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[Sakara=Excitement]

White: By beating "best heavyweight of all time," UFC 110's Velasquez title-fight standby | MMAjunkie.com

With a dominating victory over what he called "probably the best heavyweight of all time," UFC president Dana White has reiterated an earlier promise and said UFC 110 main-event winner Cain Velasquez is on standby for a title shot.

If the winner of next month's UFC 111 interim-title fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin is injured or sidelined, Velasquez instead gets the title with champion Brock Lesnar.

"We'll see what happens with Mir and Carwin – see who wins that – and if the guys come out unscathed, they'll fight for the title," White said after UFC 110 at Acer Arena in Sydney, New South Whales, Australia. "If not, then Cain Velasquez will get that slot."

As MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) reported last week, Lesnar, who's been out of action since July 2009 due to a serious case of diverticulitis, could return at UFC 116, which is expected to take place July 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Velasquez likely would've been the title-fight standby even with a mediocre performance at the Feb. 20 UFC 110 event. However, he thoroughly dominated the former PRIDE and UFC champion, abandoned his usual wrestling skills, and instead kept the fight standing to floor Nogueira with the second part of a left-right combination.

"When I threw that right hand, it just went through him," Velasquez said. "That's all I felt. There was really no give. I just tried to follow it up with that left hook, and I saw him go down. I tried to capitalize on it. I tried not to get too anxious in there because I know he can take a lot of punishment and come back."

Velasquez quickly followed up the big blow with a ground-and-pound assault that prompted a stoppage at the 2:20 mark of the first round.

White said he's flabbergasted by the American Kickboxing Academy fighter's quick improvement from fight to fight.

"I didn't see it coming," White said. "I thought that was going to be a back-and-forth and entertaining fight, and Cain Velasquez went out and absolutely finished him and looked completely dominant and looked, in my opinion, better than he's ever looked. The kid gets better every time he fights.

In a recent MMAjunkie.com/"Inside MMA" weekly poll, we asked readers to choose the UFC fighter most likely to defeat Lesnar. Five choices were available, yet Velasquez ranked fifth – behind Carwin, Mir, Nogueira and Dos Santos with just 11 percent of the vote.

And though Velasquez (8-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) now has earned knockout victories in seven of his eight pro wins, opponents usually are more concerned with his wrestling skills. However, Velasquez said that his hands won't always play such a prominent role and that he may need simply to wear down other opponents.

"I just have to fight a smart fight," he said. "Definitely, with those kind of guys – big, strong – you really have to be aware of their power. I think it's always going to be a war, and you have to really fight until the end. You've got to really tire them out, but that's easier said than done. But that's how I see me going up against them is really trying to get them tired and edge out the win at the end.

Regardless of which heavyweight get the first shot at Lesnar, White is just happy to have options, including Velasquez.

"The heavyweight division is more exciting than it's been in years," he said. "It just keeps getting better and better."

[MMA4EVERRR]

Cain can take Lesnar, if he can pack on more muscle, yet still retain his speed....His 2 previous fights, i just found he weighed 138, n for yesterday he was 242...the more he can close the gap between him n Brock, i think he will b a serious threat for the superhw...He has one tool in his aresenal that guys like Brock, Mir, Nog, Carwin dont use much and thats leg strikes, and he showed some good ones last night...Great win for Cain but....

Bad loss for Nog...while i dont think hes done, he just couldnt keep up wit the hungrier, younger fighter....i wonder wat excuse Eddy Soares will have for us, now that one of his fighters was legitimately beaten.

[TBEAR]

Originally Posted by MMA4EVERRR

Cain can take Lesnar, if he can pack on more muscle, yet still retain his speed....His 2 previous fights, i just found he weighed 138, n for yesterday he was 242...the more he can close the gap between him n Brock, i think he will b a serious threat for the superhw...He has one tool in his aresenal that guys like Brock, Mir, Nog, Carwin dont use much and thats leg strikes, and he showed some good ones last night...Great win for Cain but....

Bad loss for Nog...while i dont think hes done, he just couldnt keep up wit the hungrier, younger fighter....i wonder wat excuse Eddy Soares will have for us, now that one of his fighters was legitimately beaten.

I would say Cain at 265 would be the beast in the HW But right now as it stands Brock Carwin and Mir are to big and strong......I mean nog was like 230 last night? That is 35 pounds of muscle less than the Carwins of the world. Plus I think Carwin has the pure power in striking over brock.....I have seen Carwin almost take a mans headoff with a punch......Cain is getting better though and was impressive last night and when I saw him live at UFC 99 when he killed Kongo

[braddahmatt]

Cain is a beast... you guys can quote me on this... he will take over the HW division...

[xdevilhawk138x]

Cain Velasquez in the future will be The Julio Cesar Chavez of MMA ... He's a Animal

[v3xi]

Velasquez was already impressing me, but last night was incredible.

I really think that Dos Santos and Cain are the top 2 HW's in the UFC.

[apardo]

i wouldnt go as far as saying he is the best. I also dont think he "killed" kongo. He used his wrestling perfectly and intelligently against kongo. shame on kongo for not neutralizing that but while they were standing kongo was knocking him on his ass over and over and over.

His wrestling isnt as great as brocks so if he faces mir, he should be careful.

His stricking isnt as powerful as carwin, he should be careful.

His strength isnt as great as brocks, he should be careful.

Brock is used to his weight and the fucker moves really fast for being in that weight, by cain gaining doesnt guarantee that he will have the same speed he has now which will only lead to fatigueness.

All in all, he has three people ahead of him who can overwhelm his abilities.

I give him the edge on his kicks that non of these three guys have.

[IceCold48]

really the best hw of all time? nogs great but fedor is obviously the best danas obviously not going to acknowledge it but whats the point of saying anything regarding the subject?

[Sakara=Excitement]

Originally Posted by IceCold48

really the best hw of all time? nogs great but fedor is obviously the best danas obviously not going to acknowledge it but whats the point of saying anything regarding the subject?

The funny thing is if Dana ever actually signs Fedor, he has no choice but to promote him as the best ever.

[goodtimes]

I think Velasquez is a better wrestler then both Lesnar and Carwin, and he also has better hands. The only thing he lacks is size and strength. Going off of his last few performances, I think both Velasquez and Dos Santos have done far more to earn a title shot then either Carwin or Mir, but it is what it is.