UFC on Fox: MMA Needs Consistent Excitement from Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Fight

Tonight will be an interesting showdown between two combat sports. Cain Velasquez will put his UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line vs. Junior dos Santos on Fox. Meanwhile, on pay-per-view, Manny Pacquiao will defend his WBO World Welterweight title vs. Juan Manuel Marquez.

On the surface, UFC should do very well in the ratings. It stands to reason that something on free TV will beat something that needs to be paid for. 

The test will not be who watches what event. No, the test will be what happens in the two events. 

Boxing shapes up very well in this fight. While UFC tends to be highly action packed, its fights, particularly heavyweight fights, just don't go very long. 

Velasquez, for instance, is 9-0. Only three of his fights have made it past the first round. Only one of those made it past the second round. Dos Santos has a similar resume. He is 13-1. Three of those fights reached the third round. Nothing else got beyond the first. 

Pacquiao and Marquez have a recent history of taking their fights to decisions. That's certainly the case when they fight each other, but also when they fight other men. The people who buy the fights get their money's worth. 

The two previous fights between Pacquiao and Marquez not only went to decision, but were absolute classics. The winner was not clear when either fight was over. 

Now, Velasquez and dos Santos likely won't see a decision tonight. That's fine. Heavyweight boxing matches aren't exactly known for how long they go, either. UFC shouldn't be held to a different standard.

But even if the fight is short, UFC needs Velazquez and dos Santos to put on an action packed match. It can't be a blowout. This fight needs to be action packed. The two guys need to go at each other hard.

Make no mistake, UFC will survive even if that doesn't happen. The company is certainly big enough to survive a bad fight. I am certainly not going to go too far and predict that the future of the sport or company hinge on this result. 

But going toe-to-toe with a big name, big draw fight that's sure to provide plenty of action will put UFC to test. It needs its big name fighters to come through.

For the latest news and updates on Pacquiao Vs. Marquez, and for all the latest news and insight on all things boxing, be sure to check out Bleacher Report's Boxing Central.