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Cain Velasquez

Inactive Retired · age 43 · Orthodox · 6'1" 185 cm · 240 lb 109 kg · reach 77" 196 cm
Retired. Ratings shown are a historical snapshot at the time of the last fight.
At a glance
  • 3 successful title defenses
  • 83% of wins by KO/TKO
  • 58% of wins finished in round 1
  • Career-best 7-fight win streak
Elo rating
1604
Global Elo 1660 ±43
Rank
—
—
UFC record
12-3-0
KO 10 · Sub 0 · Dec 2
Streak
-1
Δ90d -35 · Δ1y -35
Last fight
Feb 17, 2019
Loss by KO · R1
Career at a glance
Octagon time
1h 51m
Avg fight time
7:24
Title fights
4-2
Bonuses
3
Fights per year
1.4
Ground control
1h 7m
Since last fight
7y 4mo

Honest Elo history

15 fights · tap & drag
Apr 19, 2008 — W vs Brad Morris Δ+33Jul 19, 2008 — W vs Jake O'Brien Δ+35Feb 7, 2009 — W vs Denis Stojnic Δ+27Jun 13, 2009 — W vs Cheick Kongo Δ+29Oct 24, 2009 — W vs Ben Rothwell Δ+22Feb 20, 2010 — W vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Δ+15Oct 23, 2010 — W vs Brock Lesnar Δ+23Nov 12, 2011 — L vs Junior Dos Santos Δ-23May 26, 2012 — W vs Antonio Silva Δ+11Dec 29, 2012 — W vs Junior Dos Santos Δ+23May 25, 2013 — W vs Antonio Silva Δ+15Oct 19, 2013 — W vs Junior Dos Santos Δ+23Jun 13, 2015 — L vs Fabricio Werdum Δ-29Jul 9, 2016 — W vs Travis Browne Δ+15Feb 17, 2019 — L vs Francis Ngannou Δ-22 1400145015001550160016501700 20102012201420162018 [{"i":0,"x":90,"y":365.7,"elo":1441,"date":"2008-04-19","opp":"Brad Morris","result":"W","delta":33},{"i":1,"x":106.6,"y":328.4,"elo":1476,"date":"2008-07-19","opp":"Jake O'Brien","result":"W","delta":35},{"i":2,"x":143.5,"y":299.9,"elo":1503,"date":"2009-02-07","opp":"Denis Stojnic","result":"W","delta":27},{"i":3,"x":166.4,"y":268.8,"elo":1532,"date":"2009-06-13","opp":"Cheick Kongo","result":"W","delta":29},{"i":4,"x":190.6,"y":245.5,"elo":1554,"date":"2009-10-24","opp":"Ben Rothwell","result":"W","delta":22},{"i":5,"x":212.3,"y":229.5,"elo":1569,"date":"2010-02-20","opp":"Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira","result":"W","delta":15},{"i":6,"x":256.9,"y":204.9,"elo":1592,"date":"2010-10-23","opp":"Brock Lesnar","result":"W","delta":23},{"i":7,"x":327,"y":229.9,"elo":1569,"date":"2011-11-12","opp":"Junior Dos Santos","result":"L","delta":-23},{"i":8,"x":362.6,"y":218.9,"elo":1579,"date":"2012-05-26","opp":"Antonio Silva","result":"W","delta":11},{"i":9,"x":402.1,"y":194.5,"elo":1602,"date":"2012-12-29","opp":"Junior Dos Santos","result":"W","delta":23},{"i":10,"x":428.9,"y":178.9,"elo":1617,"date":"2013-05-25","opp":"Antonio Silva","result":"W","delta":15},{"i":11,"x":455.6,"y":154.2,"elo":1640,"date":"2013-10-19","opp":"Junior Dos Santos","result":"W","delta":23},{"i":12,"x":565.2,"y":185.4,"elo":1611,"date":"2015-06-13","opp":"Fabricio Werdum","result":"L","delta":-29},{"i":13,"x":636.6,"y":168.9,"elo":1626,"date":"2016-07-09","opp":"Travis Browne","result":"W","delta":15},{"i":14,"x":810,"y":192.6,"elo":1604,"date":"2019-02-17","opp":"Francis Ngannou","result":"L","delta":-22}]

Last fights

Elo-based expectation · not betting advice
Date Opponent Result Δ Elo
Feb 17, 2019 Francis Ngannou L -22
Jul 9, 2016 Travis Browne W +15
Jun 13, 2015 Fabricio Werdum L -29
Oct 19, 2013 Junior Dos Santos W +23
May 25, 2013 Antonio Silva W +15

Performance

SLpM Significant Strikes Landed per Minute. Higher = busier striker.
Strikes Landed
L1L3L5
Str Acc Striking accuracy: significant strikes landed / attempted. Higher = more efficient striker.
Strike Accuracy
L1L3L5
SApM Significant Strikes Absorbed per Minute. How often opponents land on this fighter. Lower is better.
Strikes Absorbed
L1L3L5
Str Def Share of opponent’s significant strike attempts that miss or are blocked. Higher is better.
Striking Defense
L1L3L5
TD / 15 min Takedowns landed per 15 minutes (one full 3-round fight). Measures wrestling output.
Takedowns
L1L3L5
TD Acc Takedowns landed / attempted. Higher = cleaner entries.
Takedown Accuracy
L1L3L5
TD Def Share of opponent takedown attempts stuffed. Higher = harder to put on the mat.
Takedown Defense
L1L3L5
Sub / 15 min Submission attempts per 15 minutes. Counts attempts, not just finishes — a proxy for grappling aggression.
Submission Attempts
L1L3L5
Ctrl / 15 min Control time in seconds per 15 minutes. Time in dominant grappling positions. 240 = 4 min, the realistic high-end across divisions.
Control Time (sec)
L1L3L5
KD / 15 min Knockdowns landed per 15 minutes. Counts every flash KD even if the fight continued — measures stopping power across all rounds, not just finishes.
Knockdowns
L1L3L5
Above division avg (intensity ∝ how far)
Near avg (±10%)
Below division avg

Finishes

How wins come Finish rate = (KO + Submission wins) / total UFC wins. Measures how often this fighter closes the show before the scorecards.
83%
10 / 12
Finish rate
KO
10
83% of wins
SUB
0
0% of wins
DEC
2
17% of wins
KO: 10 (83%) 10 Sub: 0 (0%) Dec: 2 (17%) 2
Finishes by round
10 total
R1
7 70%
R2
2 20%
R3
R4
R5
1 10%

Striking profile

Where significant strikes land — by target zone and by position. 719 landed total · career

Targets head · body · leg
75% Head
  • Head 75%
  • Body 11%
  • Leg 14%
Positions distance · clinch · ground
37% Ground
  • Distance 36%
  • Clinch 27%
  • Ground 37%

Durability

How they're beaten How fights end AGAINST this fighter. Finished-against rate = (times KO'd + submitted) / total UFC losses. A low rate means they rarely get stopped.
100%
of losses by finish
3 of 3 · usually R1
2 KO/TKO 1 Sub 0 Dec

Strength of schedule in UFC

Avg opp Elo (last 5) Average Elo rating of the last 5 opponents this fighter faced. A proxy for schedule difficulty — 1700+ is elite-level competition, 1500 is a UFC average opponent.
1639
Contender level
Quality wins (1600+) Wins over opponents rated 1600+ Elo at the time of the fight — clearly above the ~1500 UFC average, contender tier. A count of genuine quality results, not record-padding.
4
of 12 UFC wins
Toughest win The highest-rated opponent this fighter has a win over, by that opponent's Elo at fight time.
Junior Dos Santos
Elo 1719 at fight time
Expected wins How many wins an average fighter would be expected to have against this exact schedule, based on pre-fight Elo win probabilities. The line below shows whether this fighter is over- or under-performing their matchups.
8.5
+3.5 wins above what this schedule implies
Opponent Elo over career · 15 UFC fights, oldest → newest
1500
1645
Notable wins
Junior Dos Santos ×2 1719 Brock Lesnar 1662 Travis Browne 1645

Top heavyweight

See full rankings →
Ciryl Gane IC
#1 · Elo 1691
Alexander Volkov
#2 · Elo 1656
Alex Pereira
#3 · Elo 1655
Tom Aspinall C
#4 · Elo 1654
Sergei Pavlovich
#5 · Elo 1619
Source Raw fight data and per-bout statistics come from Cain Velasquez on UFCStats →. Elo rating, uncertainty bands, and division-relative analytics computed by HonestElo — not affiliated with or endorsed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.