Cain Velasquez - Is He the Next Heavyweight Champ


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Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo - What Did We Learn About Cain Velasquez?

June 26, 2009

Velasquez proved that he is a master of Ground and Pound in his dominating performance over Cheick Kongo. Was this proof that Velasquez is the next big thing, or did Kongo expose Velasquez' weaknesses? Was is just a demonstration that Velasquez can dominate a fighter with poor grappling skills? Lets think about Velasquez in comparison to some of the all-time great Ground and Pound masters:

 

 

 

Mark "The Hammer" Coleman

Matt Hughes

George St. Pierre

Randy Couture

Mark Coleman is the founder of Ground and Pound. When he entered the MMA scene there was nobody that could challenge his wrestling prowess and brute strength. Unfortunately, Coleman was not able to evolve as a fighter and take down defense, and as more decorated wrestlers joined the MMA world, Coleman's star faded fast.Coleman does not have knockout power or good submissions in his arsenal. This sounds much like the Cain Velasquez of today.

Matt Hughes was dominant in the welterweight division for years with his superior Ground and Pound techniques. Matt has also shown signs of developing a submissions game demonstrated in his victories over Frank Trigg, including a rear naked choke tapout while Trigg was on his feet. It looked like an old time Ric Flair sleeper hold. Hughes remains competitive; however, his submission ability is limited and his stand up game is non-existent. Again, this is similiar to the Cain Velasquez of today.

George St. Pierre demonstrates and awesome Ground and Pound game against even the most talented wrestlers like Josh Koschek. GSP is talented in all facets of MMA, and he is not limited by one overwhelming technique. GSP comes from a more rounded background than that of Velasquez, which makes him an unfair comparison to Velasquez or any other young fighter for that matter.

Randy Couture started by capitalizing on his decorated Greco-Roman wrestling career. Randy also had boxing experience in the Army. When Randy appeared to become one dimensional with his wrestling prowess, he expanded his toolkit and added Jiu-Jitsu and other attacks to his arsenal. Randy provides the roadmap for Velasquez to advance from a great Ground and Pound Fighter to a great fighter. Which path will Velasquez follow? Couture? Coleman?

Honestly, Velasquez is a handful for any heavyweight matchup, even with only six fights under his belt. But, lets explore how he would match up with another inexperienced top flight heavyweight; Brock Lesnar.  Lesnar has an equal wrestling pedigree to Velasquez, but he is bigger and stronger. Velasquez would struggle to take Lesnar to the mat and it would seem to be an impossible task to keep Lesnar on the mat given Lesnar's size and strength. Lesnar has demonstrated his power in his hands with his title victory over Randy Couture and by rocking Frank Mir. With Velasquez' current skills, how could he beat Lesnar? In my opinion, he is not ready for Lesnar and he couldn't beat him.

Frank Mir has demonstrated how to beat Lesnar, and that is with a superior submissions game that takes advantage of Lesnar's aggressiveness. Perhaps a Cain Velasquez with a polished submissions game is the answer to Lesnar? This is following the path of MMA Great Randy Couture by constantly improving your skills in multiple aspects of the game and using this to create different game plans for different opponents. Velasquez should follow the Couture plan and he could become one of the all-time greats, rather than becoming one of the all-time great Ground and Pound practitioners whose star fades as they age and their opponents become stronger.

By: Carl Estes

Owner of www.mmasizzle.com

I can be reached by email at customercare@mmasizzle.com



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