Live from 3:00am,The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Heavyweight title will go on the line live on ESPN as champion Junior Dos Santos defends his belt against Cain Velasquez at UFC 155.
The headline bout will be the second match-up between the two – late last year Dos Santos defeated Velasquez to win the UFC Heavyweight title in Velasquez’s first defence of his belt. The loss was his only one in MMA competition, and the challenger has since defeated Brazilian Antonio Silva to earn another shot at the title. An experienced wrestler and brown belt in Jiu Jitsu, Velasquez’s two title fights have featured a Knockout of the Night, he earned the honour for his first round stoppage of Brock Lesnar, and was on the receiving end when Dos Santos took just 64 seconds to strip him of the belt.
Champion Junior Dos Santos is unsurprisingly ranked as the number one heavyweight in the world, while he comes in at seventh in ESPN.com’s pound-for-pound rankings. The Brazilian has lost just once in his 16-fight MMA career and is undefeated in the UFC. Since winning the title he has defended it once, beating Frank Mir through TKO at UFC 146. Dos Santos holds a three inch height advantage over his opponent, but the two have the same reach.
The card for UFC 155 will also include former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin taking on Phil “Mr Wonderful” Davis. Davis is coming into the fight having handed a first loss to Brazilian Wagner Prado at UFC 153, while Griffin most recently defeated UFC Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz. The middleweight division will see a bout between undefeated Chris Weidman and the experienced Tim Boetsch.
Two Brits are also set to feature on the card – Sunderland native Phil De Fries takes on Matt Mitrione in a heavyweight bout, and bantamweight Londoner Brad Pickett goes up against Eddie Wineland.
UFC fans and newcomers looking to catch all the action can subscribe to ESPN and ESPN HD by calling 0844 324 1534 or visiting www.espn.co.uk/tv.
