The key ones involved how far you are willing to go with the superlatives.
But in recent years, the two UFC shows that stood out were UFC 116, on July 3, 2010 in Las Vegas, and UFC 139, on Nov. 19, 2011 in San Jose, Calif.
But those two shows, and this one, also had strong undercards. Everyone expected Melendez vs. Sanchez to be great, even though it had to exceed anyone's imagination. If you saw the second Velasquez vs. Dos Santos fight, how the third went shouldn't have been too big of a surprise.
Silva had the spectacular finishes and uncanny reflexes, and St-Pierre is a physical freak with explosive takedowns and a controlling top game, traits Velasquez can't match.
But Velasquez brings something different to the table. He never stops, and uses conditioning, which may not be as spectacular as reflexes or explosiveness, but in many ways fits his personality as someone who quietly does his job. The fact he does this weighing 240 pounds make him a freak in ways most people don't think of.
With the exception of his one loss, his domination of every minute of every round is something even St-Pierre, the master of control, can't claim. And quietly, he's a great finisher.
Emelianenko had 27 finishes in his 40 career fights (68 percent).
As far as greatest ever, to me, you can only be fairly compared with your era. Some people will short-circuit over this because the worship of Fedor Emelianenko is like a religion and people hate to hear that there is no God, but this Cain Velasquez beats any Fedor Emelianenko eight times out of ten. Emelianenko's takedown defense was nowhere near that of Dos Santos, nor was his stand-up as good or as versatile. His footwork wasn't close to as good, and Dos Santos as a physically bigger and quicker athlete.
Emelianenko did hit hard and could win. He had a submission game but he's not submitting Velasquez, and he's not outworking him to win rounds, nor could he match his conditioning. Realistically, he lost to Dan Henderson and Bigfoot Silva and there is no way, even at his best, he could have gotten past Junior Dos Santos, other than the same puncher's chance.
Emelianenko did fatten his record on a number of circus opponents, but that's what Pride was, essentially Japanese pro wrestling without the fights being fixed. You can't knock him for his era or his surroundings. All you can do is beat what is in front of you. Emelianenko did so from 2000 to 2009. Not many of his opponents could have survived in today's UFC, but he did beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira twice, who was clearly the No. 2 heavyweight of his era, and his win over Mirko Cro Cop was the great heavyweight fight of its era..
So as an all-around fighter and who would win head-to-head, I'd go with Velasquez. As the greatest heavyweight of all-time, Velasquez needs a few more years maintaining his position to earn that mantle. As far as the greatest heavyweight in UFC history, Saturday night ended any debate. He is, with an exclamation point. And time will tell where he stands as far as the greatest champion in the history of the organization.
Among the top stars of UFC 166, Fortunes really didn't change so much as they were exciting chapters en route to a bigger story.
But as strong as the heavyweight division is, after that fight, if Jon Jones is still light heavyweight champion, that may be the direction to go.
JUNIOR DOS SANTOS - If not for the presence of Velasquez, we would likely be writing all the same things about Dos Santos. He's an incredible fighter, strong stand-up, great takedown defense and heart and guts like nobody's business. He is the Joe Frazier of the era, just without anywhere near the same level of spotlight. He's probably an all-time great who just came along at the same time as someone who beats him most of the time, even when he's at his best.
His career path is tough. No matter what he does, it's likely to be a few years before he faces Velasquez again. His only hope is to keep winning, be patient, and if Velasquez falls, he'll be the guy who can pick up the pieces.
DANIEL CORMIER - Cormier went to 13-0, and he's also a fighter who has never lost a round in his career. He weighed in at 224 pounds, which is about what most light heavyweights these days fight at. He made it clear his next fight is at light heavyweight. In that division, he won't have the speed advantage as a light heavyweight that he had on all his heavyweight foes But if anything, his wrestling and clinch game should be stronger.
GILBERT MELENDEZ - Now 22-3, the Sanchez win because it should end up so memorable, helps his name value as a contender. Melendez has been of the world's best lightweight fighters since at least 2006. He spent years making money, but being on the wrong side of politics to ever prove he was truly No. 1 until April 20.
He's proven to be good in all areas of the game with excellent conditioning . But as this fight, and the Thomson fights have shown, he can be lured into a brawl. Melendez had Saturday's fight won and was clearly the faster and more skilled fighter of the two. but in standing there, trying to give the fans the show of a lifetime, he nearly lost the fight.
With all due respect to Grant, Melendez should get the next title fight. If he wasn't already, he made himself the stronger name with this performance. He's had a better career. And he has a level of durability, having never been finished in years of main events.
Even with the loss, he comes off as a significantly bigger star. He's in a division deep when it comes to top level fighters, and he should be able to headline a television card with anyone from Benson Henderson on down, or be in a No. 2 or No. 3 spot on any pay-per-view show. The question becomes, no matter how much he tries to say he's in his prime, how much the kind of beatings he took in this fight, and the Martin Kampmann fight, have taken off his back end.
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