UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz makes his predictions for the UFC 160 main and co-main events. Make your own picks for the entire card at UFC Fantasy.
Four heavyweights will enter the Octagon this Saturday looking to finish their respective opponents as current champion Cain Velasquez faces Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in a rematch of their UFC 146 meeting and former champion Junior dos Santos looks to stop the hot streak of Mark Hunt.
Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, who has evolved into an excellent analyst while recuperating from an injury, gives us his thoughts on the main and co-main fights.
Dos Santos vs. Hunt
Dos Santos makes his first Octagon appearance since losing the title to Velasquez at UFC 155 hungry to earn the win and get another shot at the belt. Hunt rides a four- victory streak, including three finishes and two Knockouts of the Night.
“I’ve been waiting to see Hunt be matched up against another powerful striker since he got into the UFC, so I’m super-pumped to see him against Junior Dos Santos,” says Cruz. “Fighting a guy like Mark Hunt presents a different problem to Junior -- he might actually want to grapple Mark Hunt rather than striking with him. Th would be the first time we have seen that out of Junior. So that will make Junior a better fighter, and it’ll be a very strategic fight.”
Velasquez vs. Silva 2
In the main event, Velasquez faces Silva for the second time in under a year. Velasquez re-captured his title in a dominant performance over Dos Santos in December, and he finished Silva in their first matchup last May. The Mexican champ showed outstanding speed, conditioning and striking in both wins over the Brazilians. But Bigfoot rallied after that ugly UFC debut, first knocking out the then-undefeated Travis Browne and upsetting heavy favorite Alistar Overeem in a Knockout of the Night performance. And though he looks to show that he's found his footing, Cruz doesn't see things going Silva's way.
“I think Cain is just going to demolish Bigfoot,” says Cruz. “I see Cain with his wrestling ability and his quickness being able to close the distance. He'll do what he's done to everyone else: follow the hips of Bigfoot and use his ground-and-pound. I think he’s going to do great against Bigfoot. I don't think it's going to be a finish, but I think Cain is going to control Bigfoot the entire fight, much of it on the ground."
Ultimate Prediction:
A win for dos Santos would put him back in contendership for the title, and that's exactly what "The Dominator" sees happening. "In the end I think we’re going to end up having Cain vs Junior III, which is great for the fans. It’s the fight we all want to see."
