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Considering their first bout ended in 64 seconds, how intrigued are you by the Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez rematch at UFC 155?
RICH HANSEN, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
I'm exactly as intrigued for the rematch as I was for the original, sans the whole "first fight on Fox" dealie. The were rumors going into the 2011 fight that both dos Santos and Velasquez came into the fight injured, and those rumors have been pretty well confirmed since. So if the first fight involved two damaged fighters and ended in a flash-bang KO, what did that settle in the long run exactly? Going into that fight I thought Velasquez would be maybe a 55/45 favorite, and now I'd put dos Santos as the favorite at those odds. Other than that, to me, nothing has changed. And then once you look at the phenomenal card that this rematch is headlining, and December 29 is likely to be the best MMA card of the year.
JASON AMADI, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Junior dos Santos vs. Cain Velasquez was a damn intriguing fight last year, but it ended exactly the way I thought it would and I'm exactly not chomping at the bit to see it again. The rematch is going to be sold on the idea that Cain Velasquez was injured and basically toast before he stepped into the cage, but dos Santos as well and lamped him. After the fight dos Santos is the one that actually had surgery, while Cain's injury didn't even require it.
I'm especially uninterested in seeing this rematch because I think it will hurt Velasquez to lose decisively to the same guy twice, in about a year.
I don't know that the fight ends in 64 seconds again or even in the first round, but I think JDS is the more dynamic fighter and will put Cain down yet again. I'll certainly watch, but this isn't something I'm really excited for at this point.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
With the announcement that Velasquez went into the bout with a pretty bad injury it makes me wonder if thats why he opted to stand infront of JDS for their first bout. I truly do believe the second meeting will fare alot better for both the fans and the fighters and actually be a fight rather than a 64 seconds and we're done sort of outcome. Either man truly can win this match, Cain has insane cardio that is almost unfair to his opponents but JDS and his boxing can absolutely crush anyone in their path with one swing. Cain has been rocked before too by Minotauro in their bout aswell before he landed a solid KO punch. Both men have heavy hands and very equal talents in most areas, but as Dos Santos recently stated, his BJJ is incredibly well trained and he could very well have the advantage on the ground. The rematch should be significantly more interesting than the original as long as both fighters come in healthy and ready to fight.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'm definitely intrigued. I think dos Santos beats Velasquez, but I'm still very much interested in seeing the fight. There's not a lot of great heavyweights. Hell, there's not a lot of good heavyweights so anytime you get a chance to see heavyweights that are really good it's interesting.
ERIC HOBAUGH, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I am very intrigued by the second fight between these two. Both were hurt the first time they mixed it up and both fought anyway. If we get these two at 100% for UFC 155 this should be a great fight. This is a classic wrestler vs. striker and these two are the best in the division. I think that Junior will still win, but Cain could win in any number of ways.
DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
If the injury to Cain Velasquez really did impact his preparation and subsequent performance, then I expect the rematch to last longer than 64 seconds at least. I still have JDS as the clear favorite but it it should be a little closer this time. Velasquez is quality and undisputed number two in the division, but JDS is in a different league above, all on his own.
It amazes me how undervalued he remains and I wish he'd got the opportunity to beat Brock Lesnar, because as bad as it sounds, it would have done wonders for his profile more than any win over Velasquez. He's too good right now and Velasquez doesn't have that one punch knock out power, which might very well be JDS's kryptonite; that's if anyone ever gets close enough to him for us to find out.
MATT PELKEY, MMATORCH COLUMNIST
Uh...quite. It's still the two most talented and skilled heavyweight fighters on the planet. The first fight was a little fluky and if it wasn't the UFC's debut on Fox the fight probably wouldn't have taken place at all, as both fighters were far from 100%. If people liked Cormier-Barnett, just wait til you see what these two guys are capable of doing if they both bring their A games. On a scale from 1-10, I'm sitting solid at a 9 for this one.
[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
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