In what the UFC built as rematch of the year played out in the ring as a one-sided landslide victory for contender and former champ Cain Velasquez as he defeated Junior Dos Santos via a very much warranted unanimous decision (50-45, 50-43, 50-44). Velasquez is once again UFC’s heavyweight champion. The first time around, Junior Dos Santos took the belt from ‘then’ champ Cain Velasquez in just 64 seconds. Tonight’s fight was a different Cain, a 100% healthy Cain, and a Cain sporting a fully recovered ACL tear injury. Cain poured the pounding on Dos Santos early in the fight dominating and pressuring JDS from all sides (takedown attempts, standing up while trading heavy blows, and even hitting Dos Santos with a massive overhand right that put Junior down!) All of it was part of Cain’s early game plan aimed to tire the Brazilian phenom to exhaustion. By the end of the Round 1, the champ looked haggard, old and plum tuckered out.

For the rest of the four rounds it was pretty much the same as Cain continued to take JDS down, while grounding and pounding him, pushing him against the cage and beating him up, never quite being able to put that knock out pressure on the champ, but never letting him off the hook either. By the end of Round 5,  JDS’ right eye was swollen shut, and Cain’s head kicks had begun giving his lumps, lumps. The bell rings and just that quickly JDS had been stripped of his title, and his belt passed to ‘the new reigning champ’ Cain Velasquez, who then stated he was passing the belt on to his wife as a ‘late Christmas present.’

Congrats on the win Cain, you earned it.