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After securing his first UFC heavyweight title, Cain Velasquez was unsuccessful in defending the belt, as Junior dos Santos finished him in the first round.

Now, after redeeming himself with a victory over dos Santos and gaining back the title, Velasquez knows how important it is that he defends it vs. Antonio Silva next week at UFC 160.

“To me, (defending the belt) is the most important thing,” said Velasquez, during a recent conference call. “To defend it, to hold on to it, this is the position I want to be in. I have to go out there and perform.”

Velasquez (11-1) stormed Silva the first time the two met, taking him down and earning a first round TKO victory. Despite that previous win, though, he knows this fight will be another animal.

“We saw what ‘Bigfoot’ can do in his past two fights. I can’t take him lightly. He is a tough competitor and has dangerous stuff in the Octagon,” he said. “I don’t see this as anything less than a grueling fight. That’s what I’m expecting.”

When Antonio Silva met Cain Velasquez a year ago, the fight was quite short and certainly one sided. Velasquez dispatched Silva in just under 4 minutes, but this time Silva plans on things being different when UFC 160 rolls around.

Cain Velasquez is set to throw down with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 160, and he’s all too aware that he’s not to be over-looked. Velasquez does not expect their second fight to be the same as their first.

Javier Mendez boasts current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and ex-Olympian Daniel Cormier among those that train under him at American Kickboxing Academy.

The crew at AKA has had a strong run in both the UFC and Strikeforce over the recent year, as Luke Rockhold was also a champion before Strikeforce closed.

“I feel incredibly blessed and fortunate to have had the number of fighters and talent that have come to my gym,” said Mendez, during a recent interview with MMAMania.com. “Some of the fighters that I am especially proud of are Cain Velasquez, Josh Thomson, Phil Baroni and Mike Swick.”

While the team has seen fighters come and go, they remain relevant with the likes of Rockhold and Cormier, who Mendez said “are on the brink of greatness because of their unbelievable talent and drive to win.”

So, is AKA one of the best – if not the best – camps out there right now?

Photo credit: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is starting to speak his mind on the use of illegal drugs in MMA.

Velasquez, who will defend his title in May against Antonio Silva at UFC 160, recently told MMAFighting.com that he believes the sport needs to be as clean as possible.

“There’s rules out there. We all need to follow the same rules. Me, I’m a natural athlete. I think all my competitors should be the same. We should be all equal. Nobody should have an advantage like that on their side,” Velasquez said.

Recently, Lavar Johnson failed a drug test and was released by the UFC. Alistair Overeem tested for elevated levels of testosterone last year and was suspended, while countless other fighters have also failed to pass the test.

Velasquez, who trains with Daniel Cormier, said he would be a firm believer in tougher testing. And, knows that his and his teammate are two of the cleanest athletes in the sport “just by looking at us.”

“You can tell that we don’t do anything. Or if we do, it’s not very good stuff,” Velasquez joked. “Being natural, I think, is the best way to be even on the playing field.”

If the UFC is adamant on cracking down on illegal drugs being used, they will form a way to test fighters more often.

Antonio Silva left the Octagon last May a bloody mess after an assault by Cain Velasquez.

Now, a year later, the two will meet again at UFC 160 – with the UFC heavyweight title on the line.

Velasquez won the belt from Junior dos Santos late in 2012, and Silva surpassed several other contenders when he finished Alistair Overeem in February.

The first loss to Velasquez remains on the mind of “Bigfoot,” but he feels things will be much different this time around.

“This is very big for me, very important for my career, for my family and I want this title. I want to win this title for me, for Brazil, for my fans and for my family,” Silva said, in a recent interview with MMA Fight Corner. “This time it will be different. The first fight I was very nervous because it was my first fight in the UFC. There was a lot of adrenaline in my body,” Silva explained. “Now I have two more fights in the UFC, I got in these two fights, two wins, good knockouts and now I’m very, very confident.”

Silva showed off his offensive skills vs. Overeem, and he will need to try and make this a stand-up game with Velasquez to have success, as the first meeting was all the former Arizona State University wrestling standout once it hit the ground.

UFC 160 is official. The main event will hold a rematch between Champion Cain Velasquez and Challenger Antonio Silva.

Mark Hunt will get his chance to make a giant leap in the UFC’s heavyweight division, taking on former champion Junior dos Santos this May at UFC 160.

MMAFighting.com confirmed the bout with UFC president Dana White.

Hunt replaces Alistair Overeem, who suffered an injury in training and was forced out of the May 25 card.

“The Super Samoan” is 9-7 in his career and 4-1 in the UFC, including four straight wins.

Dos Santos (15-2) was defeated by current UFC champion Cain Velasquez last December. He had previously stated his desire to remain active and compete in May after the UFC had mentioned moving the bout to later in the year.

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has a new contract, UFC president Dana White announced last week.

Velasquez, who re-claimed the belt from Junior dos Santos in 2012, has signed an eight-fight deal with the promotion. He will return to action this May at UFC 160 against Antonio Silva.

“He deserved it,” White said. “We always try to do the right thing.”

White stated that Velasquez still had three fights left on his previous contract, but the promotion felt confident in resigning the two-time champion.

The decision to give Velasquez a new deal comes on the heels of a series of cuts made by the UFC, including fighters like Jon Fitch, Vladimir Matyushenko and Che Mills.

“The thing that drives me the craziest is when people try to say, ‘Oh, these guys are just money-hungry,’” White said. “Money-hungry guys wouldn’t have bought this company in a million years.”

Photo credit: Esther Lin/All Elbows

If Daniel Cormier approaches UFC officials and makes it known he wants to drop from heavyweight to light heavyweight, one man in particular will have no problem with that.

UFC president Dana White said over the weekend that he believes Cormier (10-0) will eventually ask to do just that, and feels like he can become a force at 205 pounds.

“I think he’s awesome. But, at 205, I think he’d be a beast,” White said. “I want him wherever he wants to be.”

The reason behind Cormier switching divisions involves current UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. The two are training partners at American Kickboxing Academy, and “DC” is the wrestling coach for Velasquez, who will face Antonio Silva for the title later this year.

Cormier, meanwhile, will make his Octagon debut vs. Frank Mir in April at UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez.

“I just think that’s where he’s going to end up,” White said. “The relationship with Cain. I think that’s what they’re going to have to do. They’re going to have (Cormier) go to 205.”