"In the main event, then heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez looked unstoppable after a 12-1 run that had seen him throttle the likes of Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ben Rothwell, and others en route to being promoted as the next generation of MMA heavyweight. Opposing him that night: Junior dos Santos, the Brazilian knockout machine who had carved his own path of destruction through the division with wins over Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir, Mark Hunt, and others."
"The cherry on top, the two had split a pair of fights with Dos Santos having knocked out Velasquez in 2011 in the highly promoted debut of the UFC on the FOX network. Roughly a year later, and after both winning fights in the interim, Velasquez evened the score with a five round dismantling that handed the Brazilian his first UFC loss. Now both riding impressive victories again, the two were matched up for the final time."
"The UFC went to the Toyota Center (the same venue they will visit again next Saturday) and they brought a showcase of titanic proportions to the Lone Star State. But it wasn't just the iconic heavyweight trilogy that made the event notable, it was the fact that the UFC had paired Velasquez not only with his San Jose teammate but also another man responsible for making Northern California an MMA hot bed in the 2010's."
UFC 166 occurred October 19, 2013, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The main event featured the final matchup in the Cain Velasquez–Junior dos Santos trilogy, with both fighters entering on strong runs. Cain Velasquez arrived after a 12-1 stretch that included wins over Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Ben Rothwell. Junior dos Santos came in as a heavy-handed knockout artist with wins over Fabricio Werdum, Frank Mir, and Mark Hunt. The rivals had split their prior meetings, with dos Santos scoring a knockout in 2011 and Velasquez avenging that loss with a five-round dismantling. Promotional activities included a visit to the Houston Rockets where the fighters met Dwight Howard and James Harden.
Read at Cageside Press
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