Weight Class: Heavyweight The main event of the evening is a crucial match-up in the UFC heavyweight division. With Cain Velasquez out with injury, the man who was to challenge for his title, Fabricio Werdum, is not the interim heavyweight champion. Those two should meet sometime in 2015, but if Velasquez is slow to recover, he could find himself stripped of the title, as he'll have been away from the octagon over a year and a half by the time her returns - and that's likely at the earliest. It might be too soon for those talks now, but the reality is this: the winner of Junior Dos Santos (16-3) vs. Stipe Miocic (12-1) is probably going to fight for gold at some point. The question is, will it be Werdum or Velasquez that they face, and will it be for interim gold, or the undisputed title? While fans aren't exactly chomping at the bit for Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 4 after the Brazilian slugger was badly beaten in the last two fights of the series, a second fight with Werdum could be a classic (Dos Santos knocked his fellow countryman out in their first meeting). Miocic, meanwhile, is the dark horse here, but he could be fresh blood against either fighter. So who wins this? Dos Santos has flat-out wrecked everyone not named Velasquez over the past couple of years. Roy Nelson, Frank Mir, Shane Carwin, Mark Hunt - he's come out on top over all of them. Miocic is on a solid run however, while Dos Santos is returning from his most recent loss to Velasquez. Miocic's last win, over light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado, filling in on short notice, was of little value, but prior to that, he had wins over Roy Nelson and Gabriel Gonzaga. His only career loss has been to Stefan Struve, in fact - and it came due to a bit of a slip. Dos Santos is the better striking, with possibly the best boxing in the heavyweight division, and possibly the UFC. Miocic went the distance with Nelson (as did Dos Santos), but he's never gone five rounds before - and that's going to be key here. This could turn out to be a great back and forth fight, and while it's a rarity in the heavyweight division, barring a one-punch knockout, we're seeing this going five rounds, with Dos Santos using his experience in big fights to take home the last couple of rounds. Dos Santos by decision.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
