Yahoo: Nelson sounds like he's leaning toward Velasquez

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02-17-2010 05:15 PM:

He's been talked about as the future of the heavyweight division and so far Cain Velasquez (7-0, 5-0 UFC) has delivered. But that was against lesser opponents on his way up the UFC ladder. Now it's make or break time against one of the legends of the sport in Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 in Australia.

"Big Nog" is arguably one of the best guard fighters and submission artists in the history of the heavyweight division. That makes it tough when you're a dominating wrestler who does a lot of his damage via top control. Nogueira can also take a beating and is dangerous for all 15 minutes as his record show. He's 32-5 with losses against Josh Barnett, Frank Mir, Dan Henderson and Fedor Emelianenko (two times). That's a helluva resume against a guy with only seven fights.

Fellow UFC heavyweight prospect Roy Nelson thinks Velasquez has a good shot.

"Cain could pull out a decision by wear and tear, just kind of keep grinding it. Keeping the pressure on Nog."

Nelson said the fight is a 50-50 proposition because of Nogueira's submission skills. He said Velasquez's best plan is to keep it standing like Tim Sylvia did, before he got caught via submission. The difference is, rip Sylvia all you want, his striking is better than either one of these fighters. And that could be a dangerous plan for Velasquez, who showed holes in his standing defense against Cheick Kongo. Nelson countered that by saying Nogueira isn't a power puncher. This back and forth is what makes this weekend's fight so intriguing. The betting action is also all over the board.

Nelson also looked ahead to the No. 1 v. No. 2 heavyweight contender fight at UFC 111 between Shane Carwin and Frank Mir. Nelson's questions revolve around Carwin's takedown ability and standup defense.



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