UFC 121 Tale of the Tape: Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez

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Image Credit: Shaun Bryant


There can only be one winner of tonight’s UFC 121 Heavyweight Title match between Cain Velasquez and champion Brock Lesnar. If you’re unsure as to who to pick or how these fighters really stack up, Inside Fights has culled all the information together into one simple head to head. Below, you’ll find the stats that matter as well as fun facts and the type of information you’ll need to make your picks for this evening. If you’re looking to place a last minute bet, here’s everything you need to know to make your decision.

Cain Velasquez

Size
6’1″ 244 lbs.

Pre-MMA Career

NJCAA Heavyweight Champion
Iowa Central Community College
Two-time NCAA All-American
Arizona State
2005 Pac-10 Conference Wrestler of the Year
Overall Record 86-17 in college

MMA Career
Starting training MMA in 2006 with American Kickboxing Academy
Made debut in 2008 for Strikeforce
Won via TKO (punches) over Jesse Fujarczyk

MMA Stats
Record Breakdown: Wins by KO/TKO (7), Decision (1)
Velasquez has landed five times as many punches per fight as Lesnar
Lands 53% of his overall punches to 30% for Lesnar
Velasquez has dodged 68% of his opponents punches
Lesnar in UFC competition has been successful on 67% of takedown attempts, while Velasquez has been successful on 73%

Notable Wins
Cheick Kongo
Ben Rothwell
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira

Fun Facts

  • Has a ‘Brown Pride’ tattoo on his chest
  • Went to college at Arizona State with notable UFC contenders Ryan Bader and CB Dollaway
  • His father immigrated to the US from Mexico 6 times and was deported back each time. On his 7th trip here he met the women who would become his wife. Once they were married he was allowed to stay
  • Herschel Walker has said that Velasquez has the best cardio of any fighter he has ever seen
  • Lost in the 2006 NCAA wrestling semi-finals to Bellator Heavyweight champion, and Brock Lesnar training partner, Cole Konrad
  • Brock Lesnar

    Size
    6’3″ 265 lbs. (walks around at 296 lbs.)

    Pre-MMA Career

    Two-time NJCAA All-American
    Bismarck State College
    1998 NJCAA Heavyweight Champion
    Two-time NCAA All-American
    Univ. of Minnesota
    Two-time Big Ten Conference Champion
    2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106–5 overall in four years of college
    Three-time WWE World Champion

    MMA Career
    Starting training MMA in 2006; made debut in 2007 at K-1 Dynamite!! USA
    Won via submission (punches) over Min-Soo Kim

    MMA Stats
    Record Breakdown: Wins by KO/TKO (2), Submission (2), Decision (1)
    Executes 67% of his takedowns. League Average is 45%
    He holds the record for highest striking accuracy for fighters with at least 150 attempts; Over 80% accuracy.
    Lesnar lands 9 out of every 10 punches he throws when on the ground. (Highest % in UFC history).
    Lesnar had dodged 59% of his opponents punches.

    Notable Wins
    Frank Mir
    Randy Couture
    Shane Carwin

    Fun Facts

  • Brock is married to former WWE Diva and Playboy cover model Sable.
  • Headlined 3 UFC Main Events
  • 1st fighter to appear on the cover of the UFC Magazine
  • 1st man to appear on the cover of a WWE and UFC video game (UFC Undisputed 2010 and WWE Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain)
  • Owns a MMA clothing line called “DeathClutch”
  • Has a penis-looking sword on his chest
  • Almost made Minnesota Vikings roster after leaving pro wrestling

  • Stats courtesy of:
    http://compustrike.com
    https://insidepulse.com
    http://coedmagazine.com/2010/10/15/celebrate-brocktober-a-month-dedicated-to-ufc-fighter-brock-lesnar/
    http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?aid=443&issid=32
    http://www.karmaswrestlingretro.com/lesnar.html

    An Inside Pulse "original", SMS is one of the founding members of Inside Pulse and serves as the Chief Marketing Officer on the Executive Board. Smith is a fan of mixed martial arts and runs two sections of IP as Editor in Chief, RadioExile.com and InsideFights.com. Having covered music festivals around the world as well as conducting interviews with top-class professional wrestlers and musicians, he switched gears from music coverage at Radio Exile to MMA after the first The Ultimate Fighter Finale. He resides with his wife in New York City.