Background check: Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez was born July 28 1982 in Salinas CA. He is 6ft 1in and weighs in at 243lbs with a 77inch reach. Cain was an NCAA division one wrestler, holds a purple belt in BJJ and is well versed in kickboxing and boxing. He has competed in MMA since 2006, having previously been a successful wrestler earning 1st place in the NJCAA collegiate championships in 2002,and has built up an impressive record of 8-0 (7ko,1dec).

Cain’s first professional MMA bout was in Strikeforce on the Tank vs Buentello card back in 2006. He fought against Jesse Fujarczyk and ended the fight by KO at 1:58 in the first round. He went on to beat Jeremiah Constant at Bodog Fight: St.Petersburg in the same year also by first round KO. He was then noticed as a good talent and signed with the UFC, Making his debut in 2008 at UFC 83 where he dispatched Brad Morris again by KO. Since then Cain has remained unstoppable scoring wins over Jake O’Brien (KO), Cheick Kongo (dec) and Ben Rothwell (KO) among others. He most recently scored a devastating knockout victory over PRIDE legend and UFC veteran Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110. The fight was short but exciting, seeing the two fighters exchanging jabs before Cain exploded with a 1-2 combo and put Big Nog on the canvas before finishing him with ground and pound.

Any doubters Cain might have had before will surely recognize his status as a top HW fighter after his win over Big Nog, Dana White has stated that Cain is on standby for the title shot against the returning HW champ Brock Lesnar. It seems we will be seeing a lot more of Velasquez in the near future and I think the best is yet to come for the exciting striker.

Sources: Wiki and wrestling hall of fame.