Velasquez vs. Silva: Underrated Bout Will Be Highlight of the Night at UFC 146

Despite the hype of Saturday night's UFC 146 event surrounding the bout between Junior dos Santos and Frank Mir, the exciting heavyweight matchup of Cain Velasquez and Antonio Silva will steal the spotlight.

Velasquez has been one of the marquee fighters in 146 for some time, and he should be eager to take care of business again. This co-main event should have no problem living up to the hype of Mir-Dos Santos. 

Silva remains a stranger to many, even some who are experts in the sport. He's making his UFC debut Saturday and he's expected to become a star in the division.

He also took down the living legend Fedor Emelianenko earlier in his career.

Silva's extreme size is what sets him apart and actually gives him a chance against a heavily favored Velasquez. He has five inches of reach on Velasquez (82" to 77") and at 6'4", 265 pounds, he has about 15 pounds and three inches of height on him.

Meanwhile, the JDS-Mir matchup seems slightly less interesting. Mir is notorious for his wins by submission, which means he's fun to watch, but only if he gets his submission. 

He won't be getting one against Dos Santos, who is one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world and better than Mir by a long stretch.

One way Dos Santos could get into trouble is if Mir can get the fight to the ground. He's well known for having trouble with his ground game and that could evoke a Mir submission. 

So on one hand we have a very lopsided matchup where one fighter will rely on forcing a submission to have any chance and the other is among the smartest in the game.

On the other hand, we have a hungry fighter ready to prove himself in UFC and another who is heavily favored and one of the faces of the UFC. 

I'll take the latter.