UFC On FOX 1 Headliner Set! HW Title Bout will Headline Event with Velasquez vs JDS

Today September 2, the Ultimate Fighting Championship finally broke their silence on who will headline the first ever UFC On Fox event that will mark a historical moment in both UFC and MMA history. With all eyes on Twitter and all ears eagerly awaiting the big news, UFC President Dana White announced that the long awaited Heavyweight championship bout between reigning champion Cain Velasquez and #1 contender Junior dos Santos will headline UFC On FOX 1 on November 12 in Anaheim, California, just one week earlier than the scheduled UFC 139 event in San Jose, California where the title fight was originally assigned as the headliner. With a Heavyweight bout now headlining the first ever UFC On FOX event, this will make it easier to attract viewers with the heavier weight classes having a natural power to finish fights with one punch, and with two young fast paced fighters like Velasquez and Dos Santos the bout is already one of the most anticipated Heavyweight bouts in MMA history. The bout will garner even more anticipation now having been moved from a PPV headlining spot to now headlining a free televised prime-time event on major network television. Leading up to the announcement, speculation over who would headline this historical event ran rampant. With the stakes high and expectations to deliver a true PPV worthy main event on one of the leading networks in sports, suspected headliners included Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson II, Dan Henderson vs Mauricio Rua, Mauricio Rua vs Lyoto Machida III, Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir, Brock Lesnar vs Alistair Overeem, Frank Mir vs Alistair Overeem, Tito Ortiz vs Rich Franklin, and more. All these suspected match ups had some road blocks in the way with Henderson and Overeem not officially signed to the UFC at this time, Rua just coming off a fight, and Lesnar barely returning to training after recovering from major surgery. With the decision to assign Velasquez/dos Santos, there was little to no complications standing in the way with both fighters already training for their bout and only one weeks difference from when they were supposed to face off. With this being a title fight assigned to be competed in five-five minute rounds which could take up more than half an hour of air time in what is expected to be a one hour time slot, this bout is expected to be the only televised event in that time period; with the exception that the bout ends early (as expected) and a previously recorded bout or more will be used to take up the remaining time. Coincidentally this bout will happen just before the Manny Pacquiao PPV fight that same night. With a boxing PPV following the free MMA event, rating for UFC On Fox 1 and the performances of both Velasquez and Dos Santos will set the bar for future events on the network and could gauge the comparison between major UFC events and boxing PPVs with one of the remaining top draws in the sport.