UFC heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos will meet in the Octagon for a third time this fall.
The final fight in the Velazquez vs. dos Santos trilogy has been set for October 19 at the Toyota Center in Houston.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the date and venue Monday , but sources said details of the event are still being finalized. However, the fight will headline a Pay-Per-View event, which is expected to be UFC 166. The bout, which was first rumored last month , will mark the promotion’s first time back in Houston since UFC 136 in October 2011.
Velasquez and dos Santos are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, and are tied at one fight each in their previous encounters. Dos Santos took the first match by KO at 1:04 in the first round to claim the heavyweight championship during UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos , and Velazquez reclaimed his title by unanimous decision at UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 .
White hinted that Velasquez and dos Santos could face off again , depending on how their next meeting goes.
“I think if Cain wins the fight as impressively as he did the last one, it’d be tough to do that fight again,” he said.
Since his November 2011 loss to dos Santos, Velasquez (12-1) has gone undefeated in his last three matches, two of which were against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. At UFC 146 in May 2012, Velasquez won by TKO at 3:36 in the first round. A year later at UFC 160, he again won the match by TKO, this time at 1:21 in the first round.
Dos Santos (16-2) has gone 2 for 3 since his triumph over Velasquez, beating Frank Mir by TKO at 3:04 in the second round at UFC 146, and defeating Mark Hunt by KO at 4:18 in the third round at UFC 160.
Who do you think will win Velasquez vs. dos Santos 3?