With win over Lesnar, Velasquez turns to very different foe

Photo credit to AP Photo/ Jae C. Hong

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Cain Velasquez won the Ultimate Fighting Championship's heavyweight belt by outboxing Brock Lesnar, but he might have to take the opposite tack against his first challenger.

Velasquez scored a first-round technical knockout of Lesnar on Saturday at UFC 121 after beating his larger opponent to the punch and scrambling to his feet quickly after takedowns. But none of those are likely to happen against No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos, who is slated for the first shot at Velasquez's title.

"Now it's really going to start," said Javier Mendes, Velasquez's lead trainer at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose. "They know he's the real deal. Junior dos Santos is a major threat. ...

We've got a new plan for Junior."

Lesnar and Dos Santos employ diametrically opposed styles. While Lesnar relies on his fists mainly to set up wrestling takedowns and deliver punches once opponents have been grounded, Dos Santos is a pure stand-up fighter.

Velasquez took advantage of Lesnar's less refined boxing skills and had him retreating after striking exchanges. Despite Lesnar's longer reach, Velasquez landed far more punches -- Compustrike counted 50 power strikes for the him compared to 12 for Lesnar.

But Velasquez and Mendes said the new champion erred when he brawled with Lesnar. While he got away with it on Saturday, his chances of doing so against Dos Santos are far lower.

Dos Santos does most of his best work at close range, particularly with a devastating uppercut and powerful knee strikes.

"I think that he's the best stand up fighter that there is as far as heavyweights," Velasquez said. "He's very relaxed in his boxing. He's crisp."

No matter who won on Saturday, Dos Santos' basic approach to the title fight would be the same: resist takedowns and throw power punches. He has eight knockouts in 12 mixed martial arts victories.

Once he senses opening in his opponent's defense, he tends to attack it repeatedly with the same combination. During a three-round decision win in August over Roy Nelson that delivered his upcoming title shot, MMA analysis site FightMetric recorded 130 strikes for Dos Santos compared to 40 for his opponent.

Last week Dos Santos predicted a victory over Velasquez over Lesnar, although he expected it to be a long fight that would be decided by Velasquez's endurance. But suggested that it would be a moot point.

"I think Velasquez has a very good chance to be champion, but against me, it's going to be different," Dos Santos said Friday during a question-and-answer session with fans. "I think Brock's a good fighter, too, but it doesn't matter who's going to win. When they fight against me, I will knock them out."

Neither Velasquez nor Mendes offered details about how to approach Dos Santos. But the last time Velasquez faced a dangerous stand-up fighter, he relied on his wrestling skills to eliminate the danger.

Velasquez repeatedly took down hard-hitting Cheick Kongo when they fought in June 2009. Although Kongo wobbled Velasquez twice with punches to the head, he could not stop the takedowns and spent most of the bout trying to survive on the ground.

Dos Santos has better takedown defense than Kongo, but he has yet to face someone with the wrestling skill of Velasquez, a two-time All-American wrestler who twice finished in the top five of the Division I heavyweight tournament.

No date has been set for Velasquez-Dos Santos, UFC President Dana White said Saturday. But the next title fight, he added, likely will happen sooner than it would have if Velasquez had lost, because Lesnar wanted to take time off from fighting after the bout.

Velasquez won't get much of a break. He will be back in the gym training within two weeks, Mendes said.

(Posted by Sergio Non on http://content.usatoday.com)