Pros Pick: Lesnar vs. Velasquez

Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar will defend his title against unbeaten American Kickboxing Academy thoroughbred Cain Velasquez in the UFC 121 headliner on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

The UFC marketing train has been in high gear for months in advance of one of the most anticipated bouts of 2010. Will Lesnar handle the cardio and tenacity of the smaller challenger? Can Velasquez deal with the sheer strength and agility of the champion?

Sherdog.com recently caught up with dozens of professional trainers and fighters to gauge their opinions on the fight:

Junior dos Santos: Both are very dangerous. Lesnar is the most dangerous in the early rounds but, like Cain, has a lot of gas. I think he will set the pace and manage to win by TKO after the third round.

Adam Singer: This is a hard one. I get the feeling that whichever way I pick I’m going to be wrong (think about that for a little while). A good big man always beats a good smaller man, right? I’ll take Brock by TKO via ground-and-pound in round three.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Velasquez is faster and a better wrestler, so he has the advantage in this fight. I think he wins.

Roli Delgado: This is such an exciting fight. Lesnar is a huge monster, and Cain is a slick heavyweight with great footwork. I realize that Brock is the better wrestler technically, but with strikes, I really believe the wrestling will be neutral. I hope that we see some great wrestling transitions and both fighters fight to get back up to their feet instead of playing from the bottom if they’re taken down. I don’t think Brock will be able to submit Cain, but he brings so much heat with the ground-and-pound. Which fighter can keep the pace longer? I’m going to go with Cain. I think he gets on top of Lesnar late in the third and gets a TKO stoppage.

Sam Hoger: From the shores of a sunny beach in Hawaii, the Brock versus Cain match will be a fight of two wrestlers who have heavy hands. The better wrestler will win. Once either of them is on their back, it is over. The one who can control the top position will win. Brock has shown some Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which is rare from wrestlers who are usually too proud to change their style at all. Cain has fast and heavy hands, but so did Shane Carwin, until he ran out of gas and got beat by Brock. Unless Cain can fight off his back, I can’t see this going any other way but for Brock.

Marvin Eastman: Cain will let Brock get tired. Cain will win by KO in the third round [by] left hook.

Juanito Ibarra: Cain [wins].

Matt Hamilton: I’m picking Brock by TKO in the second. I think people hate on Brock’s boxing too much, and I think it will be much improved for this fight. Even if it isn’t, Brock has power and reach, and those two things will get you far. Brock just keeps getting better and better. Cain is a beast, and watching him hit mitts backstage at the UFC once was very impressive, but until someone whips Brock’s ass, he’s still the man.

Rob McCullough: I think “Brocktober” is about to be over.

Travis Lutter: I think Lesnar is going to be too much for Cain. He is so fast, so big and too good at wrestling.

Josh Thomson: Cain! Cain! Cain! Cain! Cain! Cain! By any way he wants!

Cung Le: Cain by TKO.

Micah Miller: Cain should win. He has better skills and conditioning. But Brock is bigger. As sad as it is, that counts for something these days.

Phillipe Nover: Cain is a beast. If you want to see Brock lose the belt, this is the fight to watch. I’m all about underdogs, and this one I’m quite sure of. Cain has superb wrestling, striking and power. He is undefeated for a reason.

Gabe Ruediger: Although they look like they are in different weight classes, I’m going with Velasquez. Brock’s size will play a huge part but as the rounds get deeper, I think it’s going to be harder to maintain the strength that has been his greatest asset.

James Zikic: Lesnar to overpower Velasquez via fourth-round TKO.

Ray Sefo: I’m going with Cain because he’s a good fighter and has better striking than Brock. He’s also a good wrestler.

Martin Kampmann: I think Cain will take it. Better cardio, better boxing.

Kultar Gill: If Cain can stop Brock’s takedowns [which I think he will], I can see Cain winning by TKO in the fourth round.

Josh Burkman: Cain runs around a bit until he commits too much. Then he gets beat up by a dude that is just too much man. Lesnar is bigger, stronger and too athletic to control.

Stav Economou: Brock is just too big and too strong. He will take it in the second round via ground-and-pound.

Tom Gavrilos: I’m taking Cain by decision.

Michael Guymon: I think Cain is a much better and [more] well-rounded fighter by far, but Brock has got just too much size and strength over Cain. Brock by being a big bastard -- TKO [in the] second.

Keith Berry: Brock is just a beast of a man, plain and simple. With that being said, he will show who is the true heavyweight by giving Cain a good old farm boy beatdown. I say Brock by second-round TKO.

Ron Foster: Brock showed a ton of heart in his last fight but was also badly exposed by Carwin. After not being able to get the fight to the ground early and taking a few punches, Brock’s defense was to basically go to the fetal position until Carwin punched himself out. He won’t have this option in this fight. Velasquez is a cardio machine with great striking and world-class wrestling. Cain will use angles to easily avoid Brock’s takedown attempts and then batter him on the feet. The amount of punishment Brock will take when he goes down will force the referee to stop the fight this time. Winner by TKO in round two and new heavyweight champion of the world, Cain Velasquez.

Bobby Southworth: Obviously, I’m biased being an AKA fighter myself. That being said, people who train with either man all say, “I’ve never seen anything like this guy.” It’s true that both guys are on a different level, in different ways, than the other fighters in their division. However, Brock only beats Cain in one department: sheer physicality. We’ve seen time and again in MMA that size just isn’t enough. In striking and submission savvy, Cain is by far the superior fighter. In wrestling skill, the one point or riding time that separates an All-American from a national champion doesn’t make one the superior fighter in MMA. Cain will not tire, he will not falter, and he will not fail in becoming the next UFC heavyweight world champion by TKO in round three or four.

Robin Black: Man, how can you not be a fan of the smaller, quicker, more technical heavyweight? A guy like Velasquez is everything that’s great about the UFC. He comes from obscurity, armed with crazy skills, heart and desire and becomes the number one contender. But Brock is a monster, a demon from the depths of hell. If Velasquez can go 12 or 13 minutes without making a single mistake that puts him on his back eating fists from Lesnar, he has a chance to win in the championship rounds. Sadly for Velasquez and his fans, like me, I don’t see it happening. Lesnar by TKO, smashing from half guard in round two.