Antonio Nogueira Vs. Cain Velasquez: Styles Clash

In the midst of the Heavyweight division, two hungry fighters struggle to make their name worldwide. But both will have a chance when they meet each other in the octagon to determine the #2 contender for the belt. One a ground and pound machine with relentless pace and an iron chin. The other is a ground wizard with a combination of Muay Thai and boxing for his standup. Both will want to win, both will try to win, but in the end, there will only be one victor in this clash of styles.

The fighters are Antonio”Minotauro” Nogueira and Cain Velasquez and they are on a mission for the heavyweight belt.

Cain is an up and coming fighter who has just 7 fights. The special thing about it though is that he has not lost and absolutely crushed all competition in his way. He does this by taking down his opponents and pounding their faces into the mat to the point that they just can’t take it. He will find a way to do this no matter if fighting a similar wrestler like Jake O’Brian or a deadly Muay Thai specialist like Cheick Kongo. He also doesn’t have a weak one dimensional game and will be happy to strike with you too, which I think he is going to plan to do with Minotauro.

Antonio is veteran of MMA and not just that, people argue that he is the #2 GOAT in the heavyweight division. He is one crafty BJJ master and will never give. Some way or an other he finds ways to tap fighters into submission and claim the victory. He has made an over impressive record of 32-5 over his ten year career with 2 TKOs, 20 submissions and 10 decisions. His losses all have come by decision except a lone TKO where he had a staph infection and still fought courageously. He has been around the block with notable wins over Mirko Flipovic, Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman and many others.

The opposing styles of both these fighters will be sure to bring fireworks whether their ground games cancel each other out and they strike it out, or Cain brings the fight to the ground and it will be a technical war.

Cain’s game plan should be to strike with Nog in the beginning and figure out which Nog will appear at Fight Night. If it was the same sick stricken Nog that got dominated by an average striker in Frank Mir, then Cain should let his hands wild and finish him quick. But if it will be the old Nog or the one that fought Randy, he should watch out. I doubt that Nog could drop Cain and I think it will be a technical standup war that Nog is better at. Cain should probably still throw hard but if he is getting owned on the feet, take Nog down. He also should not do wild ground n pound because he most certainly will get caught, but should play it slow with doing just enough damage so the referee won’t stand them up.

Nog should try to make the stand up technical and utilize his Muay Thai. He should pick Cain apart and if the moment is given, take him down with a judo throw or some kind of technique that wrestlers aren’t used to. From there, if he is on top or bottom, he should work hard for a submission and be explosive or Cain would be able to power out of it.

This fight is a horribly tough fight to call and will be a great fight no matter what. Nog will either show that he is still game and experience + BJJ trumps all or will pass down the torch to a younger hungrier fighter. My personal opinion is that the winner of this fight deserves a title fight and will win the title.