UFC on Fox 1: Timeline to the Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Heavyweight Title Fight

The UFC makes its long-awaited and much-anticipated debut on free cable television this weekend with UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos, and we could be witness to another one of those monumental moments in the history of the sport.

There have been a few moments with the significance of the debut on Fox such as the debut of the UFC in 1993, the purchase by Zuffa LLC in 2001 and the epic TUF 1 Finale in 2005. This weekend is another one of those moments that could propel the organization and MMA to broader heights.

The event is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between the two best big men in the world, champion Cain Velasquez and challenger Junior dos Santos. These men have trained and fought all their lives for this Saturday, and they are sure to have an incredible battle.

Velasquez is 29 years old and Dos Santos is 27. Here is a time line on how each fighter has gotten to the main event of UFC on Fox 1.

1998-2001

Cain Velasquez - 15 to 19 years old

Cain Velasquez starts at Kofa High School in Arizona, where he joins the wrestling team. In four years of competition, he compiles an amazing 110-10 record and wins the 5A Arizona Wrestling Championship twice.

He also plays football for three of those years and served as captain of both teams in his senior year.

Junior dos Santos - 13 to 17 years old

Junior dos Santos is a teenager growing up in a single-parent home in a small town in Brazil. He is attending high school and taking odd jobs to help his mom provide for him and his two sisters.

Dos Santos has not discovered or started training in any combat sport yet.

2006

Velasquez - 23 years old

Velasquez is in his final year at Arizona State University and follows up a 2005 in which he was named the Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year by leading his Arizona State wrestling team to the Pac-10 title. He finishes fourth in the nation at 285 lbs and is named an NCAA Division I All-American.

Cain starts training in MMA immediately following his college career and joins the American Kickboxing Academy. He makes his MMA debut in October of that year in Strikeforce, where he defeats Jesse Fujarczyk via TKO in the first round.

Dos Santos - 21 years old

After training in jiu-jitsu for one year under his idol and mentor Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira and a bit of boxing as well, dos Santos turns professional and fights in smaller promotions in Brazil. He compiles a record of 6-1 in his first seven bouts.

2008

Velasquez - 25 years old

Cain makes his UFC debut in April at UFC 83 in Montreal, where he defeats Brad Morris via TKO strikes two minutes into Round 1 to improve his pro record to 3-0.

He fights again in July in Las Vegas at UFC Fight Night 14, where he gets another TKO two minutes into Round 1 over Jake O'Brien.

Dos Santos - 23 years old

Junior fights his last fight in the small shows in Brazil in May in under the Demo Fight 3 banner and defeats Geronimo dos Santos via TKO cut 44 seconds into the fight. His professional record improves to 6-1.

Dos Santos then makes his UFC debut in October at UFC 90 where he faces UFC and MMA veteran and fellow Brazilian Fabricio Werdum. Junior makes a spectacular debut by knocking out Werdum one minute into the fight and gains "Knockout of the Night" bonus honors.

2009

Velasquez - 27 years old

Cain is fully entrenched in his quick climb up the UFC heavyweight ladder and fights three times in 2009. He gets a "Knockout of the Night" over Denis Stojnic in February, followed by a large step up in competition in June when he faces Cheick Kongo in Germany at UFC 99. In a very tough battle, Velasquez legitimizes his place amongst the elite with a unanimous decision victory.

He then finishes out the year by gaining a TKO victory over Ben Rothwell in October to up his record to 7-0.

Dos Santos - 25 years old

Dos Santos is on a parallel ascent to the top of the division and wins both his fights in 2009. He starts his year in London in February by disposing of Stefan Struve with a TKO at 0:54 of the first round.

He then makes a step up similar to Velasquez and faces legend Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic at UFC 103 in September. He gets a tough fight from Cro Cop but legitimizes his place with the elite by forcing a tap out due to strikes in the middle in the third round.

Cigano improves to 9-1 in his career.

2010 to Present

Velasquez - 29 years old

In February of 2010 Velasquez faced legend and Dos Santos idol Antonio Rodrigo Nogeuira in what is deemed as a heavyweight title eliminator match to see who gets the next shot at the king's crown. Many people felt that Velasquez would be stopped and exposed in this fight, yet he shocked all by taking out the Brazilian legend in the first round via TKO.

Velasquez got his shot at the title in October against raw behemoth Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in his home state of California. He took full advantage of his opportunity and won the UFC heavyweight crown by dominating and defeating the bigger Lesnar via TKO strikes at 4:12 of the first round.

Velasquez took home his second consecutive "Knockout of the Night" bonus and was crowned heavyweight champion of the world. It was announced shortly after the fight that Velasquez would need surgery for a torn rotator cuff suffered in his fight with Lesnar.

He has not fought in 2011, and this Saturday will mark his first title defence.

Dos Santos - 27 years old

Dos Santos continued his rise up the heavyweight ranks with a three-fight 2010. He started the new year off right on January 2nd in Las Vegas where he got a first-round TKO victory over Gilbert Yvel. He got an equally impressive knockout victory over Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC Live: Vera vs Jones, and then he closed out his year in August when he won a tough unanimous decision over Roy Nelson at UFC 117 in August.

Dos Santos started out this year as a coach opposite Brock Lesnar on The Ultimate Fighter Season 13 which was a setup for a heavyweight title eliminator fight later this year.

Following the completion of the show, Lesnar was forced to pull out of the fight due to illness and replaced by Shane Carwin in a match to see who would get a first shot at Cain's title. Dos Santos used his elite boxing and takedown defense to batter Carwin and set himself up for the biggest heavyweight title fight in UFC history this Saturday night.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and correspondent for MMACanada.net.

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.