For those who don’t know the name Cain Velasquez (8-0-0) by now, his early first round KO over veteran fighter Antonio Nogueira (32-6-1) last Sunday afternoon in Sydney, Australia should finally make him a household name. Coming off recent wins over Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell, Velasquez came into the fight knowing that this would be his biggest test yet.
“I expected a three round fight,” explained Velasquez. “When I train, I train for a war on my feet and on the ground.” With each fight, Velasquez continues to improve, and this fight was no different as he set the pace early with crisp leg kicks to Nogueira. With no answer from “Minotauro”, Cain went head hunting and dropped Nogueira with a three hit combo followed by vicious downward punches as Herb Dean jumped in to stop the fight. “I just kept to the plan but there is always room for improvement.,” explained Velasquez.
Besides Cain, American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is quickly becoming one of the top camps in MMA, as AKA is also the home of fighters, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, and Jon Fitch. “I think the success comes from it being like an old school gym,” explained Cain. “It’s like a blue collar mentality. You check in, work your ass off, and you go home.”
Now holding an 8-0 record, Velasquez will most likely face the winner of Shane Carwin and Frank Mir as they fight on March 27 for the Interim Heavyweight Championship. The winner of that will probably face Brock Lesner when he makes his return to the octagon. “I wanted to be built up and have that experience before I got a title shot,” said Velasquez. “I think I have that experience and I’m ready now.”
Having just returned from Australia, Cain’s schedule wont be slowing down anytime soon as he will take part in a press tour for Spanish television giant Univision traveling to Texas, Miami, Phoenix and Texas as well as other places around the United States. He will also be on an upcoming episode of HDNet’s Inside MMA in Los Angeles. With each win, his popularity has sky rocketed in the Hispanic community and Cain welcomes the support. “To all my Latino fans,” said Velasquez. “Thank you for the support. I’m going to do my best to climb that ladder to be at the top, and to represent our people.”
The win over Noguiera, secures his spot in the heavyweight division making him a legitimate threat to the heavyweight champion Brock Lesner. Both are All-American Collegiate Wrestlers, and both like to push the pace in there fights and both have very vicious ground and pound. However, he will have to get past Carwin or Mir first. As to which fighter he prefers, Velasquez does not have a preference. “It doesn’t matter,” explained Velasquez. “Whomever we get, we just have to watch film on them and train hard for their style and that’s pretty much all you can do.” He adds Big Nog to the growing list of people he is quickly picking off in his division in hopes to becoming the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
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