPV)
Undercard:
Mike “Quicksand” Pyle vs. Rick “The Horror” Story (Sportsnet/FX)
Dennis “The Menace” Bermudez vs. Max “Blessed” Holloway (Sportsnet/FX)
Colton Smith vs. Robert Whittaker (Sportsnet/FX)
Khabib “The Eagle” Nurmagomedov vs. Abel “Killa” Trujillo (Sportsnet/FX)
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson vs. Nah-Shon “The Rock N Rolla” Burrell (Facebook)
Brian Bowles vs. George Roop (Facebook)
Jeremy “Lil’ Heathen” Stephens vs. Estevan “El Terrible” Payan (Facebook)
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