UFC 160 results recap: Cain Velasquez vs Antonio Silva 2 fight review and analysis

The UFC Heavyweight Title was on the line last night (May 25, 2013) as champion Cain Velasquez defended his title against Antonio Silva in a rematch of their bout exactly one year earlier.

Silva came in motivated to not be taken down like he had been just second into their original bout. But that didn't stop Velasquez from making short work of him yet again.

Early on, it looked like "Bigfoot" might have a chance as he deftly avoided Velasquez's immediate takedown attempt, and then shrugged off a second attempt just moments later. There was no leg kick opening this time.

Instead, Velasquez settled in on the feet, flashing a jab and moving forward.

When Silva finally decided to load up on a big shot, the champion wasn't just ready for it, he countered with heavy straight shots right down the pipe, dropping the giant Brazilian.

As Silva desperately tried to hang on, perhaps grab a leg and get a takedown, Velasquez pounced, forcing him to turtle up and he proceeded to drop lightning quick repeated right hands. When Silva didn't fight back,the ref put a stop to it.

For Antonio Silva, he got his wish and was able to prevent being put on his back in this fight, but that doesn't make him any faster. Speed kills in this sport and he was simply too slow to catch Velasquez with anything significant before eating a pair of big shots that put him down. In fact, he ate two strikes from Velasquez in the time it took him to throw a big right hand halfway to its target. Barring luck, there just was no chance he was going to knock the champ out before he ate something nasty. I don't know if this is a problem that can be fixed.

Next up for Silva could be fellow down on their luck heavyweights like former champion Frank Mir, co-main event loser Mark Hunt or perhaps recent Hunt KO-victim Stefan Struve.

For Cain Velasquez, speed kills. He was able to hurt and drop Silva standing just like his teammates Mike Kyle and Daniel Cormier had done in the past. It's all about that quick first step and scoring with a heavy straight punch down the middle before Silva can fire off his powerful hooks and Velasquez executed that to perfection last night. He whiffed on his opening takedown attempts, but they weren't necessary. Silva had no chance of catching him with that speed disparity.

Next up for Velasquez will be a trilogy fight against Junior dos Santos, as confirmed by UFC President Dana White in the post-fight press conference.

For complete UFC 160 results, including blow-by-blow, fight-by-fight coverage of the entire event as well as immediate post-fight reaction click here, here and here.