Last night we saw a future legend put his foot down and give notice to the world – he told everyone that he is here to be the top heavyweight in the world, maybe of all time. However, even after last night’s brutal win over Antonio Silva there are still a lot of people who are still not giving the respect that should be given to a guy who has run through all of the best talent in the division. The questions I asked myself are – “why won’t people give Cain Velasquez the credit where it is due? Why is Cain not being put on people’s top 3 pound-for-pound lists?”
First let’s look at the current top-3 P4P… most people would have a hard time arguing that Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and Jon Jones currently sit at the top of the P4P rankings – and each of them more than deserves it. Each fighter is constantly setting records, cleaning out the newest and hottest talent in their respective divisions and have had some of the longest win streaks in the UFC. Cain has definitely taken on some of these attributes, but there is one that still acts as a road block to his ascension to a higher level.
Before getting into the nitty gritty, let’s have look at Cain’s resume and some of the achievements in his career to-date:
- 12 wins inside the cage (10 inside the UFC)
- 10 finishes inside the cage – all 10 by TKO
- 6 opponents that I would consider “top tier” (or were when he fought them): Cheick Kongo, Ben Rothwell, Big Nog, Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos, Antonio Silva
- 3 knock-out of the night performances
- Two-time UFC heavyweight champion
Impressive resume for a career that only started in 2006, right? However, it is the last stat that really hinders him from breaking through into the top 3.
Cain Velasquez actually bears a striking resemblance to another top 3 pound-for-pound fighter. I look at Cain Velasquez and I see a heavyweight version of Georges St. Pierre – maybe in some ways even better. He fights much the same way GSP did in the early stages of his career: Cain will take people to the ground and beat them down, he can wrestle them and handle them with what appears borderline effortless. Cain can also knock people out in a way that is rarely seen from a man of his size in a division of such large men.
Losses are like scarlet letters in the UFC – and something that people will never let you forget no matter how hard you try to redeem yourself and no matter what level of talent that you show. The first loss to Junior Dos Santos is one that is going to plague Cain for at least the next 2-3 years. I look at Georges St. Pierre, and it wasn’t until he beat BJ Penn for the second time that people started talking about him and Anderson Silva within the same paragraph. The loss St. Pierre suffered to Matt Serra is so similar to the one that Cain suffered at the hands of JDS that I think it will linger like a monkey on the back of Cain no matter how many times he proves that he is the best in the world – at least for the interim. I really think that is the roadblock that keeps him off peoples list as one of the best in the sport.
Cain’s loss to Junior Dos Santos was also similar to Georges St. Pierre’s loss to Matt Serra in the fact that he got caught. I am not taking anything away from Dos Santos or Serra, but the respective re-matches with each of these fighters proved who was on a different level. Cain’s beating of JDS in their second fight was complete domination, that I don’t think that even Dos Santos was expecting.
Given the statistics mentioned earlier, I don’t see how you can’t consider Velasquez one of the best in the world. I honestly think if you put Jon Jones and Cain Velasquez in the octagon together tomorrow, Cain would walk out with his hand raised. I think Cain and Jones have a similar skill set, but I think Cain’s shows a higher level of brutality and maturity that would hand Jones a humbling loss. I am sure I will catch a lot of heat for suggesting that, but I honestly think it’s true. Cain has a way of proving everyone wrong no matter what they believe about him, and he has more talent than most of the fighter in the MMA world today.
All said, like it or not, I do agree with the masses to an extent on Velasquez not being ranked top 3 P4P. I don’t think until Cain has a few more solid wins under his belt people will talk about him having a higher ranking than any of the current kings of the P4P ranking. Consistent wins with the belt is the key to a higher ranking – you can knock guys out and submit them all day, unless you can prove that you can beat those top ranked in your division (and others) with consistency than people will never put you on the “higher plain”.
This all said, I think that it is inevitable that one day we will see Cain Velasquez with a name at the top of that P4P list… it just might take a few years until he’s there.
You can follow me on Twitter: @lastwordmark, the guys from Hammer MMA Radio @stevejeffery, and the site @lastwordonsport
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