UFC 110: Cain Velasquez KOs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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Feb 21, 2010 - There's a new young heavyweight superstar in mixed martial arts.

In a clash of the titans in the main event at UFC 110, the promising young prospect Cain Velasquez knocked out the legendary MMA superstar Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira, firmly establishing Velasquez as one of the elite fighters in the sport.

Velasquez got off to a very good start on his feet, landing punches and kicks in the first minute of the first round that seemed to catch Nogueira by surprise. Velasquez spent most of the fight simply picking his shots, and when the right opening came, landed an absolutely brutal punch to Nogueira's chin that sent Nogueira to the ground. The fight was essentially over there, although Velasquez did pounce and get in a couple more shots before Nogueira was completely out and referee Herb Dean pulled Velasquez off to save Nogueira. The fight ended just 2:20 into the first round.

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It was a coming-of-age performance by Velasquez, but he first wanted to credit the legendary fighter he had just defeated.

"I'd just like to thank Nogueira," Velasquez said afterward. "I look up to him."

But while Velasquez symbolically looks up to Nogueira, it was clear that Velasquez was the better fighter, the more explosive puncher, and the man who stepped into the Octagon with the better game plan.

"My coaches helped me with this," Velasquez said. "We planned to put the pace where ever we could -- work the outside, work on the stand-up and when the takedown was there, take it. I just tried to keep focused and when I got in a good position, try to beat him to the punch. That was it."

Nogueira got up after being knocked out and appeared to be OK. Nogueira hasn't been defeated many times in his career -- Velasquez joins Dan Henderson, Fedor Emelianenko (twice), Josh Barnett and Frank Mir as the only men to beat Minotauro -- but when he does lose, he's always classy in defeat.

"I'm of course disappointed about this fight -- he had fast hands tonight," Nogueira said. "He's one of the best fighters in the heavyweight division. He's a good guy."


The fight was built up as a battle of the ages: Nogueira is one of the legends of mixed martial arts, widely regarded as the second-best heavyweight the sport has ever seen. Velasquez is a young up-and-comer who was an All-American NCAA wrestler at Arizona State. But Velasquez isn't a prospect anymore: He's arrived at the top of the sport.

Velasquez is now likely one win away from a shot at the UFC heavyweight title. Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to return to the Octagon in July, most likely to fight the winner of the upcoming bout between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin, and the 28-year-old Velasquez would most likely get the next title shot after that. UFC President Dana White did say, however, that if the Mir-Carwin winner suffers an injury, Velasquez would get Lesnar next.

The 33-year-old Nogueira still has some good fights left in him, but it's probably not realistic to think he'll ever be a heavyweight champion again. That torch was passed, and Velasquez took a major step toward the top of the heavyweight division.

In other UFC 110 action, the legendary MMA superstar Wanderlei Silva, who had lost five of his previous six fights, got back in the win column with a very exciting victory over Michael Bisping. It was one of the best showings for Silva -- a longtime star fighting in the Japanese Pride promotion -- in the UFC.

The fight that got the Australian fans most excited was the victory by Aussie George Sotiropoulos over Joe Stevenson. Stevenson was heavily favored, but Sotiropoulos got the better of him on the ground and won a unanimous decision.

And in a battle that put another young UFC star on the map, Ryan Bader stayed undefeated with a knockout win over Keith Jardine. Bader is one of the UFC's best young fighters -- but this weekend, the UFC's biggest young superstar is Cain Velasquez.
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