Velasquez to end it early again against Silva at UFC 160

Cain Velasquez may have faltered at the first hurdle on the last and only previous occasion he attempted to defend the UFC heavyweight title, but lightning will not strike twice at UFC 160.

It was Junior Dos Santos that stopped Velasquez in a little over a minute in his previous title defence in 2011 and this time Antonio Silva is the challenger.

Almost a year to the day of one of the worst beatdowns in UFC history, Silva will be looking for recompense for that first-round stoppage.

But unfortunately for him, it is hard to look beyond another quick victory for Velasquez, with the 4/7 offered in the UFC betting that the champion triumphs in either the first or second round looking the way to go.

Silva has vowed not to make the same mistakes as their first meeting, when he was taken down inside 10 seconds when attempting a leg kick and never escaped the ground and pound of Velasquez, with an elbow causing the nastiest of facial cuts.

The challenger has never previously gone beyond three rounds and given that his cardio and speed are not in the league of Velasquez, his only chance of victory would appear to be by stoppage.

Therefore, punters fancying the upset may as well take the 13/2 that Silva wins inside the distance, over the 11/2 on him triumphing in the fight result market.

However, as well as his speed advantage, Velasquez is the better boxer and wrestler and is known in the UFC for his ability to land countless significant shots consistently in rounds.

Even if Silva can remain off his back for longer this time, it would seem a matter of time before Velasquez makes his extra class count and it is almost guaranteed that he will come out of the blocks quickly to bring his stamina advantage into play.

There is virtually no chance that the title bout will survive the five rounds, so the 1/7 that the fight does not go to decision is printing money.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication