Two of the toughest men on the planet go toe to toe tonight when Cain Velasquez defends his ultimate fighting heavyweight championship against Junior Dos Santos.

29 year old Velasquez is a Mexican-American who is equally at home in Spanish or English and proud of his heritage. He comes from a wrestling background having been a two-time All-American collegiate wrestler but also has, as they say, "good hands". Velasquez has been undefeated in his UFC career and 8 of his 9 wins have come by way of knockout. He is as tough as they come.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8L4-Xk1Wbg"]Cain Velasquez Tribute - YouTube[/ame]

27 year old Brazilian Junior dos Santos Almeida (aka "cigano" or Gipsy) is the top ranked contender in the Heavyweight division. He is thought to be the most dangerous boxer in the UFC. Dos Santos is unbeaten since 2007 winning his last eight fights .. six of which didn't go the distance, and five of which he won in the first round. He is a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as is Velasquez, but it is highly unlikely that this fight will end by a submission.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb3Otvylyuo"]Junior Dos Santos Highlights - YouTube[/ame]

Both men come from very humble backgrounds and have put in thousands of hours of gruelling work to get them to the pinnacle of their chosen career. They are both humble men with the attributes of humility and respect for others that have been traditionally associated with martial artists. Also very much family men. Velasquez is probably a bit more intense.

Who will win? Velasquez is odds on favourite. It is generally thought that Dos Santos will be unable to counter his wrestling and will end up on his back for most of the fight. I have a soft spot for Velasquez mainly because of the damage he inflicted on Brock Lesnar who might be my least favourite person on the planet. By chance, however. I have had more exposure to Dos Santos and have tremendous respect for his many fine qualities as a person .. so I will be cheering for him. Also Mixed Martial Arts is hugely popular in Brazil and there will be an almighty party if they take the heavyweight championship of the world. If Dos Santos can stay on his feet he will have an excellent chance ... but that is a big if .....

Some UFC insider predictions:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQ6vXfuDyk"]UFC Connected: Cain Velasquez vs Junior Dos Santos predictions - YouTube[/ame]

It is impossible to describe how much I'm looking forward to this contest.