No more talk: JDS, Cain ready for UFC 155

James Brydon December 29, 2012, 1:07 AM

Junior dos Santos expects the rematch will last longer. Cain Velasquez just wants to forget about their first meeting.

Either way, UFC 155: Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 is finally upon us — and the organization’s last show of 2012 is now official following Friday’s weigh-ins in Las Vegas.

The Brazilian dos Santos, who won the heavyweight belt when he knocked out Velasquez in 64 seconds at the first ever UFC on FOX show in November 2011, weighed in at 239 pounds Friday.

The challenger, who tries to recapture the belt in his second appearance since that, his first professional loss — he demolished Antonio Silva in May to earn the title rematch — was 240 pounds.

The two heavyweights, who have nothing but respect for each other, then squared off and shook hands.

Asked about what the chance to face dos Santos again meant to him, Velasquez said, “I want to be No. 1. I have to take care of business tomorrow.”

The champion, however, predicted a different outcome for the raucous at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“Cain Velasquez is for sure a great opponent. But I know you guys like knockouts, so one more is coming for you.”

It’s safe to say Velasquez hopes the second fight between the two plays out differently than the first. That’s why his focus is squarely on Saturday night, and not the past.

“Let’s stop talking about that old fight,” Velasquez said at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference. “This is a whole new one.”

It’s a whole new one in more ways than one. Not only are they a little over a year removed from their first meeting — and thus probably more mature and refined as fighters — but they are also in much better health. Last time, both fighters were dealing with knee injuries.

In fact, a video surfaced after their bout showing Velasquez tearing his knee leading up to the fight. But the first UFC champion of Mexican descent said he would have preferred that it hadn’t come to light.

“You don’t make excuses for yourself,” Velasquez said. “I went in and fought and that was it.”

He added: “(Dos Santos) definitely earned (the win), now I get to go and redeem myself.”

As for Dos Santos, he just sees their second meeting like any other title defence.

“It’s more a rematch for Cain,” Dos Santos said. “For me it’s just a fight.”

Each of the 24 fighters made weight on his first try Friday, including two lightweights competing in the most heated fight on the card. Melvin Guillard and Jamie Varner, who were originally supposed to meet at the TUF 15 finale two weeks ago before Varner fell ill while they were doing their warmups, both weighed 155 pounds. Afterward Guillard, who felt slighted by some accusations of greasing by Varner’s camp and felt he pulled out of the bout out of fear, was eager to confront Varner and had to be immediately restrained by UFC president Dana White as he got into his opponent’s face for the staredown.

Meanwhile, Mexican fighter Erik Perez donned a luchador mask for the first time as a UFC fighter. White had prohibited him from wearing the traditional Mexican wrestling mask in his previous two Octagon appearances, but the bantamweight convinced the boss to permit it after explaining the significance of the headgear — and that it wasn’t just some goofy gimmick.

The 23-year-old seemed to wear the mask with pride before tipping the scale at the 136-pound limit for his undercard matchup with Byron Bloodworth (also 136).

Here are the full weigh-in results:

Main card (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)

Junior dos Santos (239) vs. Cain Velasquez (240)

Joe Lauzon (156) vs. Jim Miller (156)

Tim Boetsch (186) vs. Constantinos Philippou (186)

Alan Belcher (186) vs. Yushin Okami (184)

Derek Brunson (185) vs. Chris Leben (185)

Televised undercard (Sportsnet, 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)

Brad Pickett (136) vs. Eddie Wineland (135)

Byron Bloodworth (136) vs. Erik Perez (136)

Melvin Guillard (155) vs. Jamie Varner (155)

Myles Jury (155) vs. Michael Johnson (154)