UFC 139: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos, Early Head-to-Toe Breakdown

On November 19, MMA fans all over the world will be treated to one of the biggest heavyweight title fights in history.

For the first time in years, the heavyweight champion will take on the consensus No. 2 heavyweight, as Cain Velasquez will make the first defense of his title, against Junior dos Santos.

These two fighters are very evenly matched, and it will truly be a disappointment to see one of them lose.

Fortunately, though, the fans get to see the bright side, which will be a fantastic fight, and a potential fight-of-the-year candidate.

Read on to check out the early breakdown.

Striking

This should be no surprise to anyone, but it was a lot harder to call than you'd think.

JDS has climbed the ladder based on two things: his left fist and his right fist. Of his 13 wins, eight have been by TKO, and one was a submission to a strike.

While Cain does have fantastic boxing and definite KO power, as shown by eight of his nine victories coming by TKO, I feel as though JDS will have the edge in the stand up, however slight it may be.

Wrestling

This one is no surprise.

JDS is not a wrestler and does not claim to be one. Cain is a former wrestler for Arizona State University, where he compiled an 86–17 record over three seasons.

He is also a two-time All-American, two-time Pac-10 Champion, and one-time Pac-10 wrestler of the year.

Where Cain's wrestling skill will even out with Junior comes in next...

Grappling

... with grappling.

Cain is clearly a great wrestler, but he is also a highly ranked jiu-jitsu practitioner, as he holds a brown belt in guerrilla jiu-jitsu under Dave Camarillo.

Junior has a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Minotauro Nogueira.

While we have not seen much of Junior's ground game, it is said by many who he trains with that he has great hips, and if taken down, he can quickly get back up.

Cardio

It has been said that Cain has the cardio of lightweights or welterweights.

Any heavyweight with that kind of tank is a force to be reckoned with.

Junior does have a decent gas tank, but towards the end of the Nelson fight he appeared to be a bit winded, even though he was the one dishing out the 15-minute beating.

Training Partners

These two each train at two of the best camps in MMA today.

Junior dos Santos trains at Team Black House with fighters like Anderson Silva, the Nogueira brothers, and Lyoto Machida.

Cain Velasquez trains at American Kickboxing Academy with fighters such as Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, and Daniel Cormier.

These two will definitely come to the fight prepared.

Winner

This is one of those fights that is almost too close to call. In fact, if I wasn't doing a breakdown, I probably wouldn't even want to call it.

This could, and hopefully will be, a back-and-forth war between two of the best heavyweights today, and I could see it ending in a split decision or with three 48–47s when the decision is read.

I do feel like Cain will take home the W in this fight, though.

That is mainly based on the fact that we have not seen much, if any, of Junior's ground game, I'm assuming that Cain will be able to get him down and lay down some ground and pound if need be.

Of course, JDS could negate Cain's wrestling, keep it on the feet, and land a haymaker for the win.

Or Cain could land the haymaker and keep the belt.

There are so many different possibilities for this fight, and these are two of the most well-rounded heavyweights ever.

I can't wait for this.

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