Tonight's main event for UFC 110 is shaping out to be a battle of interesting styles as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira takes on fast-rising Cain Velasquez.
Nogueira is coming off of a thrilling decision win against hall of famer Randy "The Natural" Couture, while Velasquez dismantled heavy puncher Ben Rothwell, with a controversial, yet decisive knockout victory.
Nogueira is known for his submission game. He's a black belt in brazilian jiu-jitsu and he uses all aspects of it to his advantage. He tends to get beat up pretty badly in his fights, yet whenever he is on his back, he is more dangerous than the fighters on to of him. He can find every nook and cranny on the ground in order to get a guillotine, kimora, arm bar, triangle, you name it, he'll use it to submit his opponent. Nogueira isn't the best striker, but his last fight against Couture showed how much his standup has improved. He went toe to toe with a great puncher and wasn't hesitant to bang, and put Couture on the floor several times. His training camp has been working harder than ever to get him in mint condition so that he can be prepared for a brawl, and also so that he doesn't get too gassed from all of Velasquez's takedown attempts. The key in this fight will be Nogueira's takedown defense, and stand-up game because he clearly has the advantage when hes on the ground.
Velasquez seems to be the complete package for a UFC heavyweight nowadays. He's elusive on his feet and moves like a welterweight. He has enough punching power to surprise brawlers like Cheick Kongo, and Ben Rothwell. He was an All-American wrestler at Arizona State, and he is extremely aggressive in trying to get his opponents down. He's very critical of himself, which gives him that drive to be in top conditioning all the time. He has a quiet confidence about him and always feels like he can improve, which is the attitude of a true champion. He needs to be wary on the ground though, because Nogueira knows how to surprise his opponents like Cain has never seen before. The experience factor can come into play, even though Cain has one his last seven fights. The key for Cain is to get Nogueira to the ground, be cautious when he does so, ground and pound him, and possibly stand him up as much as possible and handle him on the feet.
Prediction: Velasquez by decision 29-28
