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Trilogy In Main Event At UFC 166

HOUSTON — For the third time in the UFC, Junior Dos Santos (16-2) and Cain Velaszquez (12-1) will face each other for the UFC heavyweight title. Headlining the main event at UFC 166 at the Honda Center in Houston, the heavyweights will conclude one of few trilogy fights in the UFC.

Their first fight was at UFC on Fox 1 in November 2011, where Dos Santos delivered a first round knockout of the champion Velasquez to win the heavyweight title. After defending his title against Frank Mir at UFC 146 in May 2012, Dos Santos and Velasquez met in a rematch for the title.

The second fight was one sided again for the challenger, as Velasquez was dominant for all five rounds in the main event at UFC 155 in December 2012, winning back the belt that Dos Santos took from him.

After retaining his belt by first round TKO to Antonio Silva, Velasquez and Dos Santos will meet with everything on the line in their heavyweight rivalry. While both fighters said a fight between each other could be down the road, both suspect that it will be a long time before it happens.

The rivalry makes the 12th trilogy in the UFC, with the heavyweight showdown the first trilogy in the weight division. Dos Santos/Velasquez III also makes the third time a trilogy will have all three fights being title fights.

Dos Santos is well known for his knockout power, as evident in their first fight. All three of his last victories have come by finish from KO/TKO, and with 85 percent of his time in the octagon committed to striking, expect the challenger to look for another finish of Velasquez to steal the UFC heavyweight belt.

The current champion is also one of the top strikers in the heavyweight division, throwing a successful 57 percent of his striking in the octagon. The difference with Velasquez, though, is his wrestling, landing nearly half of his takedowns as well. Expect a ground game advantage for the champion in their main event.

UFC 166′s main card is on pay-per-view beginning at 10pm ET at the Honda Center in Houston.

 

 

Follow Brandon Boles on Twitter: @BrandonBoles

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(Photo Credit: Dana White via Twitter)

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