An MMA Christmas List: 2014 Edition

Cain Velasquez has been sidelined for more than a year. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com

Brian Knapp, features editor: All I want for Christmas is a healthy Cain Velasquez.

With all due respect to Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Joe Warren, the “Baddest Man on the Planet” trains at the American Kickboxing Academy and rules the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight division. However, Velasquez has fought just five times in the past three years, and 432 days have come and gone since the 6-foot-1, 240-pound wrecking machine competed inside the Octagon. MMA’s heavyweight class is thin -- and old -- with a healthy and active Velasquez in the fold. Without him, it becomes something of a black hole. The sport needs a vibrant heavyweight division, especially with the event schedule the UFC plans to push.

Velasquez has been nothing short of a freight train since suffering his only professional defeat in November 2011, plowing through Junior dos Santos and Antonio Silva twice each. According to FightMetric data, in those four fights, Velasquez has landed a mind-boggling 175 more significant strikes than his opponent. He has also secured 14 takedowns, overwhelming “Cigano” and “Bigfoot” with pace and pressure. There can be no clearer picture of dominance.

Upon his return, Velasquez will face a unification bout with interim champion Fabricio Werdum -- a two-time Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championships gold medalist who has added potent muay Thai skills to his arsenal under the direction of Kings MMA mastermind Rafael Cordeiro. Beat Werdum and win a few more fights, and Velasquez enters the Greatest Heavyweight of All-Time discussion. All that speculation becomes white noise if he cannot get off the sidelines and back into the cage on a regular basis.

As the UFC barrels onward with a 45-event schedule in 2015, let us hope its premier heavyweight can return to his rightful place as an organizational centerpiece. He would provide a welcomed boost.