UFC
Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II likely after respective UFC 146 wins
May 27, 2012 - 3:10:13 PM Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez II likely after respective UFC 146 wins

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A fantastic performance at UFC 146 may be bringing Cain Velasquez right back into a title fight with the man who took the UFC Heavyweight Championship from him last November, Junior dos Santos.

UFC President Dana White commented on the possibility of the rematch following impressive performances from both men on Saturday night, and said that fight makes sense as the next bout for each of them. There's no word on when the fight could happen, but it'll likely be in the fall.

Dos Santos defended the title successfully in the night's main event, defeating Frank Mir by TKO in the second round in a solid, Championship performance. But it was Velasquez who really shined on Saturday night, making an argument for his 64-second loss to JDS being an isolated result, and not one that's necessarily going to be repeated in a rematch.

He absolutely destroyed Strikeforce import Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, putting on an extended three and a half minute beating before finally putting him away. After scoring an immediate takedown, Velasquez turned on his ground and pound attack. Then he landed an elbow that opened a nasty cut in the middle of Silva's eyes, leading to a complete bloodbath inside the Octagon.

Silva tried to fight through it, but Velasquez's attack was relentless. He continued to attack with punches and elbows, finally forcing him to turtle up and finishing it off with a flurry of punches. It was masterful, and he just may be seen as an even fight in the rematch with JDS.

Penick's Analysis: The only other sensible option is another rematch for dos Santos, and that's Fabricio Werdum, but I think Velasquez has the better argument right now. With how he destroyed Silva, he really did seem like a completely different fighter than the one who showed up in November, and there's reason to believe the November fight wasn't him at his best. A rematch may not immediately sell as well because of how the first fight went, but it's a fight I'm intrigued to see again after Saturday night.