[ads1]cain velasquez2The UFC 160: Velasquez vs. Bigfoot II event is set to take place on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The PPV portion of the card will start at the usual 10 p.m. ET time slot, with preliminary fights airing on Facebook at 3:35 p.m. ET and FX at 5 p.m. ET.

It’s a stacked card and I’m really looking forward to this event unlike the UFC on FX 8 event this past Saturday, which in retrospect turned out to be a ‘decent’ event although it was FREE. Let’s take at look at the top five questions going into UFC 160.

Will Cain Velasquez emerge as a PPV star and hit the 500,000 PPV mark as champion?

Cain Velasquez has gotten a ton of exposure over the past couple of years. He was seen by millions on the inaugural UFC on FOX 1 show, and the UFC 146 event he was on did over 500,000 PPV buys. However, his last outing where he avenged his only loss against Junior dos Santos where he was the underdog may get him over the hump. That event (UFC 155) did almost 600,000 PPV buys, but year end UFC events almost always do very well. He’s fighting a guy that he destroyed in their initial matchup. However, Bigfoot had an impressive outing as an underdog in his last outing where he knocked out Alistair Overeem in highlight reel fashion. Will casual fans buy into Silva as a legitimate threat just almost exactly a year to the date that Velasquez mauled him en route to a first round TKO victory? The supporting cast of UFC 160 is very strong though which could be a factor. Dos Santos, Mark Hunt(who’s developing somewhat of a cult following nowadays), Gray Maynard, and crowd favorite Donald Cerrone will also be on the main card.

Will Junior dos Santos set up the epic trilogy between him and Cain Velasquez, or does Mark Hunt throw a monkey wrench?

Junior dos Santos will by all accounts earn a title shot with a win over Mark Hunt on Saturday night. It’s the heavyweight fight that everyone wants to see since the two have split the first two fights. Mark Hunt has a granite chin and knockout power. Junior dos Santos has shown the ability to take crazy amounts of punishment with knockout power as well. Somebody is gonna fall short on Saturday night.

Will Glover Teixeira separate himself from the pack in a crowded UFC light heavyweight division with a win over James Te Huna?

Teixeira is coming into this bout off three consecutive wins in the UFC, including a unanimous decision win over Rampage Jackson in his last outing. Te Huna has won four consecutive bouts in the UFC with his lone UFC loss coming against top contender Alexander Gustafsson. Teixeira is the favorite going into the fight, but both guys hit extremely hard with great chins. However, Teixeira will have an edge should the fight go to the ground. The light heavyweight division is looking for legitimate contenders, and Teixeira could make a statement with a highlight reel finish over a tough opponent.

Which fighter will face Ben Henderson for the UFC lightweight title between Gray Maynard/TJ Grant?

UFC President Dana White has already gone on record and stated that the winner of this fight will face Ben Henderson for the UFC lightweight title. Maynard is coming off a near year long layoff, and the two time title challenger will be facing a fighter in TJ Grant who has been very active in the past year(3 fights). This should be a good scrap, who you rolling with?

Will Donald Cerrone be able to rebound from the first TKO loss of his career when he takes on Strikeforce import KJ Noons?

Cerrone is a perennial top 10 lightweight who was stopped via TKO for the first time in his career in his last outing against Anthony Pettis. KJ Noons was virtually robbed in his last fight in Strikeforce by the judges. The former pro boxer is pretty slick with his hands, and it should be a good contrast in styles since Cerrone prefers to kick. Cerrone has had problems with fighters that rely heavily on their boxing (Nate Diaz), but Noons and Diaz have really different styles of attacking.

*Bonus:  Be on the lookout for the Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Abel Trujillo fight that will air on FX during the preliminary fights!!

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