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Cain Ramirez Velasquez^[3] (born July 28, 1982 in Salinas, California) is an American MMA fighter of Mexican descent.^[4] He is a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler from Arizona State and a Junior College National Champ at Iowa Central Community College. He is a two-time 5A state champion in Arizona for Kofa High School located in Yuma, Arizona under Shawn Rustad and Marty Niblo. He currently competes in the UFC in the heavyweight division. As of March 2010, he is ranked as the #4 heavyweight in the world by Sherdog.^[5]

UFC career

Cain Velasquez made his UFC debut against Brad Morris at UFC 83 and won due to strikes in the first round.

In his next fight, Velasquez defeated Jake O'Brien at UFC Fight Night 14 by TKO in round one.

Velasquez then faced Denis Stojnić at UFC Fight Night 17 and the fight was stopped in round two with Velasquez earning the victory by TKO.

Velasquez's next fight was in UFC 99 against former kickboxer and established UFC heavyweight Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was once again dominant and won the bout by unanimous decision.

Velasquez's next opponent was scheduled to be Shane Carwin^[6] for the number one contendership of the UFC Heavyweight Championship held by Brock Lesnar. On August 20 however, it was announced Cain Velasquez would no longer be fighting Shane Carwin at UFC 104 for the opportunity to challenge Brock Lesnar, as the UFC have rescheduled Carwin to face Lesnar at UFC 106.^[7]

Velasquez was told he would be fighting Ben Rothwell at UFC 104. Velasquez was 7–0 after defeating Ben Rothwell at UFC 104 with a TKO at 0:58 of Round 2. ^[8]

Velasquez was booked to face former Pride Heavyweight Champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira on January 2, 2010 at UFC 108. Dana White had promised the winner a shot at the UFC Heavyweight Title after Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin fight^[9], though Carwin is now scheduled to fight Frank Mir at UFC 111. The bout between Velasquez and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira was cancelled due to Nogueira's staph infection.^[10] The bout was then moved to February 21, 2010 at UFC 110.^[11]

Going into the fight, some media sources predicted that Nogueira would take the victory due to a supposed lack of striking power for Velasquez.^[12] They were proven wrong when Velasquez defeated Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 110 via knockout (Punches) at 2:20 of round 1. In doing so, Velasquez became the second man alongside Frank Mir to defeat Noguiera by way of knockout, and this lead to him becoming the standby fighter for a heavyweight title shot if the winner of the UFC 111 fight between Frank Mir and Shane Carwin was unable to compete against the champion Brock Lesnar^[13]

Personal life

Cain and his girlfriend welcomed a daughter named Coral Love Velasquez on May 6, 2009.^[14] The couple got engaged in Australia after UFC 110.^[15]

As a proud Mexican-American, Velasquez speaks English and Spanish fluently and has been a guest star on the Spanish-language TV networks Telemundo and Univision. He was also seen in the Wisin & Yandel's official music video of "Te Siento".

Cain, who trains at AKA, won the BJJ blue belt championships roughly a year after starting submission grappling. ^[16]He currently holds a purple belt under Dave Camarillo.

Accomplishments

• Two-time All-American collegiate wrestler

• Knockout of the Night Honors (2x)

Mixed martial arts record

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Win	8-0	Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira	KO (Punches)	UFC 110: Nogueira vs. Velasquez	02010-02-21 February 21, 2010	1	2:20	Sydney, Australia	Won Knockout of the Night
Win	7–0	Ben Rothwell	TKO (Punches)	UFC 104: Machida vs. Shogun	02009-10-24 October 24, 2009	2	0:58	Los Angeles, California, US
Win	6–0	Cheick Kongo	Decision (Unanimous)	UFC 99: The Comeback	02009-06-13 June 13, 2009	3	5:00	Cologne, Germany
Win	5–0	Denis Stojnić	TKO (Punches)	UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens	02009-02-07 February 7, 2009	2	2:34	Tampa, Florida	Won Knockout of the Night
Win	4–0	Jake O'Brien	TKO (Punches)	UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin	02008-07-19 July 19, 2008	1	2:02	Las Vegas, Nevada United States
Win	3–0	Brad Morris	TKO (Punches)	UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II	02008-04-19 April 19, 2008	1	2:10	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	UFC Debut
Win	2–0	Jeremiah Constant	TKO (Punches)	Bodog Fight: St. Petersburg	02006-12-16 December 16, 2006	1	4:00	St. Petersburg, Russia
Win	1–0	Jesse Fujarczyk	TKO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello	02006-10-07 October 7, 2006	1	1:58	Fresno, California

Entrance Music

References

External links

• Professional MMA record for Cain Velasquez from Sherdog
• Cain Velasquez's Profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Internet Movie Database
• Arizona State Wrestling Bio